Start of a Dynasty

In 1782, the same year that Britain recognized U.S. independence, General Chao Phraya Chakri ended nearly two decades of territorial wars in Siam and established the country’s new capital in what is today Bangkok.

In building the new capital the Chakri Dynasty set out to recreate the grandeur of Ayuthaya, one of the wealthiest cities in the history of Asia. For nearly 400 years, from 1350 to 1767, Ayuthaya was a thriving seaport and the capital of the Siamese Kingdom.

In 1690 an emissary from London said:  “Among the Asian nations, the Kingdom of Siam is the greatest.  The magnificence of the Ayuthaya Court is incomparable.” Historians have noted that London, at the time, was a mere village in comparison.

I knew none of this when I walked onto the grounds of Bangkok’s Grand Palace and Wat Phra Krew where Bangkok was founded.

The Grand Palace, the former residence of the monarch, is important in Thai history, but so too is Wat Phra Krew.  It is home to the Emerald Buddha, one of Theravada Buddhism’s most venerated images.

Barely visible, the 30-inch Emerald Buddha sits in one Thailand’s most beautiful temples, guarded by a pair of mythical giants.  The figure is always cloaked in a royal robe. The King himself changes the robes in a solemn ceremony at the beginning of each season (hot, cool and rainy) .

Not far outside the walls of The Grand Palace sits Wat Pho, home to the world’s largest Reclining Buddha, an interesting contrast to the diminutive Emerald Buddha.

The Reclining Buddha is half a football field long and completely fills the temple in which it rests.  The image illustrates the passing of the Buddha into Nirvana at the time of his death.

Here in South East Asia, as in South America before, we have witnessed and walked through the works of great civilizations that remain less than footnotes in the public school curriculum in the United States.

Walking the grounds of the Grand Palace, Wat Phra Krew and Wat Pho, I was struck, once again, by how little I really know about the world.

More pictures from the Grand Palace, Wat Phra Krew, Wat Pho and Bangkok are here.