45b 
The History of the Book in Southeast Asia (2): The Mainland
45b JANA IGUNMA
The development of writing and dating systems in mainland Southeast Asia is connected with the spread of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Christianity in this area. The first writing system was chû’ nho’, Classical Chinese, which was the official writing system when Vietnam was under direct Chinese rule (111 BC–AD 938). In the 13th century, chû’ nôm, a system based on ch
nho, was developed to write the Vietnamese language. It consisted of orthodox Chinese characters supplemented by a set of new characters specifically created to write Vietnamese words. The situation was complicated, however, as constant close contact with the Chinese produced layers of Chinese vocabulary in varying degrees of Vietnamese naturalization, and the most highly naturalized words were accepted as Vietnamese. In the 19th century, both chû’ nho’ and chû’ nôm were replaced by qu
c ngû’, a system developed by Portuguese Jesuit missionaries in the 17th century based on the Latin alphabet. Quc ngû’ is still used to write Vietnamese and several languages of minority subgroups as well.
From the 6th to 8th centuries, a growing Indian cultural influence led to the creation of writing systems based on Indic scripts belonging to the Brahmi family (see 41). Khmer script is known to date back to the 6th century. Among the several styles of Khmer script are ’aksar chriěng (slanted script), ’aksar chhōr (upright script), ’aksar mūl (round script), and ’aksar khǭ’m (a variation of round script). Khmer script was also used at the Thai royal court until the late 19th century.
Burmese script, as a descendant of the extinct Mon script, has been attested as early as the 12th century. It is used to write the Burmese language, as well as languages of the Karen, Taungthu, and Mon people in Burma. A variation of Burmese is used to write modern Shan.
Thai script descended from the Brahmi script through its intermediate descendant, Khmer. The development of Thai script is usually attributed to King Ramkhamhaeng in the 13th century. Since then, it has undergone many stylistic changes. In Thailand, Thai script is also used to write Lao and other Tai languages. Historically, most of the Tai groups in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Burma have had their own writing systems based on Indic models of writing.
The Lao script, which exists in different styles (Lao tham, Lao būhān, modern Lao), can be traced back to the 14th century. It was used to write the Lao language of Laos and northeast Thailand, and Northern Thai as well. Today, it is also employed in writing several minority languages of Laos. Variations of Lao tham were used to write the languages of smaller Tai groups such as Tai Lư and Tai Khœn.
The traditional Vietnamese calendar followed the Chinese model. Years were recorded using a method of cyclical characters and year designations, marking the divisions into different periods or eras of a ruler’s reign. The years, in turn, were divided into twelve lunar months of 29 or 30 days. Over a period of nineteen years, seven intercalary months were added in order to bring the lunar cycle into accord with the solar cycle. In the 20th century, the lunar calendar was replaced by the Gregorian calendar and Christian Era (or Common Era) for official purposes. Modern printed books give an imprint in the Christian Era.
In Burma, government and administrative matters are regulated by the Christian Era and Gregorian calendar. Religious and cultural festivals are determined either by the Burmese Era, which is counted from AD 638, or the Buddhist Era, dating from 544 BC. MSS and older books usually are dated according to the Buddhist Era or the Burmese Era. Modern printed books often give an imprint in the Christian Era and/or the Buddhist Era.
The traditional Cambodian calendar is lunar-solar, in which the months are lunar, alternately having 29 or 30 days. The gap between the solar and the lunar years is resolved by adding, every three or four years, an intercalary month. In Buddhist texts, the Buddhist Era is normally used. In inscriptions and some recent texts, the Saka Era is used, beginning AD 79. Besides that, the Culla Era, dating from AD 639, and the Christian Era are common.
In Thailand, the Buddhist Era was adopted as the official dating system in 1932. Since the beginning of the Bangkok period (AD 1782), the Buddhist Era has been defined as starting at 543 BC. Other eras in use, mainly in MSS and early printed books, are Chunlasakkarāt (beginning AD 638), Mahāsakkarāt (beginning AD 78), and Rattanakōsinsok (beginning AD 1781).
In Laos, the Christian Era, which remains officially in use today, was introduced by the French at the end of the 19th century. Until the mid-20th century, the Buddhist Era (starting 543 BC), the Chunlasakkarāt, and the Mahāsakkarāt eras were also used. Traditionally, the Lao followed a lunar-solar calendar similar to the Cambodian model.
Palm-leaf MSS and folding books were produced for a variety of purposes in Buddhist monasteries and at the royal and local courts in Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. The production of MSS was regarded as an act to gain merit. They provided teaching material and handbooks for monks and novices, as well as Buddhist literature and historical works to read to the lay people during religious ceremonies. MSS were also important for history writing (by demand of the royal or local courts), the transcription of oral tradition, and the production of professional manuals (including for astrologers, healers, fortune tellers, legal specialists, and artists).
The earliest material for producing MSS in these countries was the palm leaf. Most commonly, the Corypha umbraculifera was used. The leaves of MSS are mostly 45–60 cm long and 4.5–6 cm wide; shorter ones are 25–30 cm long. There are usually three to five lines of writing on each leaf. Sometimes, small drawings decorate the text. The writing is incised with a metal stylus before lampblack is applied to the leaves, and then wiped off, leaving the black in the incisions only. The leaves are then bound in bundles with a string and preserved in wooden covers, which can be lacquered and gilded, or decorated with an inlay of glass or mother-of-pearl (see 19). Infrequently, a similar type of MS was produced from bamboo stems. Because of the late introduction of printing in Laos, palm-leaf MSS are still produced there today for religious purposes.
Other MSS to be found in Burma, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia are folding books (Thai/Lao Samut khoi, Burmese Parabaik). The paper, normally made from the bark of the Streblus asper, was folded in an accordion fashion to form a book. Folding books are mostly 30–50 cm long and 10–15 cm wide, but longer ones are up to 70 cm long. The paper is usually a natural cream colour and written on with black China ink and a bamboo pen. Alternatively, the surface could be blackened with lacquer or soot and written on with a white steatite (soapstone) pencil, in yellow ink made from gamboges, or from orpiment mixed with the sap of Feronia elephantium. The cover pages often were lacquered and gilded.
Illustrations could be an important part of a folding book. They give a pictorial (and often idealistic) impression of the work’s content (or of a topic related to it). Sometimes, however, text and illustrations were unrelated. Lavishly coloured illustrations often accompany folding books on Buddhist themes, especially MSS dealing with the Jātakas and the life of the Buddha, Buddhist cosmologies, treatises on worldly and supernatural beings, and MSS on fortune-telling, astrology, or traditional healing.
Vietnamese MSS were written in standard or cursive calligraphy on paper made from the bark of Streblus asper. The size of the paper varied considerably, from an oblong format of c.14 × 25 cm to a large format of c.22 × 32 cm. If bound, butterfly and thread bindings were used. Vietnamese MSS often contained literary and philosophical works, chronicles, and works on administrative and legal issues.
Lacquered MSS or Kammavaca, as they are known in Burma, are among the most sacred of Burmese Buddhist texts. These MSS are still used for monastic ritual, most commonly for ordinations in Burma. Containing rules of monastic service, they include scripts (khandaka) on ordination and admonitions to the newly ordained monk. Kammavaca consist of a number of unbound ‘leaves’, made from thin wood or bamboo slices, folded layers of cotton, or thin metal sheets, which are then covered thickly with a few coats of red or brown lacquer to create a smooth, pliant surface. Some rare Kammavaca MSS are made from ivory. Normally, gold leaf is applied before the words are painted in a stylized fashion with thick black lacquer. Intervening illustrations are often added. The finished MS is protected by covers of brown or orange lacquered teakwood, also decorated with panels of lively freehand gold leaf or relief-moulded lacquer with glass inlay. When boys enter a monastery for a period (a practice that remains obligatory), parents present the presiding monk with a Kammavaca concerning ordination.
The oldest method of printing in mainland Southeast Asia was woodblock printing (xylography), a limited art confined chiefly to certain temples and villages of northern Vietnam. The beginnings of printing in Vietnam are not precisely known, though it is believed to date back to the 13th century AD, and is especially associated with the efforts of the 15th-century scholar Lương Như Hộc. The oldest definitely dated specimen is the 1697 edition of the Great Official History.
The first publishers in Burma and Thailand were missionary presses, which printed biblical texts and teaching materials for Christian communities (see 9). Later, royal and governmental presses printed official papers and materials for administrative purposes; Buddhist institutions printed for the Sangha and lay people; and libraries and public bodies published to promote indigenous literatures and cultures. By the end of the 19th century, Buddhist monasteries played an important role as publishers: their cremation volumes appeared in high numbers and were dedicated to various topics, from Buddhism to linguistics, literature, anthropology, arts, history, and archaeology.
In 1816, the first printing press in Burma was established at Rangoon under the supervision of Adoniram Judson. The press was made and the types cut at the Serampore Mission of the Baptist Missionary Society, where Burmese texts had been printed since 1810. After the British acquisition of Arakan and Tenasserim, missionary work increased and more presses were established in Tavoy (1837) and Moulmein (1843). These operations pioneered the translation and printing of the Bible in the Karen and Mon languages. King Mindon established the first Royal Printing Press in Mandalay in 1864. By 1870, the Burma Herald Press started publishing law books, moral tracts, and popular Burmese dramas. Among printing ventures that transferred Burmese MS texts into printed forms was the Haddawaddy Press (founded in 1886), which produced nearly 1,000 titles, including the whole Tripitaka in Burmese script. Another important publisher was the Burma Research Society, which did valuable work in editing and publishing old MS texts under the guidance of U Pe Maung Tin (1888–1973).
In Thailand, the first printing press was established in Bangkok by Roman Catholic missionaries in 1836. Interest in publishing was confined mostly to the foreign missionary organizations, which published numerous translations of biblical tracts, commentaries, and catechisms in Thai languages. The royal court first made use of a press in 1839 to publish a royal proclamation banning the opium trade. In 1858, King Rama IV commanded the government to establish its own press to print The Royal Gazette (Ratkitchanuphēk), as well as administrative papers and records (čhotmaihēt), handbooks, laws, travel reports, speeches, and descriptions of the provinces of Thailand.
Thailand’s policy of educational modernization in the first two decades of the 20th century required the mass production of teaching materials, textbooks, and teachers’ manuals. The Buddhist community produced pedagogical matter in great quantities, including translations of Buddhist scriptures and commentaries from Pāli into Thai. Cremation volumes appeared in large numbers, and often had the character of research papers or speeches dedicated to religious, cultural, anthropological, linguistic, literary, and social topics. During the reign (1910–25) of King Rama VI, the publishing of literary works reached new heights. The king, a dedicated writer himself, translated numerous literary works from Western languages into Thai.
By the end of the 19th century, some commercial publishing houses had been established in Bangkok, and more followed during the first 30 years of the 20th century. Notable publishers include Bradley’s Press, Smith’s Press, Union Press, Thai Printers, and Sophon Phiphatthanakon Printers, as well as the Siam Society and the Vajiranana National Library.
In 1892, the first Lao/Lanna printing press was founded in Chiang Mai, after a Tham Lao/Lanna typeface had been acquired from the Lampang Presbyterian Mission. For much of its history, the press was the only body printing in the Lao/Lanna languages and Tham script. It produced large quantities of bibles, textbooks, and tracts, as well as administrative papers and handbooks.
The French introduced modern techniques of printing in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Western typographic presses were established in Cochinchina in 1862 and Tonkin in 1883. One of the earliest Vietnamese publishers was Imprimerie de l’Union (founded in the late 19th century), which competed with French publishing houses in Saigon. After World War I, a large number of publishing houses were established in Hanoi, Huê, and Saigon. In the first three decades of the 20th century, the French made great efforts to rein in publishing in Chinese characters and successfully promoted printing in quc ngû’ and French.
Although a Khmer type had been developed by the end of the 19th century, the first Khmer text to be printed in Cambodia appeared only in 1908. In the 1920s, modernist monks such as the Venerable Chuon Nath and Huot That promoted the publication of a range of texts with the help of Louis Finot. In Laos, the first press to print Lao script was established only in the late 1930s, although a press in Paris had been printing texts in Lao būhān script since 1906. After World War II, organizations such as the Comité Littéraire Lao, the Ministère des Cultes, and the Bibliothèque nationale used photocopying to reproduce texts, whereas the revolutionary Neo Lao Haksat (Lao Patriotic Front) printed large editions of propaganda literature in cave presses until 1975.
[Cornell University Library,] The Book in Southeast Asia (1990)
H. Ginsburg, Thai Art and Culture: Historic Manuscripts from Western Collections (2000)
P. Herbert and A. Milner, eds., Southeast Asia: Languages and Literatures (1989)
D. E. U. Kratz, ed., Southeast Asian Languages and Literatures (1996)
S. F. McHale, Print and Power: Confucianism, Communism, and Buddhism in the Making of Modern Vietnam (2004)
E. Rhodes, The Spread of Printing, Eastern Hemisphere: India, Pakistan, Ceylon, Burma and Thailand (1969)
B. Siworaphot, Samut khoi (1999)