2. PROCESS OF RECEPTION
When the independent countries in the East like China, Japan and Thailand began to feel the pressure of the West, they realized the necessity of modernizing themselves after Western models.
In the modernization process, they had to face the problem of determining which part and to what extent of the Western culture, including law, they should receive, as well as what of their own culture they should retain. The problem sometimes led to bitter divisions of opinions in many countries, especially in China and Japan, where struggles between the conservative and progressive took place. As each country has cherished certain cultural traditions which its people feel obliged to retain at all costs, the problem was so much more serious.After the period of half a century, Japan proved to be the most successful country, and became counted among the most developed, while China, even after the great dislocation caused by political, economic and social upheavals, has still not succeeded in modernization. However, even in Japan which is said to have completed her modernization, the problems of reception of Western law and preservation of traditional culture have still remained. In order to solve the problem, the resounding motto given by one of the great reform leaders in the last decade of the Manchu Dynasty, Chang Chi-Tung, “Chinese learning for foundation, Western learning for application” sounds relevant even today. It probably represents a common consensus of the East.
As for Thailand, there were contradicting desires to preserve the national cultural tradition and at the same time to achieve an enormous progress. The most important personage representing the both desires was King Mongkut (1851–68). The King employed his great intellectual capacity and authority over the people to determine the course of the country. We are now proud to say that His Majesty succeeded in the task.
His philosophy in this matter was well expressed in his letter to Mrs. Anna H. Leonowens in 1862, who was invited to Thailand to work as a governess in the Royal Court for his children.“... And we hope that in doing your education on us and our children (whom Englishmen call inhabitants of a benighted land) you will do your best endeavour for knowledge of English language, science and literature, and not conversion to Christianity; as the followers of Buddha are mostly aware of the powerfulness of truth and virtue, as well as the followers of Christ, and are desirous to have facility of English language and literature more than new religions.”
(Leonowens, 1870: V-VI).
It is to be noticed that the word “religion” means national culture in the cultural context of Thailand. The concern to retain national culture as expressed by the King is agreed to in general as an idea highly beneficial to Thailand, allowing modernization to proceed smoothly without disruptive violence. A real modernization was carried out during the reign of King Rama V (1868–1910). In a German encyclopaedia, Thailand under his reign was depicted as follows:
“The progressive-minded King created a modern army and navy, built the railway system, established ocean-going shipping lines, and turned his kingdom into a modern state in all respects like any European state without blindly imitating the European institutions. As such, even though Thailand did not introduce the constitution or the representative government, it had to be accepted that Thailand was one of the best governed states in the world. This was because the King had performed all the moral duties required of him in accordance with the ideal of an Oriental monarch.” (Ploetz, 1960: 971)