Kulap Saipradit

Kulap Saipradit กุหลาบ สายประดิษฐ์
Born	(1906-03-31)31 March 1906 Bangkok,Siam
Died	16 June 1974(1974-06-16)(aged 68) Beijing,China
Pen name	Siburapha ศรีบูรพา
Occupation	Writer
Nationality	Thai
Signature

Kulap Saipradit(Thai:กุหลาบ สายประดิษฐ์; 31 March 1906 – 16 June 1974), better known by thepen nameSiburapha(Thai:ศรีบูรพา;also romanized asSriburaphaorSri Burapha), was a newspaper editor and one of the foremostThainovelistsof his time. He was a vocal activist for human rights and because of this, he ran afoul of the authorities and was jailed for more than four years. He spent the last 16 years of his life in exile in China.

Biography

Education and early career

Portrait of Kulap

Born inBangkok,Kulap studied atDebsirin,a school for students from wealthier families. Kulap himself did not come from a wealthy family. His father died when he was very young, and his mother, a dressmaker, and sister, a classical dancer, worked hard to fund his education.

In 1928, he wrote three novels. Two of them,A Real Man(Luk Phu Chai) andThe War of Life(Songkram Chiwit), stood out. By 1929, Kulap had gathered his friends into a publishing group known as Suphapburut ( "The Gentlemen" ). Under Kulap's leadership, the group went into journalism.

In 1934, Kulap spent three months in retreat as abhikkhu(Buddhist monk). He wrote a religious novel,Facing Sin(Phajon Barb). The following year, he marriedChanid Priyacharnkun.She later became the translator of three ofJane Austen's novels under the pen name "Juliet", and helped him to translatePoolbyW. Somerset Maughamas well asAnton Chekhov'sIn ExileandMaxim Gorky'sMother.

In early 1936, Kulap was forced to resign from his work as a journalist. Late that year, he went to study in Japan, and upon his return, he wroteThe Jungle of Life(Pa Nai Chiwit), and his romantic masterpieceBehind the Painting(Khang Lang Phap). Both stories were serialised in 1937.Behind the Paintingwas adapted as a film twice, in 1985 by directorPiak Posterand in 2001 by directorCherd Songsri.

In 1939, Kulap began writing journalistic articles again. He and his group restarted Suphapburut, which had been closed earlier. In 1944 and 1945, Kulap was elected president of the Thai Newspaper Association. In late 1947, he and his wife Chanid left Thailand for two years, and travelled to Australia where he studiedpolitical science.On his return, he started apublishinghouse to publish his own works and those of his friends' in cheap editions. He also wrote several books, includingTill We Meet Again(Chon Kwa Rao Cha Phop Kan Ik).

Jailed, exile

In 1951, during the second premiership of dictatorial Field MarshalPlaek Phibunsongkhram,Kulap set up the Peace Foundation of Thailand. The following year, he protested against theKorean War.He also demanded the lifting of presscensorship.When he went to distribute food and blankets to the needy inIsan,he was among more than one hundred "agitators" arrested on 10 November 1952. Accused of treason and sentenced to about 14 years in jail, he was freed in February 1957 to celebrate the advent of the 25th Buddhist century. During his years in jail, Kulap wrote the first two volumes of an unfinished trilogyLooking Ahead(Lae Pai Khang Na).

In 1958, Kulap headed a delegation of writers to China. While he was attending an Afro-Asian Writers' Conference inTashkent,there was a coup in Thailand and all members of Kulap's delegation were arrested and jailed on their return. Faced with the same fate, Kulap chose to remain in China where he led the life of a "democratic personality" in exile. He lectured onThai literatureatPeking University.He also contributed to the Afro-Asian Solidarity Front's cultural activities and to the Thai service of China's broadcasting radio. He died in China of complications resulting frompleurisyon 16 June 1974.

Kulap's son, Surapan, was married to Wanee, the daughter ofPridi BanomyongandPoonsuk Banomyong.Kulap's 100th Centenary Celebration, organised by the Thai Writers' Association and the Thai National Commission forUNESCO,was held in Bangkok from 14 to 15 December 2005. Kulap's wife, Chanid, died on 15 June 2010. The following year, on 28 July, Surapan Saipradit died from cancer at the age of 72.

Legacy

TheSriburapha Award,an annual award given for excellence in writing, journalism, and the arts, is named in his honor.

Partial list of works

Novels

• Chao Hua Chai(จ้าวหัวใจ; 1924)
• Khom Sawat Bat Chit(คมสวาทบาดจิต; 1924)
• Luk Phu Chai(ลูกผู้ชาย; 1928)
• Prap Phayot(ปราบพยศ; 1928)
• Man Manut(มารมนุษย์; 1928)
• Lok Sanniwat(โลกสันนิวาส; 1928)
• Hua Chai Pratthana(หัวใจปรารถนา; 1928)
• Amnat Chai(อำนาจใจ; 1930)
• Saen Rak Saen Khaen(แสนรักแสนแค้น; 1930)
• Songkhram Chiwit(สงครามชีวิต; 1932; based on Dostoyevsky'sБедные люди[Poor Folk])
• Phachon Bap(ผจญบาป; 1934)
• Sing Thi Chiwit Tongkan(สิ่งที่ชีวิตต้องการ; serialized 1935, compiled 1939)
• Khang Lang Phap(ข้างหลังภาพ; 1937)
  • Translated asBehind the Paintingby David Smyth in 1990.Review by Tony Waters at Ethnography.com
• Pa Nai Chiwit' (ป่าในชีวิต; serialized 1937-1938, compiled 1988)
• Chon Kwa Rao Cha Phop Kan Ik(จนกว่าเราจะพบกันอีก; 1950)
• Lae Pai Khang Na(แลไปข้างหน้า; two volumes, 1955 and 1957, first published together in 1975)

Collected short stories

• Kham Khan Rap(คำขานรับ)
• Kho Raeng Noi Thoe(ขอแรงหน่อยเถอะ)

Poetry

• Atchayakon Phu Ploi Nok Phirap(อาชญากรผู้ปล่อยนกพิราบ)
• Phalang Prachachon(พลังประชาชน)

Non-fiction

• Khaphachao Dai Hen Ma(ข้าพเจ้าได้เห็นมา; 1931)
• Kan Mueang Khong Prachachon(การเมืองของประชาชน; 1957, under the pen nameItsarachon[อิสสรชน])
• Pai Sahaphap Sowiat(ไปสหภาพโซเวียต; 1958)
• Manutsayaphap(มนุษยภาพ)
• Bueang Lang Kan Patiwat 2475(เบื้องหลังการปฏิวัติ ๒๔๗๕)
• Du Nak Sueksa Mo Tho Ko Duay Waen Khao(ดูนักศึกษา ม.ธ.ก. ด้วยแว่นขาว)

Translations

• PoolbySomerset Maugham,translated asSa Sawat(สระสวาท)
• In ExilebyAnton Chekhov,translated asKhao Thuk Bangkhap Hai Pen Khun Chon(เขาถูกบังคับให้เป็นขุนโจร)
• MotherbyMaxim Gorky,translated asMae(แม่)

Further reading

• Smyth, David A.(1984)."Sībūraphā and Some Ups and Downs in a Literary Career".Paper presented to the International Conference on Thai Studies, Bangkok, 22–24 August.
• Smyth, David A. (1987)."The Later Short Stories of Sībūraphā".In Jeremy H. C. S. Davidson (ed.),Laī Sū’ Thai: Essays in Honour of E. H. S. Simmonds,pp. 98–115. London: School of Oriental and African Studies.
• Smyth, David A. (1988).A Study of the Major Fiction of Kulāp Sāipradit (pseud. 'Sībūraphā').Unpublished doctoral dissertation, School of Oriental and African Studies.
• Smyth, David A. (2019).Kulap Saipradit ('Sriburapha'): Journalist and Writer in Early 20th Century Siam.Bangkok: White Lotus Press.ISBN9789748434711.