Language and Culture in Harmony: Buddhist and Chinese Heritage Reflected in Wat Pho’s Stone Figurines

Through analysis of the literature titled Chinese Stone Figurines of Wat Pho (CSFW), the study employed a descriptive approach, focusing on both prose and poetry. The literature consists of prose passages and a total of 30 verses (bot) of poetry in the Klong Dan style. The objectives of this research were to analyze the linguistic features used in the CSFW, and to investigate how Chinese culture and its values are reflected in this literature within the context of Thailand. It was found that the poetic compositions are notable through the use of rhyme, wordplay, similes and multilingual vocabulary including Pali-Sanskrit, Khmer, Chinese, and English. In particular, Chinese language elements appear in both transliterated Thai form and original Chinese script, emphasizing the cultural context. Regarding the reflection of Chinese culture, four key cultural dimensions were identified: 1) conceptual beliefs including elements of Taoism, Confucianism, and Mahayana Buddhism reflecting Chinese views on fate and spirituality 2) social organization represented through depictions of the Chinese hierarchical system including nobility and caste structures 3) cultural practices illustrated through traditional customs such as the clothing styles of nobles, monks and dancers and 4) material and symbolic culture classified into 1) tangible objects such as Chinese pagodas and sculpted figures, and 2) symbolic elements, most notably the use of the Chinese language.