Due to some similarities in a few physical attributes and culture of certain people in Thailand and lots of Chinese, it is often assumed by many individuals that Thailand is Chinese. The assumption usually focuses on the fact that the people of Thailand are descendants of people that came from certain parts of China numerous centuries ago. But is this assumption true? Is Thailand Chinese?
As stated by The Culture Trip, China has a significant influence on Thailand, Thai culture, and Thai people, but it must be noted that Thailand is not Chinese. However, there is a theory that Thai people came from China, but many other historians have debunked it. The only certain thing is that we have Thai-Chinese whose ancestors came from China to Thailand a few centuries ago.
It is important to note that Thailand has numerous people from a wide range of ethnicities. Hence, the origins of these various people are quite different. In this article, we will shed light on the origins of Thailand and why the country is not Chinese.
Which ethnic groups make up Thailand?
Foremost, you should know that Thailand comprises millions of people from different ethnic groups. According to factsanddetails.com and other reliable sources, the population of Thailand is distributed as follows:
- Native Thai – 75 percent
- Ethnic Chinese – 14 percent
- Malay-speaking Muslims – 4 percent
- Khmers – 1.3 percent
- Karen – 1.3 percent
- Kui or Soai – 1.3 percent
- Pakistanis and Indians – 0.4 percent
Notably, many other foreigners that don’t claim the nativity of Thailand are living in the country.
Who are the Chinese of Thailand?
As shown above, ethnic Chinese people account for as many as 14% of the whole population of Thailand. Based on the information from Britannica.com, lots of immigrants came into the Land of Smiles in the mid-19th century from different Asian nations. This was because of the economic and political growth that the country witnessed during the period. The people that came from China settled in Thailand and had descendants over the following centuries.
The descendants of the people that came from China are considered to be the main Chinese in Thailand. The majority of these people consider themselves to be Thai-Chinese in reference to their Chinese origin. It should be noted that some of these people consider themselves to be only Thai, without any consideration for their Chinese ancestry.
The origin of Thailand
So, if Thailand is not Chinese, where did Thailand come from? What was the original habitation of the people of Thailand? These are important questions that lots of individuals often ask when trying to learn more about Thais. According to The Thailand Life, there are tons of controversies about the origin of Thailand’s people. Basically, some theories exist about where Thailand originated from. Unfortunately, the majority of these theories don’t have any sort of similarities.
So, let’s take a look at a few of the most popular theories about where Thais come from.
- Central China
According to some historians, the people of Thailand originally came from Central China. This theory was formulated by Terrien de L Couperie, a French linguist. He asserted after studying the ancient record of the Chinese people. This is because of some similarities in the linguistic patterns of the people of Thailand and China.
However, this theory has been debunked by numerous other historians. According to critics, La Couperie only got access to a replica of the history book of the people. Hence, the data in the book could be false. As a result of this, the theory that the people of Thailand came from Central China has been rejected by innumerable historians.
- South China
This theory was brought to life by A.R. Colquhoun, an English explorer. He noticed the similarities in the language, culture, and lifestyle of the people of Thailand and the people of the Nan Xiao Kingdom (Yunnan Province in China). Therefore, he concluded that the two people must be related.
Various other historians, explorers, etc. have also evaluated the theory. However, there is no unanimous conclusion about it. In other words, some people believe this theory whereas others have found reasons to debunk it.
- Mongolia
W.C. Dodd was an American missionary who lived in the Land of Smiles for more than 30 years. As stated by him, the Tai ethnolinguistic people were descendants of the Mung group that lived in the Altai Mountains.
A similar theory was suggested by Kun Vichit-Matra, a politician in Thailand. He agreed that the people came from the Altai Mountains but claimed that they came to present-day Thailand through means different from what W.C. Dodd proposed.
While this theory is supported by many people, there is still no proof for it.
- Indochina-Thailand
The Indochina-Thailand theory came from Paul King Benedict. After finding numerous similarities between the Tai language and the Kadai language, he concluded that the people must be related. Notably, the Kadai language is associated with southern China and is similar to some dialects in Indonesia. With this, Benedict noted that Tibetan-Burmese, Java-Malay, and Tai all came from a similar group known as Austronesian.
Benedict also explained different activities that could have taken place over the past centuries that led to the few differences between the various subgroups of Austronesian. Overall, the Indochina-Thailand origin theory of Benedict is more comprehensive than most other options. Nevertheless, many points have still been raised against the theory.
- Malay-Indonesia
Lastly, there is a Malay-Indonesian origin theory that is based on the similarities between the Java people and the Tai people. The theory was put forward by Somsak Punta-Sombun. He based his theory on the genetic similarities between these two groups.
However, the theory further cast doubt on the Chinese origin theories because of the differences in the genetics of the Chinese people and Tai group.
Conclusion
There are doubts about the specific place where Tai people came from, but it is almost certain that they didn’t come from China. Therefore, we can conclude that Thailand is not Chinese. However, there are some descendants of ancient Chinese immigrants who are now natives of Thailand.
