Bones Around My Neck: The Life And Exile Of A Prince Provocateur
by Tamara Loos /
2016 / English / PDF
5.3 MB Download
Prince Prisdang Chumsai (1852–1935) served as Siam's first
diplomat to Europe during the most dramatic moment of Siam’s
political history, when its independence was threatened by
European imperialism. Despite serving with patriotic zeal, he
suffered irreparable social and political ruin based on rumors
about fiscal corruption, sexual immorality, and political
treason. In
Prince Prisdang Chumsai (1852–1935) served as Siam's first
diplomat to Europe during the most dramatic moment of Siam’s
political history, when its independence was threatened by
European imperialism. Despite serving with patriotic zeal, he
suffered irreparable social and political ruin based on rumors
about fiscal corruption, sexual immorality, and political
treason. InBones around My Neck
Bones around My Neck, Tamara Loos pursues the
truth behind these rumors, which chased Prisdang out of Siam. Her
book recounts the personal and political adventures of an
unwitting provocateur who caused a commotion in every country he
inhabited.Prisdang spent his first five years in exile from Siam
living in disguise as a commoner and employee of the British
Empire in colonial Southeast Asia. He then resurfaced in the
1890s in British Ceylon, where he was ordained as a Buddhist monk
and became a widely respected abbot. Foreigners from around the
world were drawn to this prince who had discarded wealth and
royal status to lead the life of an ascetic. His fluency in
English, royal blood, acute intellect, and charisma earned him
importance in international diplomatic and Buddhist circles.
Prisdang’s life journey reminds us of the complexities of the
colonial encounter and the recalibrations it caused in local
political cultures. His drama offers more than a story about
Siamese politics: it also casts in high relief the subjective
experience of global imperialism. Telling this history from the
vantage point of a remarkable individual grounds and animates the
historical abstractions of imperialism, Buddhist universalism,
and the transformation of Siam into a modern state.
, Tamara Loos pursues the
truth behind these rumors, which chased Prisdang out of Siam. Her
book recounts the personal and political adventures of an
unwitting provocateur who caused a commotion in every country he
inhabited.Prisdang spent his first five years in exile from Siam
living in disguise as a commoner and employee of the British
Empire in colonial Southeast Asia. He then resurfaced in the
1890s in British Ceylon, where he was ordained as a Buddhist monk
and became a widely respected abbot. Foreigners from around the
world were drawn to this prince who had discarded wealth and
royal status to lead the life of an ascetic. His fluency in
English, royal blood, acute intellect, and charisma earned him
importance in international diplomatic and Buddhist circles.
Prisdang’s life journey reminds us of the complexities of the
colonial encounter and the recalibrations it caused in local
political cultures. His drama offers more than a story about
Siamese politics: it also casts in high relief the subjective
experience of global imperialism. Telling this history from the
vantage point of a remarkable individual grounds and animates the
historical abstractions of imperialism, Buddhist universalism,
and the transformation of Siam into a modern state.
