Kulap Saipradit
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Kulap Saipradit (Thai กุหลาบ สายประดิษฐ์, pen name Siburapha ศรีบูรพา, 31 March 1905 – 16 June 1974) was one of the best newspaper editors and foremost Thai novelists of his time. He studied at Thepsirin, a school for students from wealthier families in Bangkok. He was a progressive thinker when Thailand was under the dictatorial regime of Field Marshal Phibun Songkhram. He was also a fighter for peace, justice and human rights, and paid for it by losing his job time and again. Kulap spent more than four years in jail, and the last 16 years of his life in exile.
In 1928, he wrote three novels. Two of them, A Real Man (Luuk Phuu Chai) and The War of Life (Songkram Jiwit), 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 a Buddhist monk. He wrote a religious novel, Facing Sin (Phajon Barb). The following year, he married Chanid Priyacharnkun. She later became the translator of three of Jane Austen's novels under the pen name "Juliet", and helped him to translate Pool by Somerset Maugham as well as Anton Chekov's In Exile and Maxim Gorky's Mother.
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 wrote The Jingle of Life (Pa Nai Jiwit), and his romantic masterpiece Behind the Painting (Khang Lang Phap). Both stories were serialised in 1937. Behind the Painting was adapted as a film twice, in the 1970s by director Piak Poster and in 2001 by director Cherd Songsri.
In 1939, Kulap began writing journalistic articles again. He and his group re-started 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 in Australia where he studied political science. On his return, he started a publishing house to publish his own works and those of his friends' in cheap editions. He also wrote several books, including Till We Meet Again (Jon Kwa Rao Ja Phop Kan Eek).
In 1951, Kulap set up the Peace Foundation of Thailand. The following year, he protested against the Korean War. He also demanded the lifting of press censorship. When he went to distribute food and blankets to the needy in Northeast Thailand, 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 trilogy Looking Ahead (Lae Pai Khang Na).
In 1958, Kulap headed a delegation of writers to China. While he was attending an Afro-Asian Writers' Conference in Tashkent, 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 on Thai literature at Peking 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 from pleurisy on 16 June 1974.
Kulap's 100th Centenary Celebration, organised by the Thai Writers' Association and the Thai National Commission for UNESCO, was held in Bangkok from 14 to 15 December 2005.
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Kulap Saipradit |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Siburapha |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Thai novelist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 31 March 1905 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bangkok, Thailand |
| DATE OF DEATH | 16 June 1974 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | China |
