Lecture by Dr. Wu Jingling in the 36th talk of the “Tan Lark Sye Lecture Series”
The 36th session of the Tan Lark Sye series lecture took place on 27th November 2024, featuring Dr. Wu Jingling, a postdoctoral researcher at the Southeast Asia Research Center of South China Normal University, as the guest speaker. Dr. Wu’s lecture, titled "Staple Food or Commodity? The Relationship Between Thai Rice and Nation-Building (1930s-1940s)," examined the complex interplay between Thai rice and the nation-building efforts of the era.
Dr. Wu, a scholar specializing in the history of Chinese communities in Southeast Asia, earned her Ph.D. in Chinese Studies from the National University of Singapore in 2020 and has published extensively in her field. In her talk, she explored the challenges Thailand faced during the turbulent 1930s and 1940s, a period of profound transformation and political instability. These challenges included the transition from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy, the emergence of a Thai-centred cultural and political identity that fuelled ethnic tensions, and the delicate task of maintaining national independence while navigating a colonial-dominated international landscape.
Central to this nation-building process was rice, Thailand’s most significant economic industry. Dr. Wu illustrated how rice served not only as a staple food but also as a crucial economic, cultural, and political resource, entangled with the nation’s socio-political and economic dilemmas. By examining rice’s roles as food, crop, and commodity, she shed light on its critical function in shaping the Thai nation-state during this formative period.
The lecture concluded with an engaging Q&A session, where the audience and moderator delved deeper into the topics of rice’s significance and the role of Chinese rice merchants in Thailand’s rice industry and nation-building efforts. The session was moderated by Asst. Prof. Dr. Lew Siew Boon of New Era University College.
