Abstract
The identity of Thai temples in Malaysia is disappearing, as the temples display more Chinese art than Thai.Thus, this research aims to investigate the patterns in Chinese art and the conditions that support the appearanceof Chinese art within Thai temples. Chinese art appears within these temples in their sculptures of Buddha,pavilions, and walls. The conditions supporting the appearance of Chinese art include 1) the need for funds toconstruct new temples; 2) the abilities of pastors who can speak Chinese and English and are interested in artfrom various countries; and 3) the eastern coast of Malaysia being a place where many people of Chinesedescent settled. Chinese people were not able to purchase land easily due to state laws; thus, they had to use Thaitemples as places to preserve their identity by constructing Chinese art within the temple.
Highlights
Chinese culture has been found in Malaysia since the 15th century (Khin & Huat, 2005)
Chinese art frequently appears in Thai temples, when situated in places where the Chinese community is in the minority, especially close to the Thai border in Northern Malaysia, where many Thais settled
This resulted in the cultural accumulation between Chinese and Thai culture in the temple. Both the Siamese and Chinese populations used the temple as a space to create a network among the minorities. This result has conformed to the findings of Horstmann (2004) that Kelantan Thais are balance their alliances between the rural and urban Chinese to cope with economic problems under growing Islamzation and Kataoka’s study (2012), which states that Buddhist can absorb the attendents of Chinese temples into the category of Buddhism to maintain the uniform image of Thai Buddhism
Summary
Chinese culture has been found in Malaysia since the 15th century (Khin & Huat, 2005) This appearance has been seen in everyday life through Malaysia’s faith, art, architecture, clothing, and food. Chinese art frequently appears in Thai temples, when situated in places where the Chinese community is in the minority, especially close to the Thai border in Northern Malaysia, where many Thais settled. This suggestion has been supported by a study by Ismail (1994) finding that Siamese temples typically had a statue of Quan Yin situated within them. Belief in Quan Yin is limited amongst Thais, Thai temples had to have these statues because the temples needed the support of the Chinese community
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