The 1971 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts

BIOGRAPHY of Prayoon Chanyavongs

The use of editorial cartoons in the daily press in the West is a latter 19th century phenomenon since daily newspapers themselves emerged only slightly earlier. Political or editorial cartoons came later to Asia where there was less participatory democracy, less widespread literacy and therefore few newspapers. In Thailand the first cartoonist was the king himself, King Vajiravudh, also known as Rama VI, who ruled from 1910 to 1925. He had been educated at Oxford University in England where he became familiar with this art form. He drew caricatures of his courtiers for the court magazine Dusit Samit. Other early cartoonists were Thanya Uttakanon, "who drew strong, spicy cartoons," and Sawat Chutarop who introduced the "comic strip," or serial cartoon stories. The work of these and other Thai and foreign cartoonists of the 1920s and 1930s captured the fancy of PRAYOON CHANYAVONGS during his secondary school days; cartoon drawing that began then as an absorbing extracurricular activity became his zestful career and was to earn him repute as Thailand's leading commentator in cartoons.

PRAYOON says, "I was born to a very simple family. . .I have no pedigree. I am a very simple man. My mother and father were simple people." He also adds, "I have no skeletons in my cupboard." His family name, CHANYAVONGS, is "about 70 years old" and was given by the amphoe (district) authorities during the reign of Rama VI when by royal decree all families had to have surnames. His parents met as boat-hawkers on the klongs of Bangkok, canals famous for their "floating markets;" his father, Prasong, peddled plu (the climbing pepper leaf wrapped around betel nut and widely chewed as a stimulant masticatory in South and Southeast Asia) and his mother, Riab, peddled fruits. The youngest of their four children, he was born on November 17, 1915 in Banglumpoo district near the popular, central Yod Market of Bangkok, where his parents had rented a chophouse for a grocery and fruit shop on the ground floor, and living quarters for the family upstairs. PRAYOON was not yet three years old when he began helping, selling fruit on the sidewalk in front of the shop. However, whenever he could get away he and a friend roamed and played in the market. He was four when he was picked up in the market one day by Kru (teacher) Niam, who took off PRAYOON’s trousers, put him in rags and made him beg. He vividly remembers the shame he felt when he was given a bowl of food by an old woman vendor, and Kru Niam's admonition that he would grow up like a beggar if he did not begin to learn. From this teacher—who had been a court seer and lived at the nearby wat (temple)—PRAYOON had his first schooling.

His father, meanwhile, changed his livelihood from greengrocer to the more profitable one of owner of first one, and finally four, officially approved opium dens in Banglumpoo and at three other locations. There were at the time some 100 opium dens in the city and the adjoining suburb of Thon Buri which purchased opium from the government monopoly and were subject to regular inspection and heavy tax. With his family's new affluence PRAYOON, at the age of six was enrolled in the French section of the most prestigious school in Bangkok, Assumption College in Bangrak, where he completed grades one and two. Tuition was 87 (one baht, then known as tical, equaled 44 U.S. cents) per month, transportation by horse cart cost B30 per month, and food cost a similar amount.

PRAYOON was eight when his father died, a loss sorely felt by him and his remaining family, both emotionally and financially. His eldest brother had already married and left home and his only sister had died of diphtheria at the age of three. His second brother found a job in the Excise Department in order to support the family, but, says PRAYOON, "my mother could not control and feed me like before when my father was alive so we went to live with my grandparents." From their home along the bank of the Chao Phya River just north of Wat Somkliang he continued third grade in the very small Wat Thepnari School, located on the opposite bank in Thon Buri. Tuition there was only B1.50 a month, transport was free in river boats of friends and he spent only two to three satang a day (100 satang to 1 baht) on a snack to supplement the lunch he brought from home. He completed his fourth and last primary grade at Kingpong Witayamul private school.

At home he was learning other lessons by example. His grandparents had a then fair income of B2 a day and his grandmother always had money to lend and she unfailingly helped the neighboring Wat Somkliang. She taught PRAYOON to shop in the market for ingredients and under her tutelage he prepared more than 20 simple dishes each day for the monks. Living modestly and always giving became a way of life. This experience, and his early years in Banglumpoo, engendered in him the feel for people, particularly people who live a crowded, precarious existence, which is manifest in all his associations—personal, professional and civic.

In 1927 PRAYOON enrolled at the government Wat Rajathiwat Secondary School and graduated in 1933. This school offered only the first six secondary grades which qualified students to "take any job." For the last two secondary grades, which qualified students to enter university and professional training, it was necessary to change to a higher school.

Aware that the government waived school tuition fees for students who for three years came every day to school on time and studied well, PRAYOON maintained a perfect three-year record at Wat Rajathiwat, winning a bronze medal and free tuition for the next three years. He contracted malaria during 1931-1932 but did not miss class; he brought the medicine he had to take and asked the teacher to allow him to nap when he had a fever. His goad was the realization that he would have to quit school if he did not earn his tuition by attendance and diligence. Having repeated his perfect record for the second three years, he won a silver medal and further free tuition.

For his seventh and eighth secondary grades he transferred to the science section of Wat Benjamabopit School, and although he failed his examinations both years and had to repeat them, he nevertheless earned a gold medal at the end of his ninth year for perfect attendance. He eventually graduated at age 19. During his early secondary school years he had tried hard to learn, and drew cartoons only in his spare time, but at Wat Benjamabopit School he spent 90 percent of his time drawing cartoons and only 10 percent of his tine learning. He frequently used his lunch money to buy foreign comic books, filling up on water to quench his hunger. When he kicked the football with his friends during the lunch hour he could, he says, feel the water "gurgling in my empty stomach." He does not regret such experiences, however: "My being poor made me very strong, made me work seriously."

Upon graduation his mother and friends tried to persuade him to enroll in military or police cadet school where a science student from Wat Benjamabopit School stood a good chance of being accepted. But PRAYOON’s heart had long been set on being a cartoonist. He applied instead to be an artist in the advertising section of the Railways Department. He was turned down on the grounds that he did not carry an artist certificate but was advised by the recruiting officer to accept a job as weighing clerk at the freight office in Bangkoknoi, Thon Buri, with the chance of being appointed an artist later.

After weighing and loading cargo onto trains from 5 to 8 a.m. he was expected to do bookkeeping until he went home at 4 p.m. Fresh from school and good at arithmetic, PRAYOON was able to close his books before 10 a.m. and spend the rest of his work hours drawing—until his boss noticed and gave him more work to do. PRAYOON thought it unfair that he was given more work as a result of being fast. He found the work dull and saw no chance of transfer to become an advertising artist so he quit after six months.

In 1934 the first of his cartoons to be published appeared in Dao Nakorn (Star of the City) and he continued drawing cartoons for this newspaper for three years. Most cartoons he submitted to other newspapers and magazines were turned down and he was paid little for chose that were published. Looking back on those cartoons he says he well understands why they were rejected: "My first cartoons were just too horrible for anyone to accept."

In 1937 PRAYOON had his chance, as he puts it, to "position myself in the newspaper world first." A group of journalists had formed Prachamit (Friend of the People), the first bona fide newspaper in Thailand and one whose management is credited with setting high standards for modern Thai newspapers. The paper sold for 5 satang per copy and soon enjoyed a circulation of over 3,000 which was good business in that day. As headline writer PRAYOON received 50 satang per headline and was well satisfied to earn some 815 a week. Fifteen kilos of first grade rice then cost B2 and a man with a salary of B20 per month could support a family of four.

In 1938 the Prachamit team established a second newspaper, Supab Burut (Gentlemen). PRAYOON was elated to be appointed comic serial writer. He chose the likay style for his comic series because this folk musical drama form, using only male characters (except in royal palaces), was very popular among Thais of all callings. His signature character he named Suklek (meaning happy, good fellow)—an appealing, small Peter Pan type of comic figure with a jaunty feather in the band around his head and a sword in one hand.

He first popularized Suklek in the personality of Chantakorob, an epic hero who was given a box by a yogi he met in the forest, opened it before the appointed time, and died. In PRAYOON’s series the yogi brought Suklek back to life and invested him with humor and keen perceptions on politics and the society. Public reception was so enthusiastic that Supab Burut achieved a base-selling circulation of more than 10,000 in the first month and in the second month sales rose to a record 12,000. Paid B2 for each comic strip of four drawing blocks, PRAYOON prospered with the paper.

The popularity of PRAYOON’s comic cartoons has not waned and Suklek has become a warm, familiar figure of modern Thai lore. As Prachamit and other newspapers began to carry PRAYOON’s cartoons he adapted most traditional Thai verse drama into long serial comics with his alter ego Suklek—sometimes in the guise of Rama or other heroes—always the champion of moral behavior.

In 1940 PRAYOON’s concern for the problems of the poor and his efforts to improve their situation and to curtail the abuses of powerful politicians led him to stand for election to the Bangkok Municipal Council in the Dusit District. He won by a comfortable majority a three-year term which became a six-year term when no election was held during wartime. He faithfully attended council meetings and studied the city problems on the agenda, but was disappointed by the lack of accomplishment. Since then his political energies have had their outlet only through his cartoons, where he alternates comments on agriculture, housekeeping, hygiene and daily living, with political satire.

When Japanese forces occupied Thailand at the beginning of the Pacific phase of World War II in 1941, PRAYOON joined the underground Free Thai Movement resisting the occupation. He lived near Bangkok's Don Muang airport and on one memorable occasion saw a British combat plane shot down by the Japanese during a raid and the pilot bail out onto a field and run to hiding in the adjoining cemetery. Thai witnesses, taking all attackers to be the enemy, were flocking, weapons in hand, to assault the pilot when PRAYOON stopped them and shouted in English, "Come quick to the Thai rescuers before the Japanese get you. We are Thai underground fighters and not your enemy." The pilot emerged from his hiding place and PRAYOON arranged to take him to safe custody at Thammasat University just as the Japanese arrived on the scene from a speedboat on the nearby canal. After the war he refused to accept credit or repayment for his services in the movement: "I told them, this is my duty."

In the initial year of the war his comic strips and cartoons were a big attraction in the five newspapers—Prachamit, Nikorn (Citizen), Suwannabhum (Golden Land), Thai Seri (Free Thai) and Supab Burut. Even though newsprint was severely restricted his material was always carried. The newsprint shortage had become so acute by 1942, however, that PRAYOON felt he should find another livelihood and decided to take up mackerel fishing with a trawler. The venture was shortlived. He had to cease operation after only six months for "lack of management flair;" he explains with engaging candor that he allowed his 50-man crew to draw advance wages up to 10 months!

He returned to drawing cartoons until the last year of the war when the Free Thai group disbanded and he was elected editor of the daily Ayudhya (the name of the old capital meaning invincible), the office of which was the meeting place of the former Free Thai reserves. This paper stopped publication after one year but, because his cartoons had a large public following, PRAYOON was never unemployed. The Thai Phanichyakarn Company which owned several newspapers immediately offered him editorship of Siam Samai (Modern Siam), their weekly magazine, a position he has held since 1948. From this publication alone he accepts a regular salary—since he is editor as well as cartoonist.

As a matter of principle PRAYOON has refused to become a salaried cartoonist, citing both his desire for complete freedom of expression and his unwillingness to accept money unless he produces. Instead he sells his cartoons individually, a newspaper having the option of buying or not; he himself is therefore free to say what he will. As a freelancer, he says, "I belong to every newspaper," adding, "no one can give me any orders under any circumstances."

PRAYOON produces two to four cartoons a day, usually keyed to a specific paper's readership—urban or rural, foreign or Thai, the intelligentsia or the working class. He often gives his cartoons to struggling newspapers without payment; he charges rich newspapers the going rate. In spite of this independent attitude, none of the five major papers in which he appears—the English language Bangkok Post, or the Thai language Siam Rath (Siam State), Thai Rath (Thai State), Siam Rath Weekly Review and Sunday Chat Thai (Thai Nation)—will refuse cartoons of PRAYOON whose following far surpasses their combined circulations.

Always looking at society from the viewpoint of a humanitarian, PRAYOON fights graft and corruption in high places and defends the public and the poor. His barbs are aimed at the evil or weakness he is attacking, not at the person, and his pen is dipped in humor, not in bile. As a result his cartoons are "the most popular with all readers of both sexes, of all ages, and . . . the biggest daily attraction" of these papers. People are known to greet each other on the streets with: "Did you see what PRAYOON said today?"

As a result of this approach, PRAYOON says: "I have been drawing cartoons for nearly forty years, but I have never received any punishment from the government because I do not do this to make enemies of the government or anyone. I criticize any situation. I criticize myself, my colleagues, every newspaper in Bangkok," but always with humor and basic goodwill. "I try to wake them up wisely—to make them do good." His cartoons are a "reminder or warning given in a polite, respectful manner" and a mirror reflecting society so that society and individuals can see their errors and change their ways.

When asked how successful he has been in instigating change, PRAYOON reflects that a few years back he persuaded a prime minister to change his mind about tearing down the Victory Monument in downtown Bangkok in order to turn it into a "tomb of an unknown soldier." He drew a cartoon of the ghost of a Thai soldier begging him to leave the Victory Monument alone—and he did.

However PRAYOON’s four-year protest against officials using government vehicles for private business has yet to bear fruit. Philosophically he reminds himself that he is only one person and that he must keep his importance in perspective.

PRAYOON’s importance in the world of political cartoonists, however, is firmly established. In 1960 he won first prize in the "International Cartoon for Peace Competition" organized by the People to People, Cartoonist Committee. The People to People organization was launched by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 to "improve international understanding on a private, non-political basis." The idea for a cartoonists' competition arose after several internationally-known American cartoonists visited Europe and Asia in 1958 and talked with their foreign colleagues. It was widely agreed that recognition should be given individuals who influence millions of people daily through their political cartoons. The competition was open to cartoonists of all nationalities and political persuasion. Three hundred entries were received from over 30 nations. PRAYOON submitted three cartoons in order, he says, to show that small countries have cartoonists equal in talent to those of large countries. Finalists from seven countries were selected and the cartoon by PRAYOON entitled "The Last Nuclear Test," showing the world itself split asunder, was judged the best.

Competition judges included cochairmen of the committee Milton Caniff and Al Capp; U.S. senators John Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey; the publishers of Life and Look; William Randolph Hearst, editor-in-chief of the Hearst papers; and the presidents of Columbia Broadcasting System and the Motion Picture Association of America. The award stated that the Committee felt PRAYOON’s work had "contributed substantially to international understanding and the resultant consciousness of the identity of people and their desire for permanent peace." Included in the award was a visit to the United States to accept the honor at a White House reception. PRAYOON declined to appear in Washington and later received his award in Thailand at the American Embassy. "A great honor of his life" soon followed when PRAYOON was called for a private audience with King Bhumipol.

PRAYOON does not drink, play the lottery, or attend nightclubs, because he feels that as an editorial cartoonist he must be untainted and must not associate with those whose actions he attacks. One must "guard one's conduct according to what one criticizes in others," PRAYOON says, otherwise one would be "like an evil spirit with a Bible in its mouth." Practicing what he draws, he exemplifies the ideal political cartoonist as deemed by Bruce Russell, American Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. A cartoonist, writes Russell, is "a person generally of good moral character and versed in ethics sufficiently to qualify the expression of such principles in his cartoons." Russell believes that the editorial cartoonist "is a public servant as much as an elected official," that he is an ethical or moral force, and that by constant repetition more than by individual cartoons, he influences his readers and helps instill in them his own standards and ideology.

PRAYOON adds that a cartoonist must have common sense and a concern for decency and fair play. He doesn't think he should be exempt from the laws of either good taste or libel. Vulgarity has no place in PRAYOON’s repertoire, but a little "naughtiness," he finds, adds spice. Like all topflight cartoonists, he is concerned with the long range welfare of his people, his country and the world.

The number of PRAYOON’s cartoons is so great that the collection of his original works is estimated to weigh over three tons. He has arranged for it to go to the National Library on his death, just as he arranged for his eyes to go to the eye bank and his body to medical research—donating everything to the use of others.

Besides his political cartoons, PRAYOON is known for his serial cartoons based on Thai folk stories and legends that he now draws particularly for the people of the provinces. Although not really for children, they are told with such simplicity of language and clarity of meaning that they can be understood by anyone over age 10. "In Thai we have many stories and we have come to put them in cartoons and add funny things to that story." Some stories are 500 years old. He elaborates on them in an amusing fashion to guide his readers, rather than to instruct.

PRAYOON’s versatility is such that he often captions these cartoons with verse. He believes poetry is easier to understand and remember than prose and he writes excellent verse. Presently he is doing a serial based on the Thai classic, "Krai Thong" (the name of the hero in the story who fights with the crocodile), which is being published daily in Thai Rath. A collection of his verse-captioned cartoons is published as "Daily Wanderings."

These and his satirical works, plus evocative portrayals of everyday events and happenings in Thai life, reveal PRAYOON’s broad-gauged concern for his people. A result has been his appointment to civic groups, ranging from the Red Cross Eye Bank, Siriraj Hospital Foundation, the Herb Society, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Thai Health Committee, to a committee judging children's drawings for a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) international exhibition.

PRAYOON previously was reluctant to appear in public. He felt that he had already exposed himself enough through his cartoons. More specifically, he did not want his face recognized because then he could no longer move freely, observing and talking with people.

He has frequently been asked to speak on cartoon drawing, and when he has agreed, he has attracted large, fascinated audiences. For awhile he taught cartooning, drawing and illustration and shared his experiences in agriculture at a Thai university. Modestly insisting that he was only a teacher, not a professor, he quit when the university tried to bestow the latter title on him. Nevertheless he is willing to teach what he knows of drawing to anyone who comes to him seriously desiring to learn.

In recent years he has found that his national following and celebrity give him the opportunity to "talk good simple common sense of what is good for the society" to other attentive audiences. Several times each week he speaks, sits in on panel discussions, or attends seminars, meetings and conferences—government and private, both in Bangkok and in the provinces. These discussions may involve students, adults, veterans or village scouts and cover such diverse fields as agriculture, environment and national security. To country people he speaks about food preservation and first aid that can be administered at home. He tells medical students how people need and feel about doctors, agricultural students what farmers need, and children how to care for and feed animals, especially goats, and how to take their milk.

These contacts with people take precious time but also give him insights and exposures that contribute to his work. Since a political cartoon is actually an editorial, and a picture is said to be worth 10,000 words, the cartoonist must be a news analyst, concisely evaluating events and presenting his editorial position in one clear captioned picture. PRAYOON allots a period each day—up to 16 hours on occasion to catch up—for reading newspapers, listening to the radio and drawing. He is determined not to let his work grow stale and grow old simply because he does. Asked when he might retire, this 55-year old, who has suffered one serious heart attack, responded that he would "break his brush" when he finds that his "ability to draw drops."

PRAYOON’s cartoons are quintessentially Thai. Because of the very nature of the Thai press, where papers are owned by specific political, military and economic interests, cartoonists must be subtle, and subtlety is a highly appreciated Thai characteristic. At the same time, PRAYOON has an international outlook and has traveled extensively. He visited Europe, Asia and the Americas in 1960 and later returned to the United States to study animation at the Walt Disney studios in California on a six-month study grant extended through the American Embassy in Bangkok. Given a personal introduction to Walt Disney by King Bhumipol, he enjoyed his experience there immensely and would like to do a Disney-like series of cartoons on nature for Thai children.

In England he met and talked at length with David Low, famed British cartoonist, disagreeing with him on politics since he himself is a socialist, but admiring him as a master cartoonist. Two years ago he visited Australia and New Zealand at the invitation of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization. Wherever he travels he exchanges ideas with leaders in his field.

PRAYOON jealously guards his private life, as much as possible reserving evenings and early mornings for himself and his family. Married since 1946 to Boonlorm Pruks-siri, he has a son to whom he gave the happy name Suklek, and a daughter Sudrak. His son, aged 21, is married and now working and studying graphic arts in London, and his daughter, aged 14, has already decided to study communication arts at Chulalongkorn University. PRAYOON lives in an ordinary Thai house set in a two-acre orchard where he raises prize durian, choice mangoes and jackfruit, orchids, ornamental plants, rabbits and birds. He purchased the land so his family would have food if anything happened to him. "This is my happiness," he says of his family, his home and garden. "My heart is too happy all the time. I have a song inside."

In earlier years he welcomed to his home each weekday morning for two hours 10 to 20 children under school age to learn English and arithmetic and enjoy a sweet potato or sweet bean treat. He also taught them to swim and believes he "saved the lives of many children from the nearby wide canal."

Now he uses this time to carry out agricultural experiments—on manure, natural compost, and the raising of rare animals and plants. Successful results—as with meal worms for reptile and bird feed and crickets for fish feed—he quickly shares with others.

Several factors seem to motivate PRAYOON: his moral convictions, his compassion for the helpless and oppressed—particularly children, his self-confidence and his dedication to work. He laughs at the notion that he is a genius. His success, he says, "lies in impartiality, hard work and perseverance, sheer remorseless perseverance."

August 1971
Manila

REFERENCES:

Keomongkol, Chula. "Prayoon—Tops in His Art," Bangkok Post. November 22,1970.

"Local Editor Wins International Cartoon Contest Award," USIS, press release. Bangkok: United States Information Service. August 2, 1960.

Spencer, Richard. Editorial Cartooning. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State College. 1949.

Newspaper clippings of Prayoon's cartoons and interviews with and letters from colleagues and others knowledgeable about Prayoon's life and work.