Editing Democracy Monument (section)

==Design==
The monument was designed by {{ill|Chitrasen Aphaiwong|th|หมิว อภัยวงศ์}}, an [[architect]] whose brother, [[Khuang Aphaiwong]], was a leading member of Phibun's government. The Italian sculptor [[Corrado Feroci]], who became a Thai citizen and used the Thai name Silpa Bhirasi from the Second World War on, initially to avoid Japanese military ire, executed the relief sculptures around the base of the monument. He also provided the main sculpting for the renowned Lady Mo monument in the northeast Thailand city of [[Nakhon Ratchasima]].

The building of the monument was highly unpopular at the time. Local residents and shopkeepers (mostly [[Thai Chinese|Chinese]]) were evicted from their homes and businesses with 60 days' notice. The widening of Ratchadamnoen Road to create a ceremonial boulevard involved cutting down hundreds of shade trees, a serious matter in the days before air conditioning, given Bangkok's torrid climate.

It was built by [[Christiani & Nielsen]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Møller |first1=Gregers |title=Christiani & Nielsen - a Danish legend lives on in Thailand |url=https://scandasia.com/1608-christiani-nielsen-a-danish-legend-lives-on-in-thailand/ |website=ScandAsia |accessdate=14 April 2020 |date=29 August 2002}}</ref>

===Design elements===
The focal point of the monument (Figure 1 below) is a carved representation of a [[palm-leaf manuscript]] box holding the [[Constitution of Thailand#1932 constitution|Thai Constitution of 1932]], on top of two golden [[Phan (tray)|offering bowl]]s above a round [[Turret (architecture)|turret]]. The constitution is symbolically guarded by four wing-like structures (Figure 2 below), representing the four branches of the [[Royal Thai Armed Forces|Thai armed forces]]—[[Royal Thai Army|army]], [[Royal Thai Navy|navy]], [[Royal Thai Air Force|air force]] and [[Royal Thai Police|police]]—which carried out the [[Siamese revolution of 1932|1932 coup]].

The wings are {{convert|24|m|ft|sp=us}} high, and this is also the radius of the base of the monument, marking the fact that the 1932 coup took place on 24 June. The central turret is {{convert|3|m|ft|sp=us}} high, representing the month of June, which is the third month of the traditional [[Thai lunar calendar|Thai calendar]]. There were originally 75 small [[cannon]] around the outer ring of the monument, representing the year of the coup, 2475 in the [[Buddhist calendar]]. The six gates of the turret represent the six proclaimed policies of the People Party: "independence, internal peace, equality, freedom, economy, and education."

Facing outwards from the base of two of the wings are fountains (Figure 3 below) in the form of [[Naga (mythology)|naga]], the protective snake creatures of [[Hinduism|Hindu]] and [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] mythology, although the sculptures resemble Western [[dragon]]s more than traditional naga sculptures. (Compare Figure 3 below with the image at the [[Naga (mythology)|Naga]] article.)
[[File:Monument of Democracy, Bangkok.jpg|thumb|The Monument of Democracy, Bangkok]]
The relief sculptures at the base of the monument are [[propaganda|propagandistic]] in their design. They depict the armed forces both as [[Knight|champion]]s of [[democracy]] and as the [[personification]] of the Thai people. In the version of events depicted in these sculptures, the coup of 1932 was carried out by a united and [[Idealism|idealistic]] Thai armed forces on behalf of the [[people]], and had both the intention and effect of making Thailand a democracy. In the reliefs, [[civilian]]s appear only as the grateful recipients of the [[hero]]ism and benevolence of the armed forces.

The panel titled "Soldiers Fighting for Democracy" (Figure 4 below), shows a heroic and united armed forces doing battle (it is not clear against whom) for "democracy". The panel titled "Personification of the People" (Figure 5 below), shows a soldier protecting the Thai people while they go about their civil pursuits. The mother with child at left is the only woman depicted anywhere at the Democracy Monument. The panel represents the view of the military regime in 1939 that the armed forces were ruling on behalf of the people.

The panel titled "Personification of Balance and Good Life" (Figure 6 below), represents the social ideology of the military regime. An allegorical figure representing the nation, seated in a Buddha-like posture (but not [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]] himself), holding a [[Lady Justice|sword and a set of scales]], representing the armed forces and [[justice]] respectively, sits in its center, flanked by figures representing (from left) [[sport]], [[education]], [[religion]], and the [[arts]]. The figure of "sport", a naked man with a [[shot put]], is wholly European in origin.

===Details===
<gallery class="center">
Image:PICT4835.JPG|Figure 1: A representation of box holding the Thai Constitution of 1932 sits on top of two [[Phan (tray)|golden offering bowls]] above a round turret.
Image:PICT4838.JPG|Figure 2: One of the four wing-like structures which guard the Constitution, representing the four branches of the Thai armed forces.
Image:PICT4839.JPG|Figure 3: One of the naga fountains at the base of two of the wing structures.
Image:PICT4836.JPG|Figure 4: Sculptural panel titled "Soldiers Fighting for Democracy"
Image:PICT4837.JPG|Figure 5: Sculptural panel titled "Personification of the People"
Image:PICT4834.JPG|Figure 6: Sculptural panel titled "Personification of Balance and Good Life"

</gallery>