韵文化：我求

Comment by Place Link on Saturday: 蘇軾·此心安處是吾鄉

「此心安處是吾鄉」，出自宋代大詞人蘇軾的《定風波·南海歸贈王定國侍人寓娘》：

常羨人間琢玉郎，天應乞與點酥娘。盡道清歌傳皓齒，風起，雪飛炎海變清涼。
萬裡歸來顏愈少，微笑，笑時猶帶嶺梅香。試問嶺南應不好，卻道：此心安處是吾鄉。

詞句注釋

（1）玉郎：是女子對丈夫或情人的愛稱，泛指男子青年。
（2）天應（yīnɡ）：上天的感應、顯應。
（3）皓齒：雪白的牙齒。
（4）炎海：喻酷熱。
（5）嶺：這裡指嶺南，即中國南方的五嶺之南的地區。梅香：梅花的香氣。
（6）試問：試著提出問題，試探性地問。應：應該。
（7）此心安處是吾鄉：這顆心安定的地方，便是我的故鄉。

白話譯文

常常羨慕這世間如玉雕琢般豐神俊朗的男子（指王定國），就連上天也憐惜他，贈予他柔美聰慧的佳人（指寓娘）與之相伴。人人稱道那女子歌聲輕妙，笑容柔美，風起時，那歌聲如雪片飛過炎熱的夏日使世界變得清涼。

你（指寓娘）從遙遠的地方歸來卻看起來更加年輕了，笑容依舊，笑顏裡好像還帶著嶺南梅花的清香；我問你：「嶺南的風土應該不是很好吧」你卻坦然答道：「心安定的地方，便是我的故鄉。」

創作背景

蘇軾（1037年—1101年）的好友王鞏（字定國，1048年—1118年）因為受到蘇軾「烏台詩案」牽連，被貶謫到地處嶺南荒僻之地的賓州（今廣西賓陽縣）。王定國受貶時，其歌妓柔奴毅然隨行到嶺南。公元1083年（元豐六年）王鞏北歸，請出柔奴（別名寓娘）為蘇軾勸酒。蘇軾問及廣南風土，柔奴答以「此心安處，便是吾鄉」。蘇軾聽後，大受感動，作此詞以贊。(百度百科)

Comment by Place Link on June 11, 2024 at 10:08pm: 古琴流派與城市文化品格~~2019年4月27日上午，由浙江省社科聯、杭州城市學研究理事會、杭州師范大學聯合主辦，杭州國際城市學研究中心（浙江省城市治理研究中心）承辦，杭州未來科技城管委會、杭州師范大學黨委宣傳部、杭州棋琴書畫研究院協辦的「浙江人文大講堂•未來講堂」第五講——「古琴流派與城市文化性格」在杭州城研中心209報告廳舉行。

浙派古琴代表性傳承人徐君躍從浙派古琴的歷史沿革、藝術風格、教學思想與方法以及新浙派古琴的傳承與發展等方面深入解讀了浙派古琴的「前世今生」。他說浙江曾是我國琴樂文化流佈的核心區域，尤其是在南宋時期。明代時期，以徐門琴風為主線生發而成的浙派琴脈，更使得浙地琴樂文化傳統源遠流長。浙派古琴藝術是杭州文化的重要支流，為杭州城市文化發展提供藝術滋養。同樣，浙派古琴藝術是高雅藝術的典型代表，以其清越舒暢、細膩蒼勁、質朴古雅的審美精神塑造著杭州城市的文化品格。浙派古琴代表曲目有《瀟湘水雲》、《流水》、《梅花三弄》等。

梅庵派傳承人劉善教介紹了「梅庵派」古琴的發展歷史、風格特征以及「梅庵派」對現代古琴教育、城市文化的貢獻。東南大學與梅庵派頗有淵源，東大校內著名建築梅庵是梅庵派古琴藝術的發祥地，也是東大藝術學院的教學場地。作為最年輕的古琴流派，「梅庵派」古琴與教育結合，不僅豐富了現代藝術教育，還促進了城市傳統文脈的延續。如今，「梅庵派」與南京這座城市相關聯，成為了南京高雅藝術的一種代表。「梅庵派」代表琴曲有《平沙落雁》、《長門怨》、《關山月》、《秋江夜泊》和《搗衣》等。

本期浙江人文大講堂·未來講堂在形式上不拘一格，既有講解，又含演奏。深入發掘高雅藝術，注重城市文化、城市品格培養，為廣大師生、科技工作者、社區居民以及古琴愛好者帶來了一場精彩的文化講座、一場絕妙的音樂盛宴。

徐君躍、劉善教兩位主講嘉賓在講解之後，撫動琴弦，分別演奏《流水》、《梅花三弄》、《憶故人》、《平沙落雁》、《長門怨》、《山居吟》等曲目，讓在座的聽眾如臨山水、如聞暗梅、如處大漠、如居山林。琴音「繞梁三日不絕於耳」，聽眾意猶未盡。

高雅藝術造就高品質城市

維也納又稱「音樂之都」，是一座用音樂裝飾出來的城市，它的風光景物、行雲流水，孕育了海頓、莫扎特、貝多芬、舒伯特、施特勞斯父子、勃拉姆斯等音樂巨人，給世人留下無數不朽的樂章；它的一草一木、一山一水、一磚一瓦，似乎都跳動著歡樂的音符，回蕩著迷人的旋律……動人的音樂無時無刻不在空中縈繞飄蕩，飄過美泉宮，飄過金色大廳，飄過多瑙河。數百年來，維也納吸引著數以千萬計的游客來這裡尋找世界音樂大師們的歷史足跡和藝術回音，音樂也因此成為了維也納這座城市的人文資源和獨特優勢，產生了不可估量的經濟、社會和文化價值，使維也納巍然屹立於世界城市之林。

杭州——古典與現代音樂融合的「音樂之城」。追溯千年，音樂早已鐫刻在杭州的基因上，流淌在杭州「血液」之中。良渚文化時期，音樂就已出現端倪。杭州音樂歷經魏晉南北朝、隋唐北宋、南宋、元、明、清、民國等時期，不僅種類得到了豐富，而且形式也發生了變化，從最早的「擊鼓、撫琴、吹篪、彈阮」到「雅樂、燕樂、嘌唱、小唱、說話、鼓子詞、諸宮調、傀儡戲、影戲、雜劇、細樂」，再到「地方戲曲劇種——杭劇」等等。總體上，杭州古代音樂突破了宮牆的束縛，實現了宮廷內外各類音樂藝術相互融通，發展了通俗化的戲曲、說唱等藝術門類。

傳承歷史、繼往開來。杭州還在現代交響樂的舞台上創新，打造了杭州愛樂樂團等「金名片」，探索了「院團+劇場」、「院團+電台、電視台」、「院團+華數」等發展模式。

音樂滋養著人們的心田，陶冶著人們的情操，抒發著人們的美好理想，豐富著人們的精神世界。建設「音樂之城」也是建設「高雅藝術」之城，不僅提升了城市品質，還對城市競爭力產生了重要的影響。截止2018年底，杭州全市共有劇場11家，劇團20家。當年度劇團演出觀眾人數505.42萬人次，文化創意產業增加值達3346.83億元。近十年來，杭州市文化創意產業值高速增長，逐漸為杭州國民經濟的重要支柱性產業。

結語

文化是一座城市的「根」與「魂」，是一座城市的識別符號。無論是維也納還是杭州都印證了高雅藝術對城市文化、城市品質的深刻影響。習近平總書記在主政浙江省期間就曾強調文化的力量，重視文化對城市經濟發展、城市高品質生活的積極作用。他指出「文化的力量，或者我們稱之為構成綜合競爭力的文化軟實力，總是『潤物細無聲』地融入經濟力量、政治力量、社會力量之中，成為經濟發展的『助推器』、政治文明的『導航燈』、社會和諧的『黏合劑』」。在現代高品質城市的建設中，注重城市經濟發展的同時必須重視文化藝術的發展，尤其是高雅藝術的傳承與弘揚。只有如此，才能鑄就高品質的城市生活，保持高度的文化自信，推動文化的繁榮興盛，實現中華民族偉大復興。（古琴流派與城市文化品格——浙江人文大講堂•未來講堂第五講開講；2019-04-28 來源：城市怎麼辦）

Comment by Place Link on June 11, 2024 at 6:25pm: 江南·宋韻文化的認識維度和內涵例解～～2022年9月23日上午，由浙江省社科聯指導、杭州國際城市學研究中心浙江省城市治理研究中心主辦、杭州師范大學協辦的「浙江人文大講堂•未來講堂」第十講在城研中心倉前大樓109報告廳開講。

浙江省社會科學院二級研究員、原副院長陳野作《宋韻文化的認識維度和內涵例解》講座。浙江省社科聯黨組成員、副主席陳先春出席會議並致辭，杭州城研中心黨組成員、副主任杜紅心主持會議。

來自杭州國際城市學研究中心、杭州學相關分支學科、杭州師范大學相關學院師生、余杭區相關街鎮、杭州城西科創大走廊相關企事業單位的100餘人同步參加線上線下會議。

一曲悠揚的古琴彈奏《梅花三弄》帶領大家走進宋韻文化講堂。

陳先春副主席指出，浙江提出實施「宋韻文化傳世工程」以來，省社科聯推出了浙江省文化研究工程-宋韻研究系列成果，受到社會各界的廣泛關注和積極反響；計劃到2035年，出版宋韻文化系列研究叢書百部以上，完成宋代主要文獻整理，形成較為完整的宋韻文化研究成果體系。宋韻文化蘊含著浙江優秀傳統文化的精神內核，除研究之外，要更加注重傳承、傳播、科普工作，浙江人文大講堂·未來講堂就是很好的形式。希望浙江智庫能充分發揮平台優勢，讓南宋文化這張浙江文化金名片更加深入人心、走向世界。

陳野認為，對宋韻文化的認識，要以全領域的視角，跳出文學藝術看宋韻文化；要以全地域的視角，跳出杭州、浙江看宋韻文化；要以鑄牢中華民族共同體意識的視角，跳出兩宋統治地域看宋韻文化；要以同時期不同區域的橫向比較，跳出中國看宋韻文化；要以長時段的縱向比較，跳出兩宋時期看宋韻文化。陳野指出，跳出宋韻看宋韻，是為更全面、更系統、更立體地研究宋韻文化的內涵特征、歷史地位、精神標識；更科學、更准確、更深刻地提煉其中蘊含的跨越時空、超越國度、富有永恆魅力、具有當代價值的文化基因和文化精神。

會中，她通過結合兩宋時期花鳥畫的傳承與流變、兩宋山水畫之變等橫縱向比較，形象生動地例解了宋韻文化內涵。

她還從「基於華夏認同的民族精神」「基於家國情懷的愛國精神」「基於海外交往的開放精神」「基於多元包容的創造精神」「基於探索求真的科學精神」「基於社會關切的人文精神」六個方面，總結了宋韻文化的精神實質。

講座深入淺出，兼具學術性與科普性，讓在場的聽眾進一步開拓了視野，對宋韻文化有了更深的了解與認識。

講座結束後，陳野還就杭州宋韻文化對外交流、國際傳播途徑以及宋韻文化的要素、氣質、精神在朝代變更中的影響作用等問題回答了聽眾的提問。

會前，杭州國際城市學研究中心浙江省城市治理研究中心聘請陳野為智庫客座研究員並頒發證書。

「浙江人文大講堂•未來講堂」為浙江省社科聯與杭州國際城市學研究中心聯合推出的品牌講堂，旨在在杭州城西科創大走廊搭建一個「科技」與「人文」碰撞的舞台，為周邊廣大科技工作者、高校師生及社區居民提供精神大餐、思想盛宴。迄今已累計舉辦9講，邀請了原中共浙江省委常委、杭州市委書記，浙江省人民政府咨詢委員會副主任，杭州城市學研究理事會理事長，浙江省城市治理研究中心主任、首席專家王國平，中央美術學院原院長、中國美術學院原院長潘公凱，北京大學講席教授，北京大學政府管理學院院長俞可平等著名專家學者，圍繞「讓城市因歷史而美麗」「筆墨藝術、美術理論、裝置藝術、建築設計的創意實踐」「傳統謚法的政治學意義」等主題開展演講，獲得了聽眾的一致好評，並產生了廣泛社會影響。

（（原題：「浙江人文大講堂•未來講堂」第十講開講 l 宋韻文化的認識維度和內涵例解——2022-09-29 來源:都市快報; 来源：《都市快报》2022年9月26日；延續閱讀：地方文化營銷 0.9：國内遊；韵文化：鄉韻；愛墾慕課·在地篇）

Comment by Place Link on April 15, 2024 at 9:00pm: Typology of Charoen Krung’s Creative District

As an area continuously developing since the 1700s through successive waves of migration, settlements and royal initiatives, Charoen Krung’s hard and soft infrastructures are layered with various historical, cultural and commercial influences

Hard Infrastructures

Another unmistakable place for gathering is the Grand Postal Building (ไป์รษ์ณีย์กลางบางรัก), which Long established hard infrastructures such as major arteries and buildings have been developed further through increased investment since Charoen Krung’s designation as a creative district in 2015. New BTS and MRT train extensions make it a major transportation hub, while the river that made it conducive to early trade gives this area a unique advantage for businesses to continue to prosper. As with many old districts, the long, narrow streets and small shops have discouraged large-scale urban development, keeping its underlying historical character intact.

Creative Spaces for Gathering There are a growing number and variety of art spaces and galleries around Charoen Krung.

Warehouse 30 is the most prominent. Located amongst abandoned warehouses behind the Portuguese Embassy, Warehouse 30 became a บ landmark when Mr Duangrit Bunnag (ดวงฤท่ธิ นนาค), a famous Thai architect and a key player in this district, renovated the warehouses into an art and design hub and market in 2016. His previous project, the Jam Factory, was very successful in turning another abandoned warehouse in Klongsan into an attractive art space. Warehouse 30 is home to a cafe, co-working space, art spaces, design shops and furniture store P. Tendercool, and it regularly provides public talks, events and exhibitions. It has become a creative hub for designers, artists and craftspeople to showcase and market their work.
Another unmistakable place for gathering is the Grand Postal Building (ไป์รษ์ณีย์กลางบางรัก), which was the British Consulate during the 1850s before that moved to Phloen Chit Road (ถนนเพัลินจิต) in 1940. Thereafter it was renovated and used as the headquarters of Thailand Post, marking the birthplace of Thailands’ postal service.2 In 2017, the TCDC moved its main office here with a mission to develop it as a creative district, making it a hive of creative activities and events. The CEA also plans to use abandoned spaces in Charoen Krung for art and design exhibitions – for example, Marine Police Lodging (บานพัักตำารวจนำา) and the Custom House (โรงภาษ์ีรอยชีักสาม).

Aside from the landmarks mentioned above, there are three other prominent art centres – O.P. Place, O.P. Garden and the River City Bangkok Shopping Centre, near Si Phraya Pier (ท่่าเรือสี พัระยา). The pier, the largest in Charoen Krung, is next to a bus terminal. Si Phraya Pier is also located near luxury hotels as well as connecting to ICONSIAM, the largest shopping centre in Thailand, across the river.

2 Kongma, C. (2019). Central post office in Bang Rak. The Cloud. https://readthecloud.co/grand-postal-office/

3 Bangkok River. (2020). O.P. Place. https://www.bangkokriver.com/th/place/op-place/

Comment by Place Link on April 7, 2024 at 8:52pm: Nearby the pier, O.P. Place on Charoen Krung Road Soi 38 has been a commercial building for more than 100 years, and it won the Association of Siamese Architects’ Best Architectural Conservation Award in 2008.

Currently it has more than 58 stores, mostly selling luxury furniture, art, antiques and homeware,
and is now one of the best places for buying art in the area.3

Next to O.P. Place is O.P. Garden, which was built in the 19th century and is located on Charoen Krung Road Soi 36. In 1936, it was turned into the first polyclinic in Thailand, where Dr Boonsong Lekagul (นายแพัท่ย์บุญิส่ง เลขะกุล) worked as a medical practitioner. 4 O.P. Garden was also the private residence of Dr Boonsong, who later became a pioneer of wildlife conservation in Thailand. In
2009 it was renovated by TCC Capital Land and became a shopping arcade with a focus on art,
design and craft.

River City Bangkok is another art and craft shopping centre in Charoen Krung. It was built in 1985 by the Italian-Thai Development Public Company (กลุ่มบริษ์ัท่อิตาเลียนไท่ย) and the Mandarin Oriental Group (กลุ่มกิจการแมนดารินโอเรียนเต็ล). River City Bangkok was the first commercial mall on the riverside in Thailand and it has more than 120 creative stores and contemporary galleries inside with collections from Asia and around the world.

It is also an art and antique trading centre holding RCB auctions. Since its opening there have been
more than 90,000 antiques sold in the RCB forum, a magnet for collectors and traders from around
the world.

Iconic Landmarks

Many iconic buildings are situated along the river next to well-known tourist attractions. Several of
these are heritage and conservation listed, being more than 100 years old, representing early modern, Western-influenced architecture in Thailand. For example, the Portuguese Embassy was marked out as an important creative landmark due to its cultural significance, architectural heritage and contemporary street art on the front wall. Its presence indicates the long relationship with Portugal, as many Portuguese have settled here since the 1760s.

The colonial-style building, which was designed in 1860 using local materials, welcomes visitors and provides tours. Another landmark is Custom House, built in 1886 in a neoclassical style, which was used as a customs office and hosted royal events in its banquet hall until 1959. It later became Bang Rak fire station (สถานีดับเพัลิงบางรัก) and then remained empty until 2019, when the owner, the Treasury Department of Thailand (กรมธนารักษ์์), began work with the Fine Arts Department of Thailand (กรมศ์ิลป์ากร) to restore the building, which will continue until 2025.

Charoen Krung Road Soi 30 (ซอยเจริญิกรุง 30) or Captain Bush Lane (ตรอกกัป์ตันบุชี) is an important
historical area of this district that housed early Western settlement. The name hails from John
Bush, a British sailor who lived on this lane and worked as the head of the Marine Department of
Thailand at the end of the 19th century. Captain Bush Lane connects to the main Charoen Krung
Road where House No. 1 (บานเลขท่ี 1) is located.

Comment by Place Link on April 6, 2024 at 4:42pm: It is the first house number in this district, with a unique blend of Thai-Western neoclassical design,
making it a landmark venue for hire. Contemporary landmarks are also noteworthy – for example, standing tall behind the Grand Postal Building is CAT Tower, where the Communications Authority of Thailand and Silpakorn University (มหาวิท่ยาลัยศ์ิลป์ากร) are located. Many design and digital media students mingle here with other workers that use it as offices. Some unusual places have also become tourist attractions.

Sathorn Unique Tower (สาท่รย้นีคท่าวเวอร์) was planned as a luxury apartment complex but was abandoned in the 1997 financial crisis and became home to itinerant squatters. Urban myths sprung up that it was a haunted building and it has since become an unusual tourist destination.

Tourism is a key driver of Charoen Krung’s creative economy. While the area has historically attracted affluent visitors and foreign travellers, its emergence as a creative district has attracted more cultural tourists to the area.

Its riverside is populated with luxury hotels, such as Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, the first hotel here, with a 150-year history and famous for its hospitality service training in Thailand. Other well-known hotels within the vicinity include Shangri-La Bangkok, Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel and Lebua. Most riverside hotels have their own private piers in order to shuttle their guests between the east and west bank of the Chao Phraya River.

Religious and Educational Structures The diverse cultures are reflected in various clusters of schools, churches, temples, shrines and mosques that exist side by side, reflecting Charoen Krung’s historical settlement. Religion has always been an important aspect of life here so it’s no surprise that schools are strongly linked to religious organisations. These infrastructures serve people with different beliefs, mainly Christians, Muslims and Chinese. Assumption College and Assumption Convent, both located on Charoen Krung Road, are Catholic schools next to Assumption Cathedral (โบสถ์อัสสัมชีัญิ บางรัก) – a key landmark in the area.

These schools provide education to the Christian communities that live nearby. Other schools include the Bangkok Christian College (โรงเรียนกรุงเท่พั คริสเตียนวิท่ยาลัย), Sajja Pittaya School (โรงเรียนสัจจพัิท่ยา)– which is a Chinese (Cantonese) school built in 1919 – and Buddhist schools such as Satree Wat Mahaprutharam Girls’ School (โรงเรียนสตรี วัดมหาพัฤฒิาราม) and Wat Mahunnopparam School ( โรงเรียนวัดมหาพัฤฒิาราม), which is reported to be the first public school in Thailand.

Talad Noi (ตลาดนอย) in the north has a mix of Chinese, Catholic and Vietnamese buildings. The Holy Rosary Church (โบสถ์กาลหว่าร์ หรือ วัดแม่พัระล้กป์ระคำา) was built for the Portuguese Catholic community, the Vietnamese Temple (วัดญิวนตลาดนอย) there celebrates Mahayana Buddhism, and the Chow Sue Kong shrine (ศ์าลเจาโจซือกง) is one of the oldest Hokkien shrines in Thailand.

Other buildings include Hong Wong Kun (ศ์าลเจาโรงเกือก หรือ ศ์าลฮอนหว่องกุง) for Hakka descendants, the Muang Kae temple (วัดม่วงแค) for local Thai Buddhists, and the Haroon Mosque (มัสยิดฮาร้ณ) for its strong Muslim community.

These religious institutions are also important places to learn traditional arts, such as Arabic
calligraphy, which are taught to children in the community at the Haroon Mosque. Famous for
its Islamic art, it also provides classes to the public.

Comment by Place Link on March 9, 2024 at 3:38pm: Transportation Infrastructures

Charoen Krung Road is the main artery through the district, connecting Yaowarat and Rattanakosin Island (เกาะรัตนโกสินท่ร์). The Charoen Krung area is walkable, allowing visitors to explore tourist landmarks, cafes and galleries. From the Grand Postal Building where the CEA is located, it is only around a one-kilometre walk to the Saphan Taksin BTS station (สถานีสะพัานตากสิน), situated at a prime location on the riverside, adjacent to Surasak station (สถานีสุรศ์ักดิ), Chong Nonsi station (สถานีชี่องนนท่รี) and Sala Daeng station (สถานีศ์าลาแดง), where the main business areas are located. Saphan Taksin station is Charoen Krung’s main transportation hub and the most crowded skytrain station in Bangkok, with more than 27,000 commuters. It was built in 1999 as the terminal station on the Silom Line, though now that line extends to the Thonburi area (ฝั่ั งธนบุรี) and terminates at Bang Wa station (สถานีบางหวา). The congestion and increased demand have led to plans to expand and reconstruct Saphan Taksin station.

(Street art around Talad Noi neigbourhood)

Charoen Krung has other access points, across Taksin Bridge and Taksin Bridge Pier. Built in 1980, Taksin Bridge, also known as Sathorn Bridge (สะพัานสาธร), crosses the Chao Phraya River
connecting Bangkok and Thonburi, providing the shortest route to reach the busy areas of Sathorn
and Silom Road. Commuters using the Chao Phraya Express Boats (เรือด่วนเจาพัระยา) travel to
Charoen Krung, Sathorn and Silom using Taksin Bridge Pier.

Soft Infrastructures

As one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Bangkok, Charoen Krung has a rich, diverse mix of cultures,
communities and languages, shaped by various waves of migration. Grounded and nourished by
strong and stable community groups, new creative businesses and communities are increasing in
number since Charoen Krung’s designation as a creative district. The area is experiencing the
benefits and challenges of this influx of new people, including tourism, accelerated by the
creative opportunities provided by the area.

The TCDC and CEA

The Thailand Creative and Design Center (TCDC) was founded in 2004 as part of the Office of
Knowledge Management and Development, reporting to the Office of the Prime Minister
(สำานักนายกรัฐมนตรี) and originally located at the Emporium shopping centre in the Phrom Phong
area (ย่านพัรอมพังศ์์) on Sukhumvit Road (ถนนสุขุมวิท่).

The TCDC is a public-facing organisation to raise awareness about the value of design, and support creative activities and businesses. It is active in organising events to connect designers, suppliers and clients, with seminars that encourage creative development and showcase the latest design trends. It acts as a key connector in the creative ecosystem, providing services such as a design library, material library, exhibition spaces, designer network and database. Its relocation to Charoen Krung in 2017 aimed to drive the urban renewal of the area and develop it as Bangkok’s first creative district. In 2018, the TCDC expanded into a larger organisation with the new task of encouraging the creative economy, and was renamed the Creative Economy Agency (CEA).

Comment by Place Link on February 29, 2024 at 8:13pm: Festivals, Event and Markets

There are many activities all year round in Charoen Krung that bring local residents and visitors
together. Markets, events and festivals are a chance to see the diversity of cultures, experience
a range of foods and learn about crafts, beliefs and lifestyles. These activities can be grouped into
cultural and creative events.

Cultural events include community walking tours, the Vegetarian Festival (เท่ศ์กาลกินเจ), the Ancestor Worship Festival (เท่ศ์กาลสารท่จีน), the Lantern Festival and Chinese New Year (เท่ศ์กาลหยวนเซียว), which have mostly been organised and led by local communities. These events are important opportunities that draw the community together, strengthen relationships between different generations and pass on traditions from the older to the younger. For example, the Chow Sue Kong shrine regularly has many events and festivals, beautifully decorated during such occasions to perform rituals and dragon dance. Regular fresh markets also serve different communities.

Prominent creative events include Bangkok Design Week, TEDxCharoenkrung, art and design
exhibitions and the Awakening Bangkok festival of light. These are notable for making Talad Noi
an attractive area for visitors, and in turn, what was just a residential Chinese neighbourhood has now become a prominent cultural tourist spot in Bangkok. Most creative events are supported by
governmental organisations such as the CEA and Thailand Tourism. Bangkok Design Week5 is
significant to the development and sustainment of the creative district. It generates a lasting and
memorable impact and also brings market opportunities to the creative businesses. Events such as this are part of a creative economy development plan by the CEA. These public events take place in prominent locations introduced under hard infrastructures, such as the Grand Postal Building (headquarters of the CEA), Warehouse 30 and also in other venues such as the River City Bangkok shopping centre, O.P. Place and O.P. Garden

Enduring and Sustaining Various Cultural Communities

Charoen Krung has one of the oldest communities in Thailand, based on a solid relationship built over more than 150 years. These enduring communities represent the largest groups of people who live together, take care of each other and share similar beliefs and practices. As noted already, cultural and creative events become important mechanisms to transfer local wisdom from
generation to generation. Retaining a strong sense of community is unique in an ever expanding megacity such as Bangkok, which in turn is vital in regenerating rich social capital.
This is expanded upon in the next section.

Building Social Capital in Charoen Krung

As an urban neighbourhood in Bangkok, there is a large and complex ecosystem with many actors
involved. Characteristics that were identified in these actors that enabled the sustainment of this
ecosystem includes acting as a connector and introducer, being collaborative, relatable, genuine,
local, trustful, sustainable and contributing to the organisation of events. The workshop with its
residents identified a complex social network of individuals, communities, businesses, educational
institutions, public and private sectors that form Charoen Krung (p. 86, fig.2). From this, two key
features of social capital stand out in shaping the ecosystem of the creative district.

Comment by Place Link on February 27, 2024 at 11:11pm: Bonding in Communities

Bonding relationships are strongly evident in various older communities in Charoen Krung. Like a family, these bonds and relationships are important in maintaining a sense of trust and belonging. Participants from both the Haroon Mosque and the Talad Noi communities shared how they cherish community knowledge, culture and history.

Most members of the Haroon Mosque

community are blood-related with extensive kinship ties. The leader of the Haroon Mosque
community is considered a father, a senior brother and an uncle to those in the community. He is also a key connector to organisations such as the Bang Rak District Office and universities. His son
teaches Arabic calligraphy at the Haroon Mosque as a way to pass on the knowledge and techniques of Islamic art. Similarly, Talad Noi is a close-knit Chinese community with a 200-year history in the area. The majority who live here have Hokkien roots and their bonding relationships also reflect their lineage.

The leaders of the Talad Noi community collaborate with public sectors and organise creative events such as the Awakening Bangkok festival of light, as discussed earlier. Bonding relationships can be a double-edged sword if they are insular and inward-facing, relying entirely on family networks. This has been identified as a barrier in developing new relationships with others, preventing new information and resources to be exchanged.6

Similarly, this study has observed how the bridging relationships between the leaders of the two communities is tenuous, even though there may be informal and serendipitous mingling amongst the rest of the community through markets and festivals. Respective leaders of each community had never met each other until a workshop was conducted by the researchers, revealing how little they knew about one another.

They reasoned that they had no formal ways to connect or collaborate. Their communities are
located in different districts – the Haroon Mosque community is in the Bang Rak district while the
Talad Noi community is in the Samphanthawong district. It appears that such district divisions have
not been conducive to working together, even when they are involved in organising festivals. Such
siloed structures of bureaucracy are well-known barriers for collaboration and creative innovation.7

This lack of bridging relationships may further explain a lack of connection between the old
Muslim, Chinese and local communities and the new creative groups who are starting to establish
themselves in the area. The workshops revealed how local businesses and communities were not
connected well horizontally, indicating a need and opportunity for local government and the CEA to
broker such links more effectively in the future.

Comment by Place Link on February 25, 2024 at 12:26pm: Linking Between Organisations

The CEA is arguably the main driver of creative activities, with a mission to boost the creative
economy and activities in Charoen Krung. It plays a vertical, linking role in channelling resources and
people to encourage collaborations and investments from within and outside the district.

This can be observed in the successful renovation of Warehouse 30, noted as a key creative hub earlier, and hosting Bangkok Design Week by working closely with a number of local businesses in the area as well as external organisations to set up events and activities. The CEA does well in bringing groups of artists and design students, freelancers, studios and start-ups from outside Charoen Krung to showcase their work in noted creative spaces such as O.P. Place, River City Bangkok and House No. 1. The CEA’s multi-sector links, including private businesses, universities and public sectors such as Thailand Tourism and district offices, make it an important and powerful agent. Such observations allow this study to affirm that policy and central government initiatives through the CEA are largely responsible for Charoen Krung’s development as a creative district, in contrast to other districts studied – where development is attributed to local, existing and emerging cultural and creative assets.

Yet as discussed in the previous section, the CEA may need to play a stronger bridging role to connect horizontally between local businesses and communities by capitalising on their effectiveness in organising events. While businesses are more likely to connect vertically with public sectors such as the CEA, Thailand Tourism and district offices, they will need more assistance to connect with local communities and build on opportunities to work together to avoid potential divisions and inequality in access, wealth and knowledge – as seen in fragmented communities globally.8 The Co-create Charoenkrung project, initiated by the TCDC, was a welcome example of bridging constructively.

The TCDC organised various listening and co-design sessions with the community to learn what residents wanted to improve in their neighbourhood. This resulted in prototypes and models of some of the ideas that the residents came up with, such as providing signage to allow easier navigation through the neighbourhood, creating green pocket spaces, connecting alleys, rejuvenating and repurposing old buildings and redeveloping the riverfront.9

Key Characteristics of Charoen Krung ’s Creative District

Examining Charoen Krung through multiple dynamic layers and assets allows this study to arrive at the following assessment of the role of this particular creative and cultural district. A Govenment-Designed Creative District Investment, resourcing and strategic planning by the Thai government are central to Charoen Krung’s public recognition as a creative district.