 Perhaps the most prominent feature of the character of the Thai people is their natural inclination to smile.
You may have learned of Thailand as the "Land of Smiles" epithet frequently used in the tourism promotion campaigns of this country in recent years.
You may have no doubt about the truth contained in the statement, since it would boomerang if it were not true. But you may wonder why this is so.
 The most important influence the Thai people have received in their character formation has been the teachings of Buddhism, which emphasize on the doctrine of causality. They take things easy because they believe that everything in life is the result of some action in the past, and that what will happen will happen. They are kind to strangers because they believe that good deeds will bring rewards to the doer in a future life. They are tolerant of evils because they believe that the evil-doer will be punished without their intervention In short, they are always cheerful no matter whether in success or in adversity.
 Two other factors contributing to their happy-go-lucky outlook on life are the agricultural society and the favorable natural environment in which they have lived in the larger part of their history. Living in the countryside where there is plenty of fertile land and plenty of rainfall and where there is little competition it is easy for them to feel content. Except in times of war, mostly in the form of foreign invasions the Thai people have lived in their motherland for centuries in happiness and contentment.
 These same factors and influences have also helped orm another significant trait of the Thai nation their love of peace. This shown in their exceptional ability to co-exist with people of different ethnic groups, different religions, different political views and different social classes. In Thai history, there have been no religious wars. When Europeans first came to Thailand in the 17th century, they were allowed to preach Christianity. The Thai Buddhists and Muslims have lived harmoniously in the South. There have been wars with neighboring countries, but ethnic minorities within the country who have posed no threat to national security have never been oppressed or discriminated against. Immigrants from China and India, for example, have been able to get rich without incurring envy or hatred.
Thailand is notorious for its frequent coups d'etat in its modern history. But most of them were bloodless. And only one of the unsuccessful coup leaders got the capital punishment, and that was not merely because he had staged a coup and failed, but because he had shot a loyal general to death first. And when King Chulalongkorn ordered the emancipation of slaves in 1905, no violence was reported throughout the country, not to mention a civil war like that in the United States.
 But all this does not mean that the Thai people will allow themselves to be trodden upon. There is always a limit to their tolerance. That was why the Burmese invaders were expelled by King Naresuan in 1584 and again by King Taksin in 1767. Also, in 1688. Constantine Phaulkon, a Greek sailor turned powerful minister in the Siamese court, was decapitated when he was alleged to have plotted to convert a Siamese prince to Roman Catholism and to install him to the throne. Again, in 1945, several ethnic Chinese in Bangkok Chinatown were killed by the police when they showed an excess of enthusiasm in celebrating China's triumph over Japan in World War II, in which the Thai government sided with Japan. The minor discord caused by the incident was soon healed after King Rama VIII paid a visit to Chinatown in May 1946 jointly with his younger brother, Prince Bhumibol, now King Rama IX.
The Thai people's love of peace is also reflected in their tendency to compromise and their reluctance to disturb others. It was due to King Bhumibol's advice to compromise that both the student uprising in 1973 and the bloodshed in May 1991 came to a peaceful end without resulting in more deaths or endless reprisals. More than a century ago when Western colonialism pread to Asia, it was also due partly to King Chulalongkorn's willingness to make concessions that Siam did not suffer the same fate as her neighbors.
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