Rama lll was an efficient merchant since his youth as Prince Chetsadabodin. He was so highly successful that his royal father teasingly called him “Chaosua”(millionaire in Chinese). He was keen on Chinese artistic style. He had it integrated with traditional Thai style, which was later khown as the “royally preferred artistic style.”
The very first temple the king had tried this idea on was Wat Chom Thong, an old Ayutthaya temple almost entirely renovated with additional donations from Chinese merchants at Sampheng and Chinese craftsmen. Rama ll re-named it Wat Ratchaorot, meaning the temple of a king’s son. The architectural style here has been considered prototypical of rama lll’s ‘preferred artistic style’ before his enthronement.Other dignitaries later emulated the style in other temples.
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