| WAT SAM JIN 1 วัดสามจีน |
Wat Sam Jin is located on the city island, outside of the historic park, between Rojana
Rd and the southern portion of U-Thong Rd. The closest modern landmark is side street
after much difficulty. In fact, I lived next to it for nearly four years without ever seeing it.
This temple ruin was once connected to a chain of Chinese pagodas near Khlong Pratu
Jin. This canal - now buried - once flowed along an east-west axis toward the Chinese
Gate (Pratu Jin), intersecting with Khlong Pratu Khao Pluak (the canal that once flowed
in front of Wat Maha That). Wat Sam Jin also appears on Phraya Boran Rachathanin's
(1926) map next to a second canal leading to a swamp adjacent to Wat Khun Muang
Jai. This swampland is still visible behind Wat Sam Jin.
It isn't clear when Wat Sam Jin was originally founded. Chinese maritime traders settled
in this area in abundance. A nearby road was referred to as China Street, and this is
documented on the French map by Sieur de La Mare (1751). Engelbert Kaempfer
added in 1727 that China Street was made of brick and included some of the best house
in the city (p 44). In addition to the Chinese population, these houses also belonged to
French, Dutch, Muslim, and English merchants - including Constantine Faulcon. Wat
Sam Jin may also appear on the Dutch map of Vingboons (1665).
The temple still hasn't been restored. All that is left of Wat Sam Jin today is a large chedi
tower and basic foundation layers. The tower is hollow and square with a few simple
redentations. There are traces of stucco remaining in places. The tower hints of a
late-period prang style. The sermon hall has mostly crumbled into a mound. The general
size and shape can still be deduced, but future excavation would reveal much more
beneath the surface. There are many roof tiles scattered around that date to the King
Narai period and the usual stack of headless Buddha images.
The modern neighborhood is heavily populated with a Chinese-Thai community (mostly
from a Teochiu background). Most of them settled here after land purchases became
legally available in 1936.
Rd and the southern portion of U-Thong Rd. The closest modern landmark is side street
after much difficulty. In fact, I lived next to it for nearly four years without ever seeing it.
This temple ruin was once connected to a chain of Chinese pagodas near Khlong Pratu
Jin. This canal - now buried - once flowed along an east-west axis toward the Chinese
Gate (Pratu Jin), intersecting with Khlong Pratu Khao Pluak (the canal that once flowed
in front of Wat Maha That). Wat Sam Jin also appears on Phraya Boran Rachathanin's
(1926) map next to a second canal leading to a swamp adjacent to Wat Khun Muang
Jai. This swampland is still visible behind Wat Sam Jin.
It isn't clear when Wat Sam Jin was originally founded. Chinese maritime traders settled
in this area in abundance. A nearby road was referred to as China Street, and this is
documented on the French map by Sieur de La Mare (1751). Engelbert Kaempfer
added in 1727 that China Street was made of brick and included some of the best house
in the city (p 44). In addition to the Chinese population, these houses also belonged to
French, Dutch, Muslim, and English merchants - including Constantine Faulcon. Wat
Sam Jin may also appear on the Dutch map of Vingboons (1665).
The temple still hasn't been restored. All that is left of Wat Sam Jin today is a large chedi
tower and basic foundation layers. The tower is hollow and square with a few simple
redentations. There are traces of stucco remaining in places. The tower hints of a
late-period prang style. The sermon hall has mostly crumbled into a mound. The general
size and shape can still be deduced, but future excavation would reveal much more
beneath the surface. There are many roof tiles scattered around that date to the King
Narai period and the usual stack of headless Buddha images.
The modern neighborhood is heavily populated with a Chinese-Thai community (mostly
from a Teochiu background). Most of them settled here after land purchases became
legally available in 1936.
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| Text by Ken May - May 2009 |
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Addendum
Wat Sam Jin or the "Monastery of the Three Chinese" is located on Ayutthaya's city
island in Pratu Chai district in the vicinity of former Pratu Jin (Chinese water gate - now
obsolete) and in the middle between Khlong Pratu Jin (defunct) and Khlong Nai Kai, a
canal now called Khlong Makham Riang.
On a 1974 Fine Arts Department (FAD) map the monastery is referred to as Wat
Khanom Jin or the "Monastery of the Thai Rice Noodle". A 2005 FAD digital map
indicated both names Wat Sam Jin and Wat Khanom Jin.
On 7 October 2011 in the evening Ayutthaya fell to the flood waters from the Lop Buri,
Pa Sak and Chao Phraya rivers. The water spilled into the city and flooded the city
island. Water seeped into the foundations of the chedi of Wat Sam Jin and the structure
crumbled on 10 October, reducing the tower to a pile of bricks. Another old ruin bites
the dust in the Historic City of Ayutthaya.
Wat Sam Jin or the "Monastery of the Three Chinese" is located on Ayutthaya's city
island in Pratu Chai district in the vicinity of former Pratu Jin (Chinese water gate - now
obsolete) and in the middle between Khlong Pratu Jin (defunct) and Khlong Nai Kai, a
canal now called Khlong Makham Riang.
On a 1974 Fine Arts Department (FAD) map the monastery is referred to as Wat
Khanom Jin or the "Monastery of the Thai Rice Noodle". A 2005 FAD digital map
indicated both names Wat Sam Jin and Wat Khanom Jin.
On 7 October 2011 in the evening Ayutthaya fell to the flood waters from the Lop Buri,
Pa Sak and Chao Phraya rivers. The water spilled into the city and flooded the city
island. Water seeped into the foundations of the chedi of Wat Sam Jin and the structure
crumbled on 10 October, reducing the tower to a pile of bricks. Another old ruin bites
the dust in the Historic City of Ayutthaya.
| Text & photographs (2009) by Tricky Vandenberg January 2012 |
| (View of the tower from the south) |
| (Remains of a fragmented Buddha statue) |
| Site view of Wat Sam Jin two months after the flood which hit the Historic City of Ayutthaya and its Historical Park in the evening of 7 October 2011. Pictures were taken on 2 January 2012. This site is in a very deteriorated state and needs urgent restoration as part of the Historic City of Ayutthaya. (Photographs by Tricky Vandenberg) |
| (Wat Sam Jin covered in vegetation) |
| (Extract of a mid-19th century map) |
| (Extract of Phraya Boran Rachathanin's map drafted in 1926) |
| (Extract of a 1974 Fine Arts Department map - Courtesy Dr. Surat Lertlum, Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy) |
| (Extract of a 1993 Fine Arts Department map - Courtesy Khun Supot Prommanot, Director of the 3th Regional Office of Fine Arts) |