Lao Chong

A historian, Aphichit Sirichai, said that Lao Chong and Lao Chok are different people. The name "Lao Chok" or "Pu Chao Lao Chok" appears in the Legend of Phra That Doi Tung; in 561 BE (c. 1104), King Ashutaraja of Yonok brought relics of the Buddha to be enshrined at Doi Tung. To do so, he purchased land from Pu Chao Lao Chok. Ashutaraja then asked him and his wife, Ya Thao Lao Chok, to serve as guardians of the relics. The legend does not provide much further detail about him, stating only that he had three sons, each of whom was assigned to rule a different city. What is particularly interesting is the mention that Pu Chao Lao Jok compelled people who practised upland farming to bring their produce down to sell to the Tai Yuan people of the Yonok, who lived in the lowlands. Apichit believes that all of this suggests that Lao Chok was likely a Lua person.^[2]

While Lao Chong, who is regarded as the first king of the Lao dynasty, ascended the throne of Chiang Lao in the year when King Anawrahta of Pagan established a new era, corresponding to Chula Sakarat 1, or 1181 BE (c. 1724).^[2]

Therefore, “Lao Chok” and “Lao Chong” are separated by as much as 620 years and therefore must be different individuals from different historical periods.^[2]

Pu Chao Lao Chok was a leader of the Lua tribe, whose original settlement was located at Doi Tung. According to legend, “The tribal leader of the Lua was known as Pu Chao Lao Chok, or Lao Chakkaraj, who originated in the area of Doi Tung or Doi Ket Bunphot around 430 BE (c. 113)." The Lua kings of this lineage continued their succession until the reign of Mangrai, the 25th monarch descended from him, who later unified many city-states into the Lan Na Kingdom.^[3] However, the research edition of the legend dates his presence at Doi Tung to around 599 CE.^[4]: 105 A later revision states that he went on to found Ngoenyang as a new chief center in 638 CE, following his participation in the establishment of the Chula Sakarat era by Kakabhadra of Nakhon Pathom.^{[5]: 241–3}

Another legend, from The Chiang Mai Chronicle, recounts that when King Anuruddha of Pagan convened the monarchs of neighbouring cities to establish a new era, the rulers along the Kok River had no king. Thus, Indra sent the celestial being Lao Chok Devaputra down to earth via a “silver ladder” from Mount Yugundhara, descending to the Doi Tung area beneath a jujube tree. Standing on a silver platform below the tree, the deity transformed into a human form. The local people then proclaimed him the first monarch. Another version identifies him as the leader of a Tai tribe that migrated from the “Chok” region (southern China). The name “Pu Chao Lao Chok” is interpreted as “the one with many hoes” (chok meaning "hoe"), referring to his practice of lending tools to villagers for farming.

Aphichit Sirichai explained that after the fall of Yonok, a group of survivors led by Lao Chong went on to establish the fortified city of Chiang Lao. However, for someone of unknown origin, without lineage or background, to ascend the throne as king, it was necessary to enhance his legitimacy. As a result, the legend constructs a narrative explaining that Lao Chong descended by climbing down a celestial ladder from the Trāyastriṃśa heaven. However, the Jinakalamali, a source composed during the Lan Na period around the early 2000s BE (c. 1457s), didn't mention the celestial ladder; instead, it states only that he was an opapātika, which refers to the fact that Lao Chong survived the collapse of the Yonok City, an event in which more than 90 percent of the population perished. He was thus regarded as one who had been "reborn", which granted him the legitimacy to establish himself as king of a new dynasty.^[2]

In legends associated with Doi Tung, Pu Chao Lao Chok is said to have had deep faith in Buddhism. When the Buddha journeyed through the Doi Din Daeng or Doi Tung area, Lao Chok offered alms to him.^[6]

Later, he sent his sons to rule over various cities, including Chiang Khong, Yong, Chiang Lao, and Ngoenyang (Hiran Ngoenyang or Chiang Saen), which later became the birthplace of Mangrai.^[7]

The “Three Peaks” or “Doi Sam Sao” mountains consist of three main sites: Doi Tha, a trading passage between the Lao Chok community and the plains around Doi Tung; Doi Ya Thao, where the wife of Pu Chao Lao Chok resided; and Doi Din Daeng, the residence of Lao Chok himself, later known as Doi Tung.^[8] In later times, Doi Sam Sao came to be known as Doi Nang Non (“Mountain of the Reclining Lady”).