倥劇（khon， โขน）是中南半島傳統劇種中歷史悠久、辨識度極高的宮廷古典面具劇，自古代起便隸屬於國王和皇室，並在皇室與貴族的資助和參與之下發展。該劇種過去一度是全男子的表演團體，20世紀起始有女性演員扮演女性角色，但全劇演出仍以男性表演者為主。該劇種最為鮮明的特徵是表演者戴著製作精緻繁複、色彩鮮艷的面具和服裝，每個面具代表不同角色的性格、身份、能力與階級，演出故事清一色來自印度史詩《羅摩衍那》（Ramayana）的泰國化版本——《拉瑪堅》（Ramakien）。倥劇表演動作具有鮮明的武術風格，此一風格使該劇種在傳統上擅長演出戰爭和武戲劇目。同時該劇種的演出一般有大型的泰國古典樂團——皮帕特樂團（pipat ensemble）伴奏，並由吟誦者和歌隊敘述故事和演唱歌曲，表演者表演中並不開口，僅負責演示出吟誦者所描述的故事內容和情感，也因為如此倥劇亦經常被稱為啞劇。本文將對倥劇的發展根源、歷史、藝術形式特徵、演出文本、面具的辨識要素以及倥劇在現代社會中的功能轉變等方面，進行初步的探究。

Khon, the ancient Thai mask dance-drama, is one of the most well-known traditional theatre genres in the Indo-China Peninsula; it dates back to the early 16th century. Traditionally it was developed under the patronage of Thai kings and royal families from the Ayutthaya period to the early 20th century. With a strong martial style in its movements, khon was once performed by males only. Though female performers began to take female roles in khon plays starting from the early 20th century, male performers are still the main attraction. The most distinctive features of the genre are martial style movements of male performers (especially the ogre and monkey roles) and their colorful, refined masks. Each mask represents a particular character in Ramakien which is a Thai version of Indian epic Ramayana and the only story source of a khon play. Owing to its distinctive style of martial arts, khon is especially good for war and martial repertoires. Like most Asian traditional theatres, khon performance is accompanied by a traditional orchestra, the pipat ensemble, with chanters and chorus who chant, sing and speak for the actors. For this reason, khon is often referred to as pantomime. This paper aims to introduce khon’s origins and history, as well as its artistic features and changes in modern Thai society.