In this highly personal account, Chao Tzang Yawnghwe, a son of the first President of the Union of Burma, tells of his youth and involvement in the Shan resistance movement. He gives his version of Shan history and explains the complexity of Shan politics as well as discusses the personalities involved in the war. The final part of this book is a compendium of who's who in Shan history and politics.

Just married and returning to live in her new husband's native land, a young Austrian woman arrived with her Burmese husband by passenger ship in Rangoon in 1953. They were met at dockside by hundreds of well-wishers displaying colorful banners, playing music on homemade instruments, and carrying giant bouquets of flowers. She was puzzled by this unusual welcome until her embarrassed husband explained that he was something more than a recently graduated mining engineer - he was the Prince of Hsipaw, the ruler of an autonomous state in Burma's Shan mountains. And these people were his subjects! She immersed herself in the Shan lifestyle, eagerly learning the language, the culture, and the history of the Shan hill people. The Princess of Hsipaw fell in love with this remote, exotic land and its warm and friendly people. She worked at her husband's side to bring change and modernization to their primitive country. Her efforts to improve the education and health care of the country, and her husband's commitment to improve the economic well-being of the people made them one of the most popular ruling couples in Southeast Asia. Then the violent military coup of 1962 shattered the idyllic existence of the previous ten years. Her life irrevocably changed. Inge Sargent tells a story of a life most of us can only dream about. She vividly describes the social, religious, and political events she experienced. She details the day-to-day living as a "reluctant ruler" and her role as her husband's equal - a role that perplexed the males in Hsipaw and created awe in the females. And then she describes the military events that threatened her life and that of her children. Twilight over Burma is a story of a great happiness destroyed by evil, of one woman's determination and bravery against a ruthless military regime, and of the truth behind the overthrow of one of Burma's most popular local leaders.

The Shan are the largest of the many national ethnic groups residing in the Union of Myanmar. After migrating from their early home in the Hwangho-Yangtze region of China, they settled in the eastern part of today's Myanmar, primarily in the Shan Plateau, around the first century AD. The Shan dominated the political stage for a few centuries, founding three historically important dynasties in the heartland of Myanmar at Pinya, Sagaing, and Inwa. Shan history then merges with that of Myanmar until after World War II and Myanmar's independence from the British, when the Shan initiated efforts to establish an autonomous state. Sai Aung Tun deftly traces the cultural and political history of the Shan people from their origins, to Myanmar independence, and up to the constitutional crisis of 1962. His work highlights particularly the political affairs of the Shan state from 1946 to 1962. He details the Second Pang Long Conference of 1947, which brought about the historic agreement of all the nationalities of Myanmar to work together for independence. He examines the significant role played by the Shan people in the debate on whether Myanmar should adopt a federal system of administration, and their efforts to draft a new constitution. He concludes with an account of the military coup of 1962, which effectively sabotaged the constitutional reform process, a stalemate that still persists today. Unique among Shan histories is the in-depth analysis of the Kuomintang incursion into the Shan States in the early 1950s, with its political, military, and economic consequences. Sai Aung Tun has amassed a substantial amount of primary materials in the text proper, including verbatim excerpts from conference interviews and speeches, as well as a rich collection of official documents, minutes, and reports in the appendixes. The historical critique of existing constitutional weaknesses will be of interest to those who advocate the drafting of a new constitution in Myanmar. The pleas for unity and goodwill among the ethnic groups, made by various leaders nearly half a century ago, will resonate with readers today. This comprehensive reference work will be an invaluable resource for all Shan scholars and Myanmar observers, and an excellent addition to any reference collection on Southeast Asia.

This book proposes the alternative explanation on the pattern of ethnic conflict, especially the on-going civil war in Myanmar. Previously, most scholars accepted that narcotics play the crucial role in conflict as the resource of revenues. However, this book dramatically changes what we have ever thought before. It investigated in both field and documentary research by examining the role of narcotics in the ideological formation process and ethnic identification process. Consequently, the so-called ethno-narcotic politics was found in the way that the role of narcotics was able to be used as the source of political mobilization in various ways. Furthermore, the borderland is the appropriated area where the process of anti-ethno-narcotics identification could be emerged and later used as the main identity for the ethnic groups who remain fighting against state’s power.

In this highly personal account, the author, Chao Tzang Yawnghwe, a son of the first President of the Union of Burma, tells of his youth and involvement in the Shan resistance movement. He gives his version of Shan history and explains the complexity of Shan politics covering the issues of autonomy, Shan-Burmese relations, opium, and other contraband trade. He discusses the personalities involved in the war that is now more than twenty years old. The final part of this book is a compendium of who's who in Shan history and politics. The author passed away in July 2004.

Here are factual accounts of the sad, short lives of more than 365 Hollywood celebrities. Many, unable to accept the loss of fame and fortune killed themselves. Some were murdered because of their fame. Far too many died as a result of careless use of drugs and alcohol, and a few were killed in bizarre accidents. An addendum credits the movie stars that served in World War Two. A second relates several humorous examples of celebrities that have obviously allowed fame and fortune to warp their thinking and thus influence their actions in strange ways.

The culture of the Shan peoples of Burma and their rulers is extensively explored in this volume. Shan courts flourished in the late British colonial period, and in this book rare early photographs, never before published, document life in the courts and in the hill regions of Shan dominion.As in her previous book Silken Threads Lacquer Thrones P Lan Na Court Textiles, acclaimed for its groundbreaking discoveries of the culture of the Lan Na kingdom, Susan Conway focuses again on dress and the use of textiles in the Shan states, as well as on historical chronicles, to define a fascinating people of old Burma. Lavish illustrations bring to life a rich cultural tradition of mainland Southeast Asia.

"The book explores the possible origins of the Shan alphabet, citing the wide-ranging opinions of many scholars, and then delves into a careful analysis of the successive stages of the Shan script, from the earliest forms of Lik Hto Ngouk, through Lik Tou Moan and Hkun scripts, noting the problems and idiosyncrasies of each. In addition, it examines the spelling and handling of Pali words within religious writings in each of these scripts and in the Yuan script. Excerpts from early manuscripts are presented as evidence." "This volume will prove to be an indispensable linguistic reference on the developments in form and usage of the various Shan scripts."--BOOK JACKET.

“Burmese Looking Glass is a contribution to the literature of human rights and to the literature of high adventure.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review As captivating as the most thrilling novel, Burmese Looking Glass tells the story of tribal peoples who, though ravaged by malaria and weakened by poverty, are unforgettably brave. Author Edith T. Mirante first crossed illegally from Thailand into Burma in 1983. There she discovered the hidden conflict that has despoiled the country since the close of World War II. She met commandos and refugees and learned firsthand the machinations of Golden Triangle narcotics trafficking. Mirante was the first Westerner to march with the rebels from the fabled Three Pagodas Pass to the Andaman Sea. She taught karate to women soldiers, was ritually tattooed by a Shan sayah “spirit doctor,” lobbied successfully against US government donation of Agent Orange chemicals to the dictatorship, and was deported from Thailand in 1988. “A dramatic but caring book in which Mirante’s blithe tone doesn’t disguise her earnest concern for the worsening conditions faced by the Burmese hill tribes.” —Kirkus Reviews