Shan State (Shan:မိူင်းတႆး,Möng Tai;Burmese:ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်,pronounced[ʃáɰ̃pjìnɛ̀]) is astate of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the north, Laos (Louang Namtha andBokeo Provinces) to the east, and Thailand (Chiang Rai,Chiang Mai andMae Hong Son provinces) to the south, and five administrative divisions of Myanmar in the west (Kachin State,Mandalay Region,Kayin State,Kayah State, andSagaing Region). The largest of the 14 administrative divisions by land area, Shan State covers 155,800 km2, almost a quarter of the total area of Myanmar. The state gets its name from the Burmese name for the Tai peoples: "Shan people". The Tai (Shan) constitute the majority among several ethnic groups that inhabit the area. Shan State is largely rural, with only three cities of significant size:Lashio,Kengtung, and the capital,Taunggyi.[4] Taunggyi is 150.7 kilometres (93.6 mi) northeast of the nation's capitalNaypyitaw.
The Shan state, with many ethnic groups, is home to several armed ethnic groups. While themilitary government has signed ceasefire agreements with most groups, vast areas of the state, especially those east of theSalween River, remain outside the central government's control, and in recent years have come under heavy ethnic-Han Chinese economic and political influence. Other areas are under the control of military groups such as theShan State Army.
Muang Tai (Shan:မိူင်းတႆး) is the native name for the region as well as a term used for the Tai-inhabited parts of Myanmar outside of Shan State.Muang (မိူင်း) means country in Tai languages and is used before the names of other countries, e.g.Muang Maan (Myanmar).[6]
Shan Pyi (Burmese:ရှမ်းပြည်) derives from a Burmese corruption of the nameSiam which is an old name forLower Thailand.Pyi is a Burmese word meaning country and thusShan Pyi can be translated as Shan State. Officially, the region is calledShan State in English andShan Pyine in Burmese but thene in often dropped in colloquial speech.
Lanjao (Shan: လၢၼ်ႉၸဝ်ႈ) orNanzhao is a classical name for a kingdom which included most of the land that makes up modern Shan State. Lanjao, alongsideMuang Tai are often used in political and nationalist dialogue when referring to the region.[7]
Shan State is the unitary successor state to the Burmese Shan States, theprincely states that were under some degree of control of theIrrawaddy valley-based Burmese kingdoms.
HistoricalTai-Mao states extended well beyond the Burmese Shan States, ranging from full-fledged kingdoms ofAssam in the northwest toLan Xang in the east, toLan Na andAyutthaya in the southeast, as well as several petty princely states in between, covering present-day northernChin State, northernSagaing Region,Kachin State,Kayah State in Myanmar as well asLaos,Thailand and the southwestern part ofYunnan, China. The definition of Burmese Shan States does not include theAva Kingdom and theHanthawaddy kingdom of the 13th to 16th centuries, although the founders of these kingdoms were Burmanized Shans and Monized Shans, respectively.[citation needed]
The founding of Shan States inside the present-day boundaries of Burma began during thePagan Kingdom in theShan Hills and accelerated after 1287, when the Pagan Kingdom fell to theMongols. The Tai people, who came south with the Mongols, stayed, and quickly came to dominate much of northern to the eastern arc of Burma—from northwesternSagaing Division toKachin Hills to the present-day Shan Hills. The most powerful Shan states wereMong Yang (Mohnyin) andMong Kawng (Mogaung) in present-day Kachin State, followed byHsenwi (Theinni),Hsipaw (Thibaw) andMong Mit (Momeik) in present-day northern Shan State.[8] Smaller Shan states, such asKale in northwesternSagaing Division,Bhamo in Kachin State,Yawnghwe (Nyaungshwe) andKengtung (Kyaingtong) in Shan State, andMong Pai (Mobye) inKayah State, played a precarious game of paying allegiance to more powerful states, sometimes simultaneously.
The newly founded Shan States were multi-ethnic, and included other ethnic minorities such as theChin, theKachin, theWa, theTa'ang, the Lisu, the Lahu, the Pa O, and theKayah. Although Burmanised Shans founded theAva Kingdom that ruled central Burma, other Shan states, Mohnyin in particular, constantly raided Ava territories throughout the years. A Mohnyin-ledConfederation of Shan States finally conquered Ava in 1527.[9]: 95
Shan States after 1557, then inside Bayinnaung's empire
In 1555, KingBayinnaung dislodged Shan kingSithu Kyawhtin from Ava. By 1557 he went on to conquer all of what would become known as the Burmese Shan states under his rule, from the Assamese border in the northwest to those inKachin Hills andShan Hills, including the two most powerful Shan states, Mohnyin and Mogaung.[10]: 108–109 The Shan states were reduced to the status of governorships, but theSaophas were permitted to retain their royal regalia and their feudal rights over their own subjects. Bayinnaung introduced Burmese customary law and prohibited all human and animal sacrifices. He also required the sons of Saophas to reside in the Burmese king's palace, essentially hostages, in order to ensure the good conduct of their fathers and to receive training in Burmese court life. Burmese kings continued this policy until 1885 when the kingdom fell to the British.[9]: 117–118 (The northernmost Shan states, in Yunnan, had already fallen to the ChineseMing dynasty by the middle of the 15th century.[11])
The reach of the Burmese sovereign waxed and waned with the ability of each Burmese monarch. Shan states became briefly independent following the collapse of the first Toungoo dynasty, in 1599. The Restored Toungoo dynasty under KingNyaungyan and KingAnaukpetlun recovered the Shan states, including the two strongest—Monhyin and Mogaung by 1605 and Lan Na by 1615.[10]: 108 In the early-18th century, the rule of Burmese monarchs declined rapidly and by the 1730s, the northernmost Shan states, many of which had paid dual tribute to China and Burma, had been annexed by theQing dynasty of China. The annexed border states ranged from Mogaung and Bhamo in present-day Kachin State to Hsenwi and Kengtung in present-day Shan State toSipsongpanna (Kyaingyun) in present-dayXishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan.[10]: 191–192, 201
In the middle of the 18th century, the BurmeseKonbaung dynasty's reassertion of the easternmost boundaries of Burmese Shan states led to war with China. It madefour separate invasions of Burma from 1765 to 1769, during the Sino-Burmese War. The Burmese success in repelling Chinese forces laid the foundation for the present-day boundary between Burma and China.[citation needed][dubious –discuss]
The present-day boundary of southern Shan State vis-à-vis Thailand was formed shortly thereafter. Burma lost southern Lan Na (Chiang Mai) in 1776 and northern Lan Na (Chiang Saen) in 1786 to a resurgent Bangkok-based Siam,[12] ending more than two centuries of Burmese suzerainty over the region. It retained only Kengtung on the Burmese side. The southern border of Shan State remained contested in the following years. Siam invaded Kengtung in1803–1804 and1852–1854, and Burma invaded Lan Na in1797 and 1804. Siam occupied Kengtung duringWorld War II (1942–1945).
Throughout the Burmese feudal era, Shan states supplied much manpower in the service of Burmese kings. Without Shan manpower, theBurmans alone would not have been able to achieve their victories in Lower Burma, Siam, and elsewhere. Shans were a major part of Burmese forces in theFirst Anglo-Burmese War of 1824–1826, and fought valiantly—a fact that the British commanders acknowledged.[13]: 123–124
After theSecond Anglo-Burmese War of 1852, the Burmese kingdom was reduced to Upper Burma alone. The Shan states—especially that east of theSalween River, were essentially autonomous entities, paying token tribute to the king. In 1875, KingMindon, to avoid certain defeat, cededKarenni states, long part of Shan states, to the British.[9]: 177 When the last king of Burma,Thibaw Min, ascended the throne in 1878, the rule of central government was so weak that Thibaw had to send thousands of troops to tame a rebellion in the Shan state of Mongnai and other eastern Shan states for the remainder of his six-year reign.[13]: 161
On 28 November 1885, the British capturedMandalay, officially ending theThird Anglo-Burmese War in 11 days. But it took until 1890 for the British to subdue all of the various Shan states. Under theBritishcolonial administration, established in 1887, the Shan states were ruled by theirsaophas asfeudatoryprincely states of theBritish Crown. The British placed Kachin Hills inside Mandalay Division and northwestern Shan areas under Sagaing Division. In October 1922, the Shan and theKarenni states were merged to create theFederated Shan States,[14] under a commissioner who also administered theWa States. This arrangement survived the constitutional changes of 1923 and 1937.
During World War II, most of the Shan states were occupied by theJapanese. ChineseKuomintang forces who entered Burmese territory came down to northeastern Shan states to face the Japanese. Thai forces, allied with the Japanese, occupiedKengtung andsurrounding areas in 1942,annexing the territory to the Thai state.[15]
After the war, the British returned, while many Chinese KMT forces stayed inside Burmese Shan states. Negotiations leading to independence at thePanglong Conference in February 1947 secured a unitary Shan State, including former Wa states, but without the Karenni states.[16][17] More importantly, Shan State gained the right of secession in 10 years from independence.
Soon after gaining independence in January 1948, the central government led byU Nu faced several armed rebellions. The most serious was the Chinese Nationalist KMT invasion of Shan State in 1950. Driven out by the Chinese Communist forces, Nationalist KMT armies planned to use the region east of the Salween River as a base from which to regain their homeland. In March 1953, the KMT forces, with US assistance, were on the verge of taking the entire Shan State and within a day's march of the state capitalTaunggyi.[13]: 274 The Burmese army drove the invaders east across the Salween, but much of the KMT army and theirprogeny have remained in the eastern Shan State under various guises to the present day. The Burmese army's heavy-handedness fueled resentment.[13]: 274
In 1961, Shan saophas led bySao Shwe Thaik, the first president of Burma and saopha ofYawnghwe, proposed a new federal system of government for greater autonomy, although the Shans had the constitutional right to secede. Though Shan leaders promised not to exercise the right, the Burmese army led by Gen.Ne Win thought the proposal was secessionist.[13]: 274 Gen.Ne Win'scoup d'état in 1962 brought an end to the Burmese experiment with democracy and with it, the call for greater autonomy for ethnic minorities. The coup fueled the Shan rebellion, started in 1958 by a small group calledNum Hsük Han ('young warriors'), now joined by theShan State Army (SSA).
By the early-1960s, eastern Shan State festered with several insurgencies and warlords, and it emerged as a major opium-growing area, part of the so-calledGolden Triangle. Narcotics trafficking became a vital source of revenue for all insurgencies. Major forces consisted of the SSA and theCommunist Party of Burma (CPB), as well as those of the drug lordsKhun Sa, andLo Hsing Han. By the mid-1960s, CPB had begun receiving open support from China. Thailand also began a decades-long policy of support for non-communist Burmese rebels. Families of insurgent leaders were allowed to live in Thailand, where insurgent armies were free to buy arms, ammunition, and other supplies.[13]: 299
In the late-1980s and 1990s, themilitary government signed ceasefire agreements with 17 groups, including all major players in Shan State. An uneasy truce has ensued, but all forces remain heavily armed. Today, the 20,000-strongUnited Wa State Army (UWSA) is the largest armed group, and is heavily involved in the narcotics trade. Under the 2008 Constitution, endorsed by the Burmesejunta, certain UWSA-controlled areas were given the status of an autonomous region.[18]
In recent decades, Chinese state and ethnic Chinese involvement in Shan State has deepened. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants from China have come to work in Upper Burma since the 1990s.[19][20][dubious –discuss] Chinese investment in the state has funded everything from hydro power and mining projects to rubber plantations, logging, and wildlife trade.[21][dubious –discuss] Wa and Kokang regions, led by local leaders, use theChinese yuan and operate onChinese Standard Time.
In the general election of November 2010, 117 seats were open for Shan State Parliament (or ShanState Hluttaw): two each for 55 townships and seven seats for different ethnic constituencies. But elections forMongmao, Pangwaun, Pangkham, Namphan, and Mong La Township Constituencies were canceled. Fifty-four candidates fromUnion Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), 31 fromShan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP), six from PaO National Organization, four from Ta'ang (Palaung) National Party, three each from Inn National Development Party and Wa Democratic Party, four from three other parties, and two independent candidates were elected. Only one candidate fromNational Unity Party (Burma) was elected for Shan State Hluttaw (2011), although it was the second largest party in term of numbers of candidates.[22]
In 2011, Aung Myat (aka Sao Aung Myat), a former military officer of theMyanmar Army and a USDP candidate of Pindaya constituencies, was named as Chief Minister of Shan State Government.[23] Two candidates from SNDP were named for the first Shan State Government. Sai Ai Pao (aka Sai Aik Paung) was named for Industry and Mining Minister and Sai Naw Kham (aka Tun Tun Aung) was named for Construction Minister.[24] In the Shan State cabinets (2011), one was from the Myanmar Army and six were from the Union Soldiery and Development Party (USDP).[25]
Sai Mauk Kham (aka Maung Ohn), one of the two vice presidents of Myanmar (2011–2015), was elected from Shan State No. 3 Constituency as a National Assembly candidate in the November 2010 election.[26]
According to data from theUnited Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the region produces the mostopium in Myanmar, accounting for 82% (331 metric tons) of the country's total output (405 metric tons) in 2020.[27] However, opium poppy cultivation has declined year-on-year since 2015. In 2020, cultivation in Shan State declined a further 12%, with reductions taking place in East, North and South Shan with respective decreases of 17%, 10% and 9% from previous levels in 2019.[27]
Following the2021 coup and theensuing civil war, Shan State saw fierce fighting between the military junta and the alliance of ethnic armed rebel groups. In November 2023, the rebels launchedan offensive which overran much of Shan State, taking multiple towns, military outposts, and border crossings with China.[28]
Most of the Shan State is a hillyplateau, the Shan Plateau, which together with the higher mountains in the north and south forms theShan Hills system. Thegorge of theThanlwin (Salween/Namhkong) River cuts across the state.Inle Lake where the leg-rowingIntha people live in floating villages, in the greatNyaung Shwe "plain", is the second largest natural expanse of water in Burma, shallow but 14 miles (23 km) long and 7 miles (11 km) wide.Pindaya Caves nearAungpan are vastlimestone caverns which contain 6,226Buddha images.[29]
Asevere magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck in Tarlay,Tachileik Township, the eastern part of Shan State, on 24 March 2011. It killed more than 70 and injured more than 100 people. 390 houses, 14 Buddhist monasteries, and nine government buildings were damaged.[30][31]
Shan State is traditionally divided into three sub-states: Southern Shan State (1–2), Northern Shan State (3–7), and Eastern Shan State (8–11). It is officially divided into 13 districts:[32][33]
An additional district,Hopang District, was formed as the 12th district of Shan State in September 2011 by combining the townships ofMongmao,Pangwaun,Namphan, andPansang from Lashio District withMatman Township from Kengtung District, as well as the townships and subtownships ofHopang,Panlong, andNamtit from Kunlong District.[34]
TheShan (Tai) make up approximately one-third of Shan State's population, while thePa-O,Bamar,Palaung, and other ethnicities make up significant minorities. Other visible minorities in Shan State include theIntha,Lahu,Lisu,Taungyo,Danu,Ahka, andKachin (Jingpo).[38]
The valleys and tableland are inhabited by the Shan people, who resemble theThai,Siam, andLao people in language and customs. They are largelyBuddhists and are mainly engaged in agriculture. Among the Shans live theBamar,Han Chinese, andKarens. The hills are inhabited by various peoples, notably theWa, who are numerous in the north and along the Chinese border. The Palaung people are numerous in the Northern Shan State, in the townships ofNamkham,Muse,Namhpaka,Kutkai, andLashio along theChina-Myanmar border, and in the middle of Shan State, in the townships ofNamhsan,Kyaukme, andHsipaw. Some of the Palaung people can also be found inKalaw Township in the Southern Shan State.
There is a dwindling population ofAnglo-Burmese in major hill stations, such asKalaw and inTaunggyi, a hold-over from the colonial period.
After the 2014Census in Myanmar, the Burmese government indefinitely withheld release of detailed ethnicity data, citing concerns around political and social concerns surrounding the issue of ethnicity in Myanmar.[39] In 2022, researchers published an analysis of theGeneral Administration Department's nationwide 2018-2019 township reports to tabulate the ethnic makeup of Shan State.[40][39]
According to the2014 Myanmar Census,Buddhists make up 81.7% of Shan State's population, forming the largest religious community there.[42] Minority religious communities includeChristians (9.8%),Muslims (1%),Hindus (0.1%), andanimists (6.6%) who collectively comprise the remainder of Shan State's population.[42] 0.9% of the population listed no religion, other religions, or were otherwise not enumerated.[42]
According to theState Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee’s 2016 statistics, 77,513 Buddhist monks were registered in Shan State, comprising 14.5% of Myanmar's totalSangha membership, which includes both novicesamanera and fully-ordained bhikkhu.[43] Shan State is home to Myanmar's largest samanera community.[43]
The majority of monks belong to theThudhamma Nikaya (97%), followed byShwegyin Nikaya (2.9%), with the remainder of monks belonging to other smallmonastic orders.[43] 3,814thilashin were registered in Shan State, comprising 6.3% of Myanmar's total thilashin community.[43]
Silver,lead, andzinc are mined, notably at theBawdwin mine, and there are smelters atNamtu. Rubies are extracted in large quantity inMong Hsu Township with output peaking in the late-1990s and early 2000s.[44]
Teak is cut, andrice and other crops are grown. Shan State is known for its gardenproduce of all sorts of fresh fruit and vegetables thanks to its temperate and sunny climate. Itinerant markets that travel from place to place, setting up on every fifth day in each small town or village, are typical, although large towns have permanent markets. It is part of theGolden Triangle, an area in which some of the world'sopium andheroin are still illegally produced, and it has become a leading global production area for methamphetamine.Drug trafficking is controlled by localwarlords in partnership with foreign organized crime groups, some of whom have private armies amounting to thousands of soldiers.[45][46] Much of themethamphetamine (ya ba) that ends up across the Mekong and wider Asia Pacific region is produced in Shan as well.[47][48]
Houses, Hsipaw
There are some border trading centers along the Shan State border and neighboring countries.[49]Muse, the biggest border trading center along the Myanmar–China border andTachileik, another important trading center between Myanmar and Thailand are in Shan State.[50][51]
The construction project ofSino-Burma pipelines of oil and gas that passes through northern part of Shan State was started in September 2010 and was finished in June 2013.[52]
Educational opportunities in Myanmar are limited outside the main cities ofYangon andMandalay. It is especially a problem in Shan State where vast areas are beyond government control. According to official statistics, only about 8% of primary school students in Shan State reach high school.[53]
Technological University of Taunggyi
AY 2002–2003
Primary
Middle
High
Schools
4199
206
112
Teachers
11,400
3500
1500
Students
442,000
122,000
37,000
Taunggyi University is the main university in the state, and until recently the only four-year university in the state. Themilitary government, which closed down universities and colleges in the 1990s to quell student unrest, has "upgraded" former colleges and two-year institutes. The government now requires that students attend their local universities and colleges, such asLashio University,Kyaingtong University,Panglong University.
The general state of health care in Myanmar is poor. The military government spends anywhere from 0.5 to 3% of the country's GDP on health care, consistently ranking among the lowest in the world.[54][55] Although health care is nominally free, patients have to pay for medicine and treatment, even in public clinics and hospitals. Public hospitals lack basic facilities and equipment. The following is a summary of the public health system in the state, infiscal year 2002–2003.[56]
^Jon Fernquest (Autumn 2005). "Min-gyi-nyo, the Shan Invasions of Ava (1524–27), and the Beginnings of Expansionary Warfare in Toungoo Burma: 1486–1539".SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research.3 (2).ISSN1479-8484.
^abcLt. Gen. Sir Arthur P. Phayre (1967).History of Burma(PDF) (2nd ed.). London: Susil Gupta.
^Charles Patterson Giersch (2006).Asian borderlands: the transformation of Qing China's Yunnan frontier. Harvard University Press. p. 27.ISBN9780674021716.
^David K Wyatt (2003).Thailand: A Short History (2nd ed.). p. 125.ISBN978-0-300-08475-7.
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