| Shan States | |||||||||||
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| Early states(1215–1335) Möng Mao Kingdom(1335-1557) Burmese Shan States(1557-1885) Princely states ofBritish Raj(1885–1922) Part ofFederated Shan States (1922–1948) Part ofShan State (1948-1959) | |||||||||||
 Map of the Shan States, around 1900 | |||||||||||
| Capital | Taunggyi | ||||||||||
| • Type | Monarchy | ||||||||||
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| Today part of | Myanmar | ||||||||||
| History of Myanmar |
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TheShan States were a collection of minorShan kingdoms calledmöng whose rulers bore the titlesaopha inBritish Burma. They were analogous to theprincely states ofBritish India.
The term "Shan States" was first used during theBritish rule in Burma as a geopolitical designation for certain areas of Burma (officially, theFederated Shan States, which included theKarenni States, consisted of today'sShan State andKayah State). In some cases, theSiamese Shan States was used to refer toLan Na (northern Thailand) andChinese Shan States to the Shan regions in southern Yunnan such asXishuangbanna.
Historical mention of the Shan states inside the present-day boundaries of Burma began during the period of thePagan dynasty; according to the Tai chronicles, the first major Shan State of that era was founded in 1215 atMöng Kawng, followed byMöng Nai in 1223. These were part of the larger Tai migration that founded theAhom Kingdom in 1229 and theSukhothai Kingdom in 1253.[1] Shan political power increased after theMongols overran Pagan in 1287 and the Shans came to dominate many of the northern to eastern areas of Burma—from northwesternSagaing Division to the present-day Shan Hills. The newly founded Shan States were multi-ethnic states that included a substantial number of other ethnic minorities such as theChin,Palaung,Lisu,Pa-O,Kachin,Wa, andBurmans.
The Shan States were a dominant force in the politics ofUpper Burma throughout the 13th to 16th centuries. The strongest Shan States,Möng Mao,Möng Yang andHsenwi, constantly raidedUpper Burma. Möng Mao ended the kingdoms ofSagaing andPinya in 1364. However, the Shan States were too fragmented to resist the encroachment of bigger neighbours. In the north, the ChineseMing dynasty conquered today'sYunnan in the 1380s, stamping out the final Shan resistance by the 1440s.
The rulers of Möng Mao moved to Möng Yang, and in 1527 they led the Confederation of Shan States which captured theAva Kingdom and ruledUpper Burma until 1555. In the south, theToungoo dynasty captured all those Shan States that would become known as theBurmese Shan States in 1557. Though the Shan States came under the suzerainty of Burmese kingdoms based in the valley of theIrrawaddy River, the Shansaophas (chiefs) retained a large degree of autonomy.
When Burma gained independence in 1948, theFederated Shan States becameShan State while the southern portion becameKayah State within theUnion of Burma with the right to secede from the Union. However, the Shan States and the saophas' hereditary rights were removed by GeneralNe Win's military government in 1962.
Most Shan States were just little principalities organised around the chief town in the region. They played a precarious game of paying allegiance to more powerful states, sometimes simultaneously. Smaller states such asLoi-ai,Möng Hsat andMöng Hsu paid allegiance to more powerful Shan states likeYawnghwe,Kengtung andHsenwi. The larger Shan States in turn paid tribute to larger neighbours such as theAva, theBurmese Kingdom and China.
Some of the major Shan States were.[2]
Early history of the Shan states is clouded in myth. Most states claimed having been founded upon a predecessor state with a Sanskrit nameShen/Sen.Tai Yai chronicles usually begin with the story of two brothers, Khun Lung and Khun Lai, who descended from heaven in the 6th century and landed in Hsenwi, where the local population hailed them as kings.[3]
The Shan people have inhabited theShan Hills and other parts of northern modern-day Burma as far back as the 10th century AD. The Shan kingdom ofMöng Mao existed in Yunnan as early as the 10th century CE but became a Burmesevassal state during the reign of KingAnawrahta ofPagan (1044–1077).[4]
The historical relevance of the Shan states inside the present-day boundaries of Burma increased during the period of thePagan Kingdom in theShan Hills andKachin Hills and accelerated after the fall of the Pagan Kingdom to theYuan dynasty in 1287. The Shans, including a new migration that came down with the Mongols, quickly came to dominate an area from northernChin State and northwesternSagaing Region to the present-day Shan Hills. The newly founded Shan States were multi-ethnic states that included a substantial number of other ethnic minorities like theChin,Palaung,Pa-O,Kachin,Akha,Lahu,Wa andBurmans. The most powerful Shan states were Möng Yang and Möng Kawng in present-dayKachin State, followed by Hsenwi, Hsipaw, Möng Mit and Kengtung in present-day Shan State.[5]
The Confederation of Shan States were a group of Shan States that conquered theAva Kingdom in 1527 and ruled Upper Burma until 1555. The Confederation originally consisted of Möng Yang, Möng Kawng, Bhamo, Möng Mit, and Kale. It was led bySawlon, the chief of Möng Yang. The Confederation raided Upper Burma throughout the early 16th century (1502–1527) and fought a series of war against Ava and its ally Shan State of Hsipaw. The Confederation finally defeatedAva in 1527, and placed Sawlon's eldest sonThohanbwa on the Ava throne. Hsipaw and its tributaries Yawnghwe and Möng Pai also came over to the confederation.
The enlarged Confederation extended its authority down toProme (Pyay) in 1533 by defeating their erstwhile allyProme Kingdom because Sawlon felt that Prome did not provide sufficient help in their war against Ava. After the Prome war, Sawlon was assassinated by his own ministers, creating a leadership vacuum. Although Sawlon's sonThohanbwa naturally tried to assume the leadership of the Confederation, he was never fully acknowledged as the first among equals by other saophas.
An incoherent confederation neglected to intervene in the first four years ofToungoo–Hanthawaddy War (1535–1541) inLower Burma. They did not appreciate the gravity of the situation until 1539 whenToungoo defeated Hanthawaddy, and turned against its vassal Prome. The saophas finally banded together and sent in a force to relieve Prome in 1539. However, the combined force was unsuccessful in holding Prome against another Toungoo attack in 1542.
In 1543, the Burmese ministers assassinatedThohanbwa and placedHkonmaing, the saopha of Hsipaw, on the Ava throne. Möng Yang leaders, led bySithu Kyawhtin, felt that the Ava throne was theirs. But in light of the Toungoo threat, Möng Yang leaders grudgingly agreed to Hkonmaing's leadership. The Confederation launched a major invasion of Lower Burma in 1543 but its forces were driven back. By 1544, Toungoo forces had occupied up toPagan. The confederation would not attempt another invasion. After Hkonmaing died in 1546, his sonMobye Narapati, the saopha of Möng Pai, became king of Ava. The confederation's bickering resumed in full force. Sithu Kyawhtin set up a rival fiefdom inSagaing across the river from Ava and finally drove out Mobye Narapati in 1552.
The weakened Confederation proved no match forBayinnaung's Toungoo forces. Bayinnaung captured Ava in 1555 and conquered all of Shan States in a series of military campaigns from 1556 to 1557.
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In 1885, followingthree wars that steadily added various parts of Burma to their empire, the British finally occupied all of the territory of present-day Myanmar. The area became then aProvince of British India.[6]
Under theBritish colonial administration, the Shan States became nominally sovereignprincely states. Although states were ruled by local monarchs, they were subject to asubsidiary alliance under theparamountcy of theBritish Crown.[7][8]
Towards the last phase of British rule the Shan and Karenni states were labeled as "Frontier Areas", a broad designation for mountainous areas bordering India, China and Laos where the British government allowed local rule. in 1922 the Shan states were joined together into a Federation, the Federated Shan States. They were administered separately by theBurma Frontier Service by British Assistance Superintendents, later renamed as Assistant Residents.[9]
In 1935 the Frontier Areas were divided into "Excluded Areas" and "Partially Excluded Areas"—also known as "Part I Areas" and "Part II Areas"—through the Second Schedule to the 1935 Government of Burma Act.[10][11]
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The Chinese Shan States were petty states or small territories of Shan people ruled by local monarchs under the suzerainty of China. They were also known asKoshanpye or "Nine Shan States". The main states wereMöng Lem (Mainglengyi, Maing-ying, Mong Lien), Möngmāu (Möng Mao), Hsikwan (Si-gwin), Möngnā (Ganya), Sandā (Zhanda, Möng Santa), Hosā (Ho Hsa, Hotha), Lasā (Möng Hsa, La Hsa), Möngwan (Möng Wan, Mo-wun), Möngmyen (Möng Myen, Momien, Momein/Tengyue) and Köng-ma (Küngma, Kaing-ma, Kengma, Gengma),[12] among others, in addition to Keng Hung (Chiang Hung).[13]
Most of the history of these pettyTai (Dai) Kingdoms is obscure. Existing chronicles and traditions regarding the northernmost outlying Shan States include conflicting names and dates which have led to different interpretations.[14]According to ancient tradition there was aState of Pong that had its origin in the legendary kingdom of Udiri Pale, founded in 58 BC. TheCheitharol KumbabaManipuri Kingdom chronicle—written much later—mentions an alliance between theKangleipak State and the Kingdom of Pong.[15] This quasi-legendary kingdom is also mentioned among the conquests ofAnoratha, theKing of Pagan. Some scholars identify the Kingdom of Pong withMöng Mao as well as with the kingdom of Luh Shwan mentioned in Chinese chronicles.[14]
Vassal states to more powerful empires of China, these Shan States gained a measure of independence in the power vacuum left after theDali Kingdom in Yunnan fell to theYuan dynasty.[16] By the 17th century the territories of these outlying Shan States had been merged into the core territories ofChinese dynasties, their rulers being allowed to retain a great measure of authority under theTǔsī Zhìdù (Chinese:土司制度) system of recognized chieftainship.[17] In mid 18th century, theKonbaung dynasty's armies led a series of wars against the ChineseQing dynasty following which eight of the Chinese Shan states were briefly occupied by theKingdom of Burma, but all of these northernmost Shan States remained under Chinese rule after that.[9]
The former Chinese Shan States are now part ofYunnan Province. Under the Chinese administration the status of the Shan people in the Chinese Shan States was reduced when they were labelled as a "minority". Thus they became one more among the otherethnic minorities in that area of present-day Yunnan such as theLahu and theVa.[18]
Media related toShan States at Wikimedia Commons
