Foreword

Summary

The second printing of Chao Tzang Yawnghwe's The Shan of Burma: Memoirs of a Shan Exile is a timely re-introduction to the world of political literature of the most poignant and ground-breaking study of all the ethnic conflicts that followed the independence of Burma (Myanmar) in 1948. Since its first publication in 1987, the book has remained essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the patterns of state failure and humanitarian tragedy that have befallen the long-suffering peoples in this deeply troubled land. Chao Tzang's insightful writing is never an armchair analysis nor a militant polemic. It is the riveting description by a remarkable intellectual, who was eyewitness to many of the most controversial and epoch-shaping events in Burma's ethnic politics from the mid-20th century onwards.

Born into a leading political family, Chao Tzang's life was a personal odyssey during which he constantly engaged with the many challenges of his age. The different names by which he was also sometimes known — Eugene Thaike, Khun Loumpha, and Sao Hso Wai — reflect different passages in his career. However, neither the privilege of his background nor the many hardships he suffered deflected his life-long determination to see democracy and equality established for all the peoples of Burma. As a boy, he was in Panglong during the historic conference; as a tutor, he was at Rangoon University during General Ne Win's military coup that led to the deaths of one brother and, later, his father in prison; and into middle-age, he served as a key leader in the Shan resistance movement until a combination of ill-health and political encirclement forced his retirement from the field.

The Shan of Burma is a vibrant analysis of this first, turbulent period of his life. Chao Tzang structured his study around three main prisms: that of personal narrative, historical commentary, and vignette biographies of the leading actors, many of whom were previously unknown in the outside world. The book was prodigious in new insights and rare detail on many unrecorded aspects of Shan history, from the pre-colonial era through to the modern.