The literature of Burma (or
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
) spans over a millennium. Burmese literature was historically influenced by
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
and
Thai cultures, as seen in many works, such as the ''
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
''. The Burmese language, unlike other Southeast Asian languages (e.g.
Thai,
Khmer), adopted words primarily from
Pāli
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhi ...
rather than from
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
. In addition, Burmese literature tends to reflect local folklore and culture.
Burmese literature has historically been a very important aspect of Burmese life steeped in the Pali
Canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
of
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
. Traditionally, Burmese children were educated by
monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
s in monasteries in towns and villages. During British colonial rule, instruction was formalised and unified, and often bilingual, in both
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and Burmese known as Anglo-Vernacular. Burmese literature played a key role in disseminating nationalism among the Burmese during the colonial era, with writers such as
Thakin Kodaw Hmaing
Thakin Kodaw Hmaing ( my, သခင်ကိုယ်တော်မှိုင်း, ; 23 March 1876 – 23 July 1964) is considered one of the greatest Burmese poets, writers and political leaders in the 20th century history of Burma. ...
, an outspoken critic of British colonialism in Burma.
Beginning soon after self-rule,
government censorship in Burma has been heavy, stifling literary expression.
Classical literature
The earliest forms of Burmese literature were on stone engravings called ''kyauksa'' ( my, ကျောက်စာ) for memorials or for special occasions such as the building of a temple or a monastery. Later, palm leaves called ''peisa'' () were used as paper, which resulted in the rounded forms of the
Burmese alphabet. During the
Bagan Dynasty
The Kingdom of Pagan ( my, ပုဂံခေတ်, , ; also known as the Pagan Dynasty and the Pagan Empire; also the Bagan Dynasty or Bagan Empire) was the first Burmese kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern-da ...
, King
Anawrahta
Anawrahta Minsaw ( my, အနော်ရထာ မင်းစော, ; 11 May 1014 – 11 April 1077) was the founder of the Pagan Empire. Considered the father of the Burmese nation, Anawrahta turned a small principality in the dry zone ...
adopted
Theravada Buddhism
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
as the state religion, and brought many Pali texts from
Ceylon. These texts were translated, but Pali remained the literary medium of the Burmese kingdom. Furthermore, Pali influenced Burmese language in structure, because of literal translations of Pali text called ''
nissaya'' ().
The earliest works of Burmese literature date from the Bagan dynasty. They include proses recording monarchical merit acts and poetic works, the earliest of which was ''Yakhaing minthami eigyin'' (''Cradle Song of the Princess of Arakan''), dated to 1455.
During the Bagan and Inwa dynasties, two primary types of literature flourished, ''
mawgun
A mawgun ( my, မော်ကွန်း, ; originated from archaic my, အမူကွန်း, ) is a form of Burmese poem which is often used to record a significant event meant to last.
History Early times
In the Pagan era, donors recorde ...
'' () and ''
eigyin,'' () and ''
pyo
''Pyo'' ( my, ပျို့) is a Burmese form of poetry and was a major Burmese verse form from the 1600s to 1700s. The earliest surviving poetic literature found in the Burmese language dates from between 1450 and 1550, and is largely in the f ...
'' (), religious works generally derived from the
Jataka
The Jātakas (meaning "Birth Story", "related to a birth") are a voluminous body of literature native to India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, th ...
tales.
Non-fiction and religious works prevailed during this period although ''
kagyin
A kagyin ( my, ကာချင်း; ) is a form of Burmese martial song performed during a shield dance ( my, ကာက; ). Its purpose is to inspire both the singer and their audience with national spirit and patriotism. A kagyin is sung while p ...
'' (), a war poem by a monarch, was an early form of this genre in history.
As literature grew more liberal and secular, poetry became the most popular form of literature in Burma. The flexibility of the
Burmese language
Burmese ( my, မြန်မာဘာသာ, MLCTS: ''mranmabhasa'', IPA: ) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken in Myanmar (also known as Burma), where it is an official language, lingua franca, and the native language of the Burmans, the coun ...
, because of its
monosyllabic In linguistics, a monosyllable is a word or utterance of only one syllable. It is most commonly studied in the fields of phonology and morphology and it has no semantic content. The word has originated from the Greek language.
"Yes", "no", "jump", ...
and tonal nature, and its lack of many
consonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are and pronounced with the lips; and pronounced with the front of the tongue; and pronounced wi ...
al finals allowed poetry to utilise various rhyming schemes. By the 15th century, four primary genres of poetry had emerged, namely ''pyo'' (poems based on the
Jataka Tales
The Jātakas (meaning "Birth Story", "related to a birth") are a voluminous body of literature native to India which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. According to Peter Skilling, this genre is ...
, ' ( metaphysical and religious poems), ''mawgun'' (historical verses written as a hybrid of epic and ode), and ''eigyin'' (lullabies of the royal family).
Courtier
A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the official ...
s also perfected the ''
myittaza'' (), a long prose letter.
Buddhist monks were also influential in developing Burmese literature. Shin Aggathammadi rendered in verse the
Jataka
The Jātakas (meaning "Birth Story", "related to a birth") are a voluminous body of literature native to India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, th ...
stories. During this time,
Shin Maha Thilawuntha (1453–1520) wrote a chronicle on the history of Buddhism. A contemporary of his, Shin Ottama Gyaw, was famous for his epic verses called ''tawla'' () that revelled in the natural beauty of the seasons, forests and travel. Yawei Shin Htwe, a maid of honour, wrote another form of poetry called ''aingyin'' on the 55 styles of hairdressing.
After the conquest of
Siam
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
by the
Toungoo Dynasty
, conventional_long_name = Toungoo dynasty
, common_name = Taungoo dynasty
, era =
, status = Empire
, event_start = Independence from Ava
, year_start ...
, Thailand became a Burmese colony. This conquest incorporated many Thai elements into Burmese literature. Most evident were the ''
yadu'' or ''yatu'' (), an emotional and philosophic verse and the ''
yagan
Yagan (; – 11 July 1833) was an Aboriginal Australian warrior from the Noongar people. Yagan was pursued by the local authorities after he killed Erin Entwhistle, a servant of farmer Archibald Butler. It was an act of retaliation after ...
'' (), which imitated the themes of the ''yadu'' genre, which was more emotionally involved, could be inspired by mood, place, incident, and often addressed to sweethearts and wives. Famous writers of ''yadu'' include
Nawade I (1545–1600) and Prince
Natshinnaung
Natshinnaung ( my, နတ်သျှင်နောင်, ; 1579–1613) was a Toungoo prince who was a noted poet and an accomplished musician, as well as an able military commander. He later became a rebellious ruler of Toungoo, and went ov ...
(1578–1619).
Some parts of Laos and Cambodia also became Burmese colonies during Second Burmese Empire and thereby influenced Burmese literature.
In the areas of law, there were two major types of literature, ''
dhammathat'' (), which appeared prior to the 13th century, and ''shauk-htone'' (), which were compilations of brief accounts of historic cases and events in simple narrative to serve as guides and legal precedents for rulers.
As the
Konbaung Dynasty
The Konbaung dynasty ( my, ကုန်းဘောင်ခေတ်, ), also known as Third Burmese Empire (တတိယမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်) and formerly known as the Alompra dynasty (အလောင်းဘ ...
emerged in the 18th century, the Third Burmese Empire was founded. This era has been dubbed the "Golden Age of Literature", with poets such as
Letwe Thondara. After a second conquest of
Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or Ayuthia may refer to:
* Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767
** Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom
* Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province (locally ...
(Thailand), many spoils of war were brought to the Burmese court. The ''
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
'' () was introduced and was adapted in Burmese. In addition, the ''Ramayana'' inspired romantic poems, which became popular literary sojourns among the royal class. Burmese literature during this period was therefore modelled after the ''Ramayana'', and dramatic plays were patronised by the Burmese court. The Burmese adapted Thai verses and created four new classical verses, called: ''taydat'' (), ''laygyo'' (), ''dwaygyo'' () and ''bawle'' ().
First printing press (1816)
The arrival of the first printing press in Burma in 1816, sent by the British
Serampore Mission, helped to liberalise centuries-old traditions of writing in verse (''lay-lone tha-paik'' (), a poetry type, where four syllable lines are linked in a climbing rhyme and grouped into stanzas of 30 lines.).
Monks remained powerful in Burmese literature, compiling histories of Burma.
Kyigan Shingyi (1757–1807) wrote the
Jataka Tales
The Jātakas (meaning "Birth Story", "related to a birth") are a voluminous body of literature native to India which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. According to Peter Skilling, this genre is ...
incorporating Burmese elements, including the ''myittaza'' (Pali ''metta'' or love + Burmese ''sa'' or letter), which are love letters and are important sources of first-hand accounts of the economic and social changes Burma was undergoing before colonialism.
During the
First Anglo-Burmese War
The First Anglo-Burmese War ( my, ပထမ အင်္ဂလိပ်-မြန်မာ စစ်; ; 5 March 1824 – 24 February 1826), also known as the First Burma War, was the first of three wars fought between the British and Burmes ...
(1823–1826), more solemn and muted moods exuded from Burmese literature, including lyrical music. In addition, ''yazawin'', historical chronicles, became important in the Konbaung dynasty, although they had been written since the Inwa dynasty. In 1724, U Kala wrote the ''Maha yazawin gyi'' (The Great Chronicles), covering Burmese history until 1711.
In 1829, King
Bagyidaw
Bagyidaw ( my, ဘကြီးတော်, ; also known as Sagaing Min, ; 23 July 1784 – 15 October 1846) was the seventh king of the Konbaung dynasty of Burma from 1819 until his abdication in 1837. Prince of Sagaing, as he was commonly know ...
appointed scholars to compile the ''Hmannan yazawin dawgyi'' (
Glass Palace Chronicle), covering Burmese history until 1821.
A successor king, King
Mindon Min
Mindon Min ( my, မင်းတုန်းမင်း, ; 1808 – 1878), born Maung Lwin, was the penultimate King of Burma (Myanmar) from 1853 to 1878. He was one of the most popular and revered kings of Burma. Under his half brother King P ...
appointed a committee of Burmese scholars from 1867 to 1869 to create the ''Dutiya maha yazawin dawgyi'' (The Second Great Royal Chronicles).
British Burma (1824-1948)
When Burma became a colony of
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
, Burmese literature continued to flourish, even though the institution of the Burmese monarchy, the leading patron of Burmese arts and literature in
pre-colonial
Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...
times, had been dismantled. English literature was still relatively inaccessible although both English and Burmese, in a curriculum called Anglo-Vernacular, was now taught in schools.
Despite the fact that Burmese literature was well entrenched in Burmese culture, the lack of patrons to support literature slowed its further development. The colonial period marked a tremendous change in Burmese literature, which had once been patronised and innovated by members of the royal court, and was now being led by civilians such as university students.
In 1910,
J S Furnivall
John Sydenham Furnivall (often cited as JS Furnivall or J.S. Furnivall) was a British-born colonial public servant and writer in Burma. He is credited with coining the concept of the plural society and had a noted career as an influential histor ...
established the
Burma Research Society
The Burma Research Society ( my, မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ သုတေသန အသင်း ) was an academic society devoted to historical research of Burma (Myanmar). Its aims were "the investigation and encouragement of Art, Sci ...
, which further emboldened the Burmese to protect their literary and cultural heritage.
Beginning in the 1920s, a nationalist movement emerged, and this influence became evident in modern novels,
short stories
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...
, and poems. At the
University of Rangoon, student writers continued to develop new forms of Burmese poetry.
A major landmark in Burmese literature was called the ''Hkit san'' (Testing the Times, ) movement, a search for a new style and content, led most notably by
Theippan Maung Wa
Theippan Maung Wa ( my, သိပ္ပံမောင်ဝ ; 5 June 1899 – 6 June 1942) was a Burmese writer, and one of the pioneers of the '' Hkit San'' literary movement. The movement searched for a new style and content in Burmese lit ...
along with
Nwe Soe
Myo Min ( my, မျိုးမင်း, ; 7 April 1910 – 21 September 1995) was a Burmese academic, journalist and writer, who wrote under the pen names of Nwe Soe (, ), U Myo Min and Myint Win. He was one of the founders of the ''Khit-San S ...
,
Zawgyi,
Min Thu Wun
Thiri Pyanchi Min Thu Wun ( my, မင်းသုဝဏ်; 10 February 1909 – 15 August 2004) was a Burmese poet, writer and scholar who helped launch a new age literary movement called Khit-San (Testing the Times) in Burma. He is the fath ...
and Mya Kaytu, while still at university and after, in the decade before the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
.
During the ''Hkit san'' movement,
University of Rangoon students innovated new styles of writing, with shorter and clearer sentences, and unadorned prose, a radical transformation from royal writings of the pre-colonial eras beforehand.
The movement for independence continued to fuel Burmese literature.
Thakin Kodaw Hmaing
Thakin Kodaw Hmaing ( my, သခင်ကိုယ်တော်မှိုင်း, ; 23 March 1876 – 23 July 1964) is considered one of the greatest Burmese poets, writers and political leaders in the 20th century history of Burma. ...
was greatly influential in spawning this anti-colonial literature with his powerful ''laygyo gyi'' () and ''htika'' () verses famous for their patriotic and satirical content.
Hmawbi Hsaya Thein was particularly influential, with ''Bazat yazawin'' (Oral Chronicles), which relied on oral tradition. Novels also came into vogue, with the first being
James Hla Kyaw's ''Maung Yin Maung Ma Me Ma'', written in 1904 and inspired by the ''
Count of Monte Cristo''. ''Kala paw wut-htu'' (, 'modern novels') became popular during this era, with
P Moe Nin
P Moe Nin ( my, ပီမိုးနင်း; 5 November 1883 – 6 January 1940) was one of Burma's most prolific and treasured writers. His writing style differed from that prevalent in Burma at the time, writing concisely and clearly. Because ...
writing the first Burmese novels to focus on the individual and place that character at the centre of the plot.
Theippan Maung Wa and
Thein Pe Myint were among other original and innovative authors from the colonial period. Female writers, such as
Dagon Khin Khin Lay, who wrote about the hardships of
peasant
A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasant ...
life under colonialism, also gained prominence during the nationalist period leading up to independence.
The British author
George Orwell, who was severely critical of British colonialism, wrote ''
Burmese Days
''Burmese Days'' is the first novel by English writer George Orwell, published in 1934. Set in British Burma during the waning days of empire, when Burma was ruled from Delhi as part of British India, the novel serves as "a portrait of the dark ...
'' published in 1935.
In addition, literary culture in Burma expanded to the masses during this period, with the arrival of printing presses and publishers, such as the Hanthawaddy Press, a major publisher of Burmese and Buddhist works established by Phillip Ripley.
In the 1920s to the 1930s, monthly literary magazines like ''Dagon'' and ''Ganda Lawka'' (World of Classics) were published to connect readers to writers, who often published novels in serial installations.
Post-independence literature (1948-)
After independence in 1948, Burmese literature developed further to adopt and assimilate Western styles of writing. A year earlier, the Burmese Translation Society, a government-subsidised organisation, was founded to translate foreign works, especially those related to the fields of science and technology. In 1963, a year after the socialist coup, the Society was merged into the Sapay Beikman (), a government publishing house. Another influential publisher was the Pagan Press (est. 1962), which translated
Socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
and
Marxist works into Burmese.
In 1976, the first
Burmese Encyclopedia () was published.
The socialist government, like the previous civilian government, was a patron of Burmese literature, believing "enriching literature" to be a goal of
socialist democracies, as outlined in the Revolutionary Council's ''System of Correlation of Man and his Environment''. However, censorship and promotion of socialist ideology became important aims of the government, in regulating literature, as seen in the reorganisation of the
Ministry of Information, which censored works according to three primary objectives that aimed to promote socialism:
# To introduce necessary bills, acts and orders concerning literature and information agencies.
# To promote participation of the people in the construction of the socialist state.
# To defend the socialist system from its ideological enemies.
—''Discussion of the National Literary Conference''. Rangoon: Ministry of Information, 1963.
Censorship
In 1971, the government formed the Burmese literary Commission, to develop Burmese literature further.
On 5 July 1975, the Printers and Publishers' Central Registration Board, the main censorship board of the Home Ministry (four years earlier, the Board had been a part of the Information Ministry), issued a statement to warn publishers to self-censor works (especially those criticising the
Burma Socialist Programme Party
The Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP), ; abbreviated , was Burma's ruling party from 1962 to 1988 and sole legal party from 1964 to 1988. Party chairman Ne Win overthrew the country's democratically elected government in a coup d'ét ...
, the government, pornographic writing and libel), undermining the principle of
freedom of expression
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...
.
Many contemporary works are of
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
and
biographical
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...
accounts. Because of strict government censorship beginning in the 1960s with the rule of
Ne Win, Burmese literature has become subdued in many ways.
By 1976, only 411 titles were published annually, compared to 1882, when 445 titles were published.
Various factors, especially the lengthened bureaucratic process to obtain printing permits, censorship, and increasing economic hardship of consumers because of the socialist economic schemes, contributed to the decline of Burmese literary output.
Popular novels have similar themes, often involving adventure, espionage, detective work, and romance. Many writers also translate Western novels, especially those of
Arthur Hailey and
Harold Robbins
Harold Robbins (May 21, 1916 – October 14, 1997) was an American author of popular novels. One of the best-selling writers of all time, he wrote over 25 best-sellers, selling over 750 million copies in 32 languages.
Early life
Robbins was b ...
. The flourishing translation sector is the result of the Burmese government, which did not sign the
Universal Copyright Convention
The Universal Copyright Convention (UCC), adopted in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1952, is one of the two principal international conventions protecting copyright; the other is the Berne Convention.
The UCC was developed by the United Nations Educati ...
Agreement, which would have forced Burmese writers to pay royalties to the original writers.
Short stories, often published in magazines, also enjoy tremendous popularity. They often deal with everyday life and have political messages (such as subtle criticisms of the capitalist system), partly because unlike novels, short stories are not censored by the
Press Scrutiny Board. Poetry is also a popular genre today, as it was during the monarchical times, but unlike novels and other works, which use literary Burmese, may use the vernacular, instead of literary Burmese. This reform movement is led by left-leaning writers who believe laymen's language (the vernacular and colloquial form of
Burmese) ought to be used instead of formal Burmese in literature.
One of the greatest female writers of the Post-colonial period is
Journal Kyaw Ma Ma Lay
''Journal Kyaw'' Ma Ma Lay ( my, ဂျာနယ်ကျော် မမလေး ) is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest Burmese writers of the 20th century. Her stories are known for authentic portrayals of modern Burmese society. Alo ...
.
Khin Myo Chit
Khin Myo Chit ( my, ခင်မျိုးချစ်, ; 1 May 1915 – 2 January 1999) was a Burmese author and journalist, whose career spanned over four decades. She began her career writing short stories in Burmese for ''Dagon Magazine ...
was another important writer, who wrote, among her works, ''
The 13-Carat Diamond'' (1955), which was translated into many languages. The journalist
Ludu U Hla
Ludu U Hla ( my, လူထုဦးလှ; ; 19 January 1910 – 7 August 1982) was a Burmese journalist, publisher, chronicler, folklorist and social reformer whose prolific writings include a considerable number of path-breaking nonfiction ...
was the author of numerous volumes of ethnic minority folklore, novels about inmates in
U Nu
Nu ( my, ဦးနု; ; 25 May 1907 – 14 February 1995), commonly known as U Nu also known by the honorific name Thakin Nu, was a leading Burmese statesman and nationalist politician. He was the first Prime Minister of Burma under the pr ...
-era jails, and biographies of people working in different occupations. The Prime Minister
U Nu
Nu ( my, ဦးနု; ; 25 May 1907 – 14 February 1995), commonly known as U Nu also known by the honorific name Thakin Nu, was a leading Burmese statesman and nationalist politician. He was the first Prime Minister of Burma under the pr ...
himself wrote several politically oriented plays and novels.
Other prolific writers of the post-colonial era include
Thein Pe Myint (and his ''The Ocean Traveller and the Pearl Queen'', considered a Burmese classic),
Mya Than Tint (known for his translations of Western classics like ''
War and Peace
''War and Peace'' (russian: Война и мир, translit=Voyna i mir; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy that mixes fictional narrative with chapters on history and philosophy. It was first published ...
''), Thawda Swe and Myat Htun. Distinguished female writers, who have also been an ever-present force in Burmese literary history, include
Kyi Aye,
Khin Hnin Yu, and
San San Nweh.
Contemporary
In 2012, the
anthology ''Bones Will Crow: 15 Contemporary Burmese Poets''
was edited by Ko Ko Thett and James Byrne. It featured poetry from Tin Moe, Thitsar Ni, Aung Cheimt, Ma Ei, Maung Chaw Nwe, Maung Pyiyt Min, Khin Aung Aye, Zeyar Lynn, Maung Thein Zaw, Moe Zaw, Moe Way, ko ko thett, Eaindra, Pandora and Maung Yu Py, and was published by Arc Publications Anthologies in Translation series and, later in 2013, by Northern Illinois University Press in the United States. This bilingual English/Burmese edition of poetry is regarded as the first anthology of modern Burmese poetry in the West.
Notable writers
The journalist
Ludu U Hla
Ludu U Hla ( my, လူထုဦးလှ; ; 19 January 1910 – 7 August 1982) was a Burmese journalist, publisher, chronicler, folklorist and social reformer whose prolific writings include a considerable number of path-breaking nonfiction ...
(1910–1982) was the author of numerous volumes of ethnic minority folklore, novels about inmates in U Nu-era jails, and biographies of people working in different occupations. The Prime Minister U Nu himself wrote several politically oriented plays and novels.
Other writers who came of age prior to 1947 during the colonial era included
Hmawbi Saya Thein (1862–1942),
James Hla Kyaw (1866-1919),
U Ottama
, image = Ven.Ottama.png
, caption =
, birth_name = Paw Tun Aung
, birth_date = 28 December 1879 1st waning of Pyatho 1241 ME
, birth_place = Rupa Village, Sittwe District, Arakan Division, British Burma
, death_date = 11th waning of Wag ...
(1879–1939),
Thakin Kodaw Hmaing
Thakin Kodaw Hmaing ( my, သခင်ကိုယ်တော်မှိုင်း, ; 23 March 1876 – 23 July 1964) is considered one of the greatest Burmese poets, writers and political leaders in the 20th century history of Burma. ...
(1876–1964),
P Moe Nin
P Moe Nin ( my, ပီမိုးနင်း; 5 November 1883 – 6 January 1940) was one of Burma's most prolific and treasured writers. His writing style differed from that prevalent in Burma at the time, writing concisely and clearly. Because ...
(1883-1940),
Pe Maung Tin
Pe Maung Tin ( my, ဖေမောင်တင် ; 24 April 1888 – 22 March 1973) was a scholar of Pali and Buddhism and educator in Myanmar, formerly Burma. Born to an Anglican family at Pauktaw, Insein Township, Rangoon, he was the fifth chil ...
(1888–1973),
Po Kya (1891–1942),
Theippan Maung Wa
Theippan Maung Wa ( my, သိပ္ပံမောင်ဝ ; 5 June 1899 – 6 June 1942) was a Burmese writer, and one of the pioneers of the '' Hkit San'' literary movement. The movement searched for a new style and content in Burmese lit ...
(1899–1942),
Dagon Khin Khin Lay (1904–1981),
Saya Zawgyi
Zawgyi ( my, ဇော်ဂျီ, Ashinsoma=Ashin Na Ga Vam Sa, ; born Thein Han (, ); 12 April 1907 – 26 September 1990) was a distinguished and leading Burmese poet, author, literary historian, critic, scholar and academic. His name, Zawg ...
(1907-1990),
Htin Aung
Htin Aung ( my, ထင်အောင် ; also Maung Htin Aung; 18 May 1909 – 10 May 1978) was a writer and scholar of Burmese culture and history. Educated at Oxford and Cambridge, Htin Aung wrote several books on Burmese history and culture ...
(1909–1978),
Min Thu Wun
Thiri Pyanchi Min Thu Wun ( my, မင်းသုဝဏ်; 10 February 1909 – 15 August 2004) was a Burmese poet, writer and scholar who helped launch a new age literary movement called Khit-San (Testing the Times) in Burma. He is the fath ...
(1909-2004),
Thukha (1910–2005),
Chit Maung
Journal Kyaw U Chit Maung (; 1913–1945) was a journalist and patriotic writer of Burma / Myanmar. He worked for ''Bogyoke'' Aung San, the father of Burmese politician Aung San Suu Kyi. He was Chief Editor of '' New Light of Burma' Later his own ...
(1913–1945),
Thein Pe Myint (1914–1978) who wrote the classic ''The Ocean Traveller and the Pearl Queen'',
Richard Bartholomew (1926–1985) and
Taw Phayar Galay (1926–2006).
Younger authors who became well known in Burma include
Aung Thin (born c. 1927),
Mya Than Tint (1929–1998) who was known for his translations of Western classics like ''
War and Peace
''War and Peace'' (russian: Война и мир, translit=Voyna i mir; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy that mixes fictional narrative with chapters on history and philosophy. It was first published ...
'',
Tekkatho Phone Naing
Tekkatho Phone Naing ( my, တက္ကသိုလ် ဘုန်းနိုင်, 16 January 1930 – 2002) was a famous Burmese writer, primarily known for lovelorn stories that were most popular in the 1950s to 1970s. His "sad" sto ...
(1930–2002),
Maung Hsu Shin (c. 1932-2009),
Tin Moe
U Tin Moe (; ) (1933-2007) was a Burmese poet.
Early life
Tin Moe (Maung Ba Gyan) was born in the village of Kanmyè in Taungtha Township, Myingyan, Mandalay Division.
He received his early education at a Buddhist monastery, and attended s ...
(1933–2007),
Nanda Thein Zan (1947-2011), and
Pascal Khoo Thwe (born 1967).
Other well-known authors include
Thawda Swe,
Chit Oo Nyo,
Maung Khin Min (Danubyu),
and
Saw Wai
Saw Wai ( my, စောဝေ, ), also known as U Saw Wai, .
Well-known Burmese historians include
San C. Po (1870–1946),
Htin Aung
Htin Aung ( my, ထင်အောင် ; also Maung Htin Aung; 18 May 1909 – 10 May 1978) was a writer and scholar of Burmese culture and history. Educated at Oxford and Cambridge, Htin Aung wrote several books on Burmese history and culture ...
(1909–1978),
Sao Saimong (1913–1987),
Ba Shin (1914-1971),
Than Tun
Than Tun ( my, သန်းထွန်း, ; 6 April 1923 – 30 November 2005) was an influential Burmese historian as well as an outspoken critic of the military junta of Burma. For his lifelong contributions to the development of worldwide ...
(1923–2005),
Myoma Myint Kywe (born 1960) and
Thant Myint-U
Thant Myint-U ( my, သန့်မြင့်ဦး ; born 31 January 1966) is an American-born Burmese historian, writer, grandson of former United Nations Secretary-General U Thant, former UN official, and former special adviser to the p ...
(born 1966)
Distinguished female writers, who have also been an ever-present force in Burmese literary history, include
Kyi Aye,
Ludu Daw Amar
''Ludu'' Daw Amar (also Ludu Daw Ah Mar; my, လူထုဒေါ်အမာ, ; 29 November 1915 – 7 April 2008) was a well known and respected leading dissident writer and journalist in Mandalay, Burma. She was married to fellow writer ...
(1915–2008),
Khin Hnin Yu (1925–2003),
Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi (; ; born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar (equivalent to a prime minister) and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2 ...
(born 1945),
Minfong Ho (born 1951),
Nu Nu Yi
Nu Nu Yi ( my, နုနုရည်, ; also referred to as Nu Nu Yi (Inwa) (နုနုရည် (အင်းဝ)), is a Burmese author. Known for portraying the lives of underprivileged Burmese in her works, she has drawn scrutiny from gover ...
(born 1957),
San San Nweh,
Jue (born 1958),
Khin Khin Htoo
Khin Khin Htoo (, ; born 17 December 1965) is a Mandalay-based Myanmar National Literature Award winning writer. Her works are known for their coverage of the traditional Burmese culture, and beauty of Burmese people of Upper Myanmar. She is th ...
(born 1965)
Ma Sandar (1942 born) and
Mi Chan Wai.
One of the greatest female writers of the post-colonial period is
Journal Kyaw Ma Ma Lay
''Journal Kyaw'' Ma Ma Lay ( my, ဂျာနယ်ကျော် မမလေး ) is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest Burmese writers of the 20th century. Her stories are known for authentic portrayals of modern Burmese society. Alo ...
(1917-1982).
Khin Myo Chit
Khin Myo Chit ( my, ခင်မျိုးချစ်, ; 1 May 1915 – 2 January 1999) was a Burmese author and journalist, whose career spanned over four decades. She began her career writing short stories in Burmese for ''Dagon Magazine ...
(1915–1999) was another important writer, who wrote, among her works, ''The 13-Carat Diamond'' (1955), which was translated into many languages.
See also
*
Culture of Burma
The culture of Myanmar (also known as Burma) ( my, မြန်မာ့ယဉ်ကျေးမှု) has been heavily influenced by Buddhism. Burmese culture has also been influenced by its neighbours.
In more recent times, British colonial ...
*
Yama Zatdaw
Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities. ...
*
Cinema of Burma
The cinema of Burma has a long history dating back to the 1910s. The person who created the first silent film was Ohn Maung (Burma's first producer and director).
Start of the Burmese cinema
Burma's first film was a recording of the funeral o ...
*
Censorship in Burma
Censorship in Myanmar (also called Burma) results from government policies in controlling and regulating certain information, particularly on religious, ethnic, political, and moral grounds.
Freedom of speech and the press are not guaranteed ...
*
Literature about Southeast Asia
This is an introduction to some of the books and novels written about Southeast Asia.
General
*''At war with Asia'' by Noam Chomsky. Describes the American-Vietnam War, and the bombing campaigns on neighboring countries.
*''Democracy (novel), Demo ...
*
List of Burmese writers
*
Annemarie Esche
References
External links
A Study of the Rise of the Burmese Novel Zawgyi,
Journal of Burma Research Society, June 1968
University of Washington Library's Burmese literature databaseU Than Htut and U Thaw Kaung, ''Perspective'', Dec. 2001
Ayinepan Literature Anna J. Allott
Burmese Contemporary Essays A Review by Maung Swan Yi, VOA 1 September 2006
Bones will Crow: 15 Contemporary Burmese Poets translated and edited by ko ko thett and James Byrne (ARC Publications, UK 2012)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Literature Of Burma