Mi Mi Khaing ( my, မိမိခိုင် ; 1916 – 15 March 1990) was a Burmese scholar and writer who authored numerous books and articles on life in Burma during the 20th century. She is notable as one of the first women to write in English about Burmese culture and traditions.

Life

Born of

Mon Mon, MON or Mon. may refer to: Places * Mon State, a subdivision of Myanmar * Mon, India, a town in Nagaland * Mon district, Nagaland * Mon, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India * Mon, Switzerland, a village in the Canton of Grisons * A ...

ancestry, Mi Mi Khaing grew up during the British colonial rule of Burma and was educated in British schools. She attended St. John's Convent School,Kanbawsa - A Modern Review
/ref> and gained first a BA (Hons) from

Rangoon University '') , mottoeng = There's no friend like wisdom. , established = , type = Public , rector = Dr. Tin Mg Tun , undergrad = 4194 , postgrad = 5748 , city = Kamayut 11041, Yangon , state = Yangon Regio ...

and then a BSc from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

.'Daw Mi Mi Khaing (1916–1990)', in

Anne Commire Anne Commire (11 August 1939 – 23 February 2012) was an American playwright and editor who frequently wrote about women's issues and struggles. Her first play, ''Shay'', about a young pregnant high school dropout, was noted by ''The New York Tim ...

, ed., Dictionary of Women Worldwide''
Republished
at encyclopedia.com. Accessed 11 February 2020. She married

Sao Saimong Sao Sāimöng (also Sao Sāimöng Mangrāi; 13 November 1913 – 14 July 1987) was a member of the princely family of Kengtung State. He was a government minister in Burma (now Myanmar) soon after independence; he was also a scholar, historian an ...

, a noted scholar and a member of the royal family of

Kengtung State Kengtung ( my, ကျိုင်းတုံ; shn, ၵဵင်းတုင် ''Chiang Tung;'' ), known as Menggen Prefecture ( zh, 孟艮府) or Möng Khün Chiefdom or Mueng Khuen Fu (Tai Khün: ) from 1405 to 1895, was a Shan state ...

, one of the

Shan States The Shan States (1885–1948) were a collection of minor Shan kingdoms called '' muang'' whose rulers bore the title ''saopha'' in British Burma. They were analogous to the princely states of British India. The term "Shan States" was fi ...

. In addition to her writing career, she also established Kambawza College in

Taunggyi Taunggyi ( ; Shan: ; Pa'O: ) is the capital and largest city of Shan State, Myanmar (Burma) and lies on the Thazi-Kyaingtong road at an elevation of , just north of Shwenyaung and Inle Lake within the Myelat region. Taunggyi is the fifth la ...

and served as its principal. In later life she lost her sight as the result of a

brain tumour A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and second ...

, but learnt to read and write in

Braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are blind, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille displ ...

. The geologist Yin Yin Nwe is her daughter.

Published works

;Books *''Burmese Family'' (1946, 1962), Bloomington, IN, Indiana University Press, 1962. *''Cook and Entertain the Burmese Way'' (1978), Karoma Publishers, 1978. *''The World of Burmese Women'' (1984), London, Zed Press, 1984. ;Articles * (with Charles S. Brant) * *

References

Sources

*Maxim, Sarah (1987). The World of Burmese Women. The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 46, No. 3 (Aug., 1987), pp. 699–700. *Clague, John (1948). Burmese Family: Review. International Affairs, Vol. 24, No. 2 (Apr., 1948), p. 298. * 1916 births 1990 deaths Burmese people of Mon descent Burmese scholars People from Bago Region University of Yangon alumni Kengtung State 20th-century Burmese women writers 20th-century Burmese writers Blind people English-language writers from Myanmar {{Myanmar-writer-stub