South Hsenwi was a Shan state in the Northern

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 what is today

Burma 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 ...

. The capital was Mongyai town which had a population of about 2000 in the 19th century. South Hsenwi had an area of 2400 m² and a population of 67,836 in 1901; its estimated revenue was £4800.

History

According to tradition, the predecessor state of Sivirattha was founded before 650 AD. This legendary state became

Hsenwi State Hsenwi ( shn, သဵၼ်ႈဝီ; tdd, ᥔᥦᥢᥲ ᥝᥤᥴ), also known as Theinni ( my, သိန္နီ), was a Shan state in the Northern Shan States in what is today Burma. The capital was Hsenwi town. History Most Tai Yai chronic ...

with the passing of the centuries. Hsenwi was the largest of the cis-

Salween , ''Mae Nam Salawin'' ( , name_etymology = , image = Sweet_View_of_Salween_River_in_Tang_Yan_Township,_Shan_State,_Myanmar.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Salween River in Shan State, Myanmar , map ...

Shan states, and at one time included all of what are now the present states of North and South Hsenwi,

Kehsi Mansam Kehsi Mansam (also known as Kehsi Mangam and as Kyithi Bansan) was a Shan state in what is today Burma. It belonged to the Eastern Division of the Southern Shan States. Its capital was Kehsi town, located by the Nam Heng River. The state includ ...

Mong Hsu Mong Hsu is the principal town of Mong Hsu Township of Shan State. History It was the main town of one of the Shan States The Shan States (1885–1948) were a collection of minor Shan kingdoms called ''muang'' whose rulers bore the ti ...

Mong Sang Mongsang (also known as Maingsin) was a Shan state in what is today Burma. History Mongsang became independent from Hsenwi in 1857 under a personal union with the neighbouring state of Monghsu. It was a tributary of Burma until 1887, when the Shan ...

, and

Mong Nawng Mong Nawng, Mong Naung or Mongnawng is a town in Shan State, Myanmar. It is located a few miles to the west of the Nam Pang river. History In British Burma Mong Nawng was the capital of Mongnawng State, one of the large Shan States. The town ha ...

. It also held

Mang Lon Mang Lon, Manglon, Manglun, Manglön, or Mang Lön a state in the northern Shan states of Myanmar, was formerly the chief state of the Wa people. It is a mountainous territory, including the valleys of the Salween and its tributary the Nam Hka. I ...

and other Wa states east of the Salween in a protectorate-like arrangement. During Burmese times, the state lost control of these areas and at the time of the annexation following British rule in Burma, Hsenwi was composed of five ''de jure'' divisions; but the administration of the area was in chaos, with no central control. After the pacification of the region in March 1888, the

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

administration divided Hsenwi into two states:

North Hsenwi North Hsenwi was a Shan state in the Northern Shan States in what is today Burma. The capital was Lashio town which was also the headquarters of the superintendent of the Northern Shan State. North Hsenwi, with an area of 6330 m², had a populatio ...

, which was assigned to a successful adventurer, Hkun Sang, of

Ton Hong Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean * the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds ...

, and South Hsenwi which went to Nawmong, of the old

Shan ruling house Chao-Pha (; Tai Ahom: 𑜋𑜧𑜨 𑜇𑜡, th, เจ้าฟ้า}, shn, ၸဝ်ႈၾႃႉ, translit=Jao3 Fa5 Jao3 Fa5, my, စော်ဘွား ''Sawbwa,'' ) was a royal title used by the hereditary rulers of the Tai peoples of ...

Lashio Lashio ( ; Shan: ) is the largest town in northern Shan State, Myanmar, about north-east of Mandalay. It is situated on a low mountain spur overlooking the valley of the Yaw River. Loi Leng, the highest mountain of the Shan Hills, is located ...

, the headquarters of the superintendent of the Northern Shan State, was located in North Hsenwi. The last ruler of South Hsenwi abdicated in 1959. The state became part of

Shan State Shan State ( my, ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်, ; shn, မိူင်းတႆး, italics=no) also known by the endonyms Shanland, Muang Tai, and Tailong, is a state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the north, Laos ( ...

and, despite the independence struggle of the latter, eventually part of

Rulers

The rulers of South Hsenwi bore the title ''

Saopha Chao-Pha (; Tai Ahom: 𑜋𑜧𑜨 𑜇𑜡, th, เจ้าฟ้า}, shn, ၸဝ်ႈၾႃႉ, translit=Jao3 Fa5 Jao3 Fa5, my, စော်ဘွား ''Sawbwa,'' ) was a royal title used by the hereditary rulers of the Tai peoples of ...

''.Shan and Karenni States of Burma
/ref>

Saophas

*Mar 1888 - 1913 Sao Naw Möng (b. 1855 - d. 1913) *1913 - 1946 Sao Song (b. 1888 - d. 1946) *1946 - 29 May 1959 Sao Hsu Hom

References

External links

"Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan states"
19th century in Burma Shan States {{ShanState-geo-stub