The Shan people, also known as the Tai Long, or Tai Yai are a Tai ethnic group of Southeast Asia. The Shan are the biggest minority of Burma (Myanmar) and primarily live in the Shan State of this country, but also inhabit parts of Mandalay Region, Kachin State, and Kayin State, and in adjacent regions of China, Laos, Assam and Thailand. Though no reliable census has been taken in Burma since 1935, the Shan are estimated to number 4–6 million, with CIA Factbook giving an estimate of five million spread throughout Myanmar which is about 10% of the overall Burmese population.
Shan State also known by the endonyms Shanland, Muang Tai, and Tailong, is a state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the north, Laos to the east, and Thailand to the south, and five administrative divisions of Burma (Myanmar) in the west. The largest of the 14 administrative divisions by land area, Shan State covers 155,800 km2, almost a quarter of the total area of Myanmar. The state gets its name from Burmese name for the Tai peoples: "Shan people". The Tai (Shan) constitute the majority among several ethnic groups that inhabit the area. Shanland is largely rural, with only three cities of significant size: Lashio, Kengtung, and the capital, Taunggyi. Taunggyi is 150.7 km northeast of the nation's capital Naypyitaw.
Prince Hso Khan Pha of Yawnghwe was a consulting geologist who lived in exile in Canada. He was a son of Sao Shwe Thaik, the Saopha of Yawnghwe and Sao Nang Hearn Kham, the Mahadevi (consort).
Kengtung, also spelt Kyaingtong, is a town in Shan State, Myanmar. It is the principal town of Kengtung Township and the former seat of Kengtung State, a minor principality. Kengtung is located on the National Highway 4 (NH4) and at the AH2 and AH3 of the Asian Highway.
Yawnghwe, known as Nyaungshwe in Burmese, was a Shan state in what is today Myanmar. It was one of the most important of the Southern Shan States. Yawnghwe state included the Inle Lake. The administrative capital was Taunggyi, located in the northern part of the state. The Agent of the British government, the Superintendent of the Southern Shan States, resided at Taunggyi and the king's palace was at Yawnghwe.
Sao Sāimöng or Sao Sāimöng Mangrāi was a member of the princely family of Kengtung State. He was a government minister in Burma soon after independence; he was also a scholar, historian and linguist. His wife, Mi Mi Khaing, was also a scholar and writer.
Sao Kawng Kiao Intaleng succeeded his brother to become the 53rd ruler (Sawbwa) of the Shan state of Kengtung in 1895. He, his first wife, and his sister, Princess Tip Htila, all attended the Delhi Durbar in 1903 in a party of Shan princes guided by J. G. Scott. After this journey, in 1905, he built a new palace in Imperial Indian style at his capital, Kengtung. He was a popular and capable ruler, and abolished domestic slavery in the state. He died in 1935.
Hsipaw, also known as Thibaw, is the principal town of Hsipaw Township in Shan State, Myanmar on the banks of the Duthawadi River. It is 200 kilometres (120 mi) north-east of Mandalay.
Kantarawadi, also known as Gantarawadi, was one of the Karenni States in what is today Kayah State in Burma. It was also known as "Eastern Karenni" owing to the location of part of its territory east of the Salween River.
The Burmese–Siamese War of 1849–1855 or Siamese Invasions of Kengtung or Kengtung Wars were military expeditions of the Siamese Rattanakosin Kingdom against the Tai Khün State of Kengtung, which had been under Burmese suzerainty under the Konbaung dynasty. The dynastic struggles in Tai Lue State of Chiang Hung or Sipsongpanna prompted Siam, in cooperation with the Kingdom of Lanna, to invade Kengtung in order to gain access to Chiang Hung. In the First Invasion in 1850, the Siamese court had ordered the Lanna Lord of Chiangmai to organize the offensives against Kengtung. Lanna troops failed to conquer Kengtung. Two other expeditions occurred in 1852 and 1853 as Bangkok commanded its troops to directly participate in the invasions. Both expeditions also failed because of internal issues and geographical unfamiliarity. The State of Kengtung under the leadership of Saopha Maha Hkanan, with limited assistance from Burma who had been embroiling in the Second Anglo-Burmese War, managed to resist Siamese-Lanna invasions three times.
Hsipaw, also known as Thibaw was a Shan state in what is today Myanmar. Its capital was Hsipaw town. Hsipaw State was perhaps one of the most well known and powerful Shan States.
Mongmit or Möngmit, also known as Momeik, was a Shan state in the Northern Shan States in what is today Burma. The capital was Mongmit town. The state included the townships of Mongmit and Kodaung.
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 population in 1901 of 118,325 persons and an estimated revenue of £6000.
Kengtung, known as Menggen Prefecture or Möng Khün Chiefdom or Mueng Khuen Fu from 1405 to 1895, was a Shan state in what is today Burma. The capital and the residence of the ruler was Kengtung in the centre of the state. It was the only urban area in this mountainous state whose landscape is dominated by the Daen Lao Range.
Sao Nang Hearn Kham, Daw Hearn Kham was the Mahadevi of Yawnghwe one of the most important Shan States. Her husband Sao Shwe Thaik was the 23d and last Saopha of Yawnghwe and became the first President of Burma and she became the first First Lady of Myanmar. She had five children with him.
Sao Kya Seng or Sao Kya Hseng was a politician, a mining engineer, an agriculturalist and the last Saopha of Hsipaw State, Myanmar, from 1947 to 1959.
Maha Myat Muni Temple, also known as Wat Phra Sao Luang is a Buddhist temple in Kengtung, Shan State, Myanmar (Burma). The temple is known for its replica of the Mahamuni Buddha image in Mandalay.
Sao Nang Sukantha of Kengtung, later known as Sukantha na Chiengmai, was the wife of Inthanon na Chiengmai. She was the daughter of Kawng Kiao Intaleng of Kengtung State in what is today Myanmar.
Burmese-Siamese War (1802–1805) was the military conflict between the Kingdom of Burma under the Konbaung dynasty and Kingdom of Siam under the Chakri dynasty over the Lan Na city-states. It is composed of two parts: the Burmese Invasion of Chiang Mai in 1802 and the Siamese Invasion of Chiang Saen in 1804. The Burmese King Bodawpaya attempted to reclaim the lost dominions in Lan Na, east of Salween River. Lan Na, under leadership of Prince Kawila of Chiang Mai with Siamese support, successfully repelled the Burmese invasion. The Siamese under King Rama I then dispatched troops, in retaliation, to attack Burmese Chiang Saen in 1805. The town of Chiang Saen surrendered and came under Siamese rule. The wars resulted in the Burmese influence being totally eliminated from Lan Na, permanently.
