Kengtung State

This article is about one of the former Shan States. For the present-day administrative division, see Kengtung Township. For the city, see Kengtung.
Kengtung
ကျိုင်းတုံ /
State of the Shan States
c. 1243–1959 →
Kengtung State in blue in a map of the Shan States
History
 • Dynasty established by a delegate of King Mangrai c. 1243
 • Abdication of the last Saopha 1959
Area
 • 1901 31,079 km2 (12,000 sq mi)
Population
 • 1901 190,698 
Density 6.1 /km2  (15.9 /sq mi)
Kengtung (Cheing Toong) on a 19th century map of the Shan States.
Princess Tip Htila of the Kengtung royal house, photographed by J. G. Scott in 1910 or earlier
The Palace of the Saophas of Kengtung, a historic landmark with intricate interiors of carved and lacquered teak. It was destroyed in 1991 by the Burmese military regime despite local protests.[1]
Sao Saimong and his wife, Mi Mi Khaing.
Territories annexed by Thailand in the Shan and Karenni States.

Kengtung (Burmese: ကျိုင်းတုံ; Thai: เชียงตุง Chiang Tung) 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.

Kengtung was the largest of the states in present-day Shan State and ranked first in the order of precedence at the time of the invasion of the Shan States by the British Empire. It was also the easternmost of the Southern Shan States, lying almost entirely east of the Salween and stretching eastwards to the Mekong. It was separated from the northern Shan state of Manglon by the Hka River.

Most of the early history of Kengtung is made up of myths and legends. At the time of British rule in Burma the Tai Yai people were the majority of the population in Kengtung state with other groups such as Akha and Lahu, forming sizeable communities. According to Wa tradition, in the distant past the territory had belonged to the Wa people who were displaced around 1229 and were later defeated by King Mangrai. The Wa now form a minority of only about 10% in Kengtung State despite having been —according to their myths— the original inhabitants.[2]

History

Early kingdoms

According to local tradition Khemarattha, the predecessor state, was founded in an unknown date in the distant past. It was ruled by the Tai Khün of Tai Yai (Shan) ethnic background. The current dynasty has its origins in the kingdom founded around 1243 by a prince named Mang Kun, said to be a delegate of King Mangrai.[3][4] Despite the ethnic affinity of the ruling Tai with the Siamese to the south,[5]

Kengtung was led by Saopha princes who historically preferred to pay tribute to the Burmese kings to the west. The King of Mandalay restricted himself to exacting a yearly tribute, often in the form of offerings of ritual gold flowers, leaving the Kengtung rulers largely alone. The Salween river also acted as a protective natural border in the West hampering communication with Upper Burma. On the other hand, the kingdoms of Lanna and Ayutthaya, as well as the Chinese to the northeast, were closer, more bellicose and had easier access to the territory.

Modern history

In 1760, following conflicting claims of political influence over Kengtung State, there was a war between the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty and the King of Burma, Hsinbyushin. In 1802 Kengtung came under the rule of Chiang Mai, but with the help of the Burmese the former ruling dynasty was reinstated in 1814 and Mongyawng (Möngyawng) state was annexed.[6]

Kengtung was historically located at the crossroads of the trade between China and Siam and 19th century sources talk about caravans crossing Kengtung on their way to Chiang Mai totaling yearly 8,000 mules loaded with goods from China.[2] During British rule in Burma the eastern border was demarcated by the colonial powers and the western part of Kengcheng was merged with Kengtung.[7] Historically Kengtung also included the substates of Hsenyawt, Hsenmawng, Monghsat and Mongpu.[6][8]

On 27 May 1942, during World War II, Kengtung State was invaded and its capital captured by the Thai Phayap Army.[9] Following a previous agreement between Thai Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram and the Japanese Empire, in December the same year the Thai administration occupied Kengtung and four districts of Möngpan. The annexation of the trans-Salween territories historically claimed by Thailand was formalised on 1 August 1943 and the northern province of Saharat Thai Doem was established.[10] Thailand left the territory in 1945, but officially relinquished its claim over Kengtung State only in 1946 as part of the condition for admission to the United Nations and the withdrawal of all wartime sanctions for having sided with the Axis powers.[11]

The last ruler of Kengtung abdicated in 1959. The state became then part of Shan State and, despite the independence struggle of the latter, eventually part of Burma. After the 1962 military coup by General Ne Win all the privileges of the saophas were abolished.[12]

Rulers

The rulers of Kengtung bore the title of Saopha; their ritual style was Khemadhipati Rajadhiraja.[13]

The Kengtung Yazawin, also known as 'Padaeng Chronicle' and 'Jengtung State Chronicle', is a history of the rulers of Kengtung written in the 19th century in Burmese language. It was translated into English by Sao Saimong Mangrai.

Saophas

Thai Military governor

Following the Thai occupation, a military governor was appointed for the administration of the annexed territories of Kengtung and Möngpan by Thailand.

See also

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ Mi Mi Khaing, Kanbawsa - A Modern Review
  2. 1 2 Donald M. Seekins, Historical Dictionary of Burma (Myanmar), p. 251
  3. ↑ Keng Tung Royal
  4. ↑ Kengtung (Kyaington) (Shan State)
  5. ↑ The Migration and History of Tai Yai
  6. 1 2 Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 15, p. 200.
  7. ↑ The Tai Of The Shan State
  8. ↑ Sir Charles Crosthwaite "The pacification of Burma"
  9. ↑ Thailand and the Second World War at the Wayback Machine (archived October 27, 2009)
  10. ↑ Shan and Karenni States of Burma
  11. ↑ David Porter Chandler & David Joel Steinberg eds. In Search of Southeast Asia: A Modern History. p. 388
  12. ↑ "WHKMLA : History of the Shan States". 18 May 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
  13. ↑ Ben Cahoon (2000). "World Statesmen.org: Shan and Karenni States of Burma". Retrieved 7 July 2014.

Coordinates: 21°17′N 99°36′E / 21.283°N 99.600°E / 21.283; 99.600

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