, Shan State,
Myanmar Shan State is the unitary successor state to the Burmese Shan States, the
princely states that were under some degree of control of the
Irrawaddy valley-based Burmese kingdoms. Historical
Tai-Mao states extended well beyond the Burmese Shan States, ranging from full-fledged kingdoms of
Assam in the northwest to
Lan Xang in the east, to
Lan Na and
Ayutthaya in the southeast, as well as several petty princely states in between, covering present-day northern
Chin State, northern
Sagaing Region,
Kachin State,
Kayah State in Myanmar as well as
Laos,
Thailand and the southwestern part of
Yunnan, China. The definition of Burmese Shan States does not include the
Ava Kingdom and the
Hanthawaddy kingdom of the 13th to 16th centuries, although the founders of these kingdoms were Burmanized Shans and Monized Shans, respectively.
Early history The founding of Shan States inside the present-day boundaries of Burma began during the
Pagan Kingdom in the
Shan Hills and accelerated after 1287, when the Pagan Kingdom fell to the
Mongols. The Tai people, who came south with the Mongols, stayed, and quickly came to dominate much of northern to the eastern arc of Burma—from northwestern
Sagaing Division to
Kachin Hills to the present-day Shan Hills. The most powerful Shan states were
Mong Yang (Mohnyin) and
Mong Kawng (Mogaung) in present-day Kachin State, followed by
Hsenwi (Theinni),
Hsipaw (Thibaw) and
Mong Mit (Momeik) in present-day northern Shan State. Smaller Shan states, such as
Kale in northwestern
Sagaing Division,
Bhamo in Kachin State,
Yawnghwe (Nyaungshwe) and
Kengtung (Kyaingtong) in Shan State, and
Mong Pai (Mobye) in
Kayah State, played a precarious game of paying allegiance to more powerful states, sometimes simultaneously. The newly founded Shan States were multi-ethnic, and included other ethnic minorities such as the
Chin, the
Kachin, the
Wa, the
Ta'ang, the Lisu, the Lahu, the Pa O, and the
Kayah. Although Burmanised Shans founded the
Ava Kingdom that ruled central Burma, other Shan states, Mohnyin in particular, constantly raided Ava territories throughout the years. A Mohnyin-led
Confederation of Shan States finally conquered Ava in 1527.
Toungoo and Konbaung periods (1555–1885) In 1555, King
Bayinnaung dislodged Shan king
Sithu Kyawhtin from Ava. By 1557 he went on to conquer all of what would become known as the Burmese Shan states under his rule, from the Assamese border in the northwest to those in
Kachin Hills and
Shan Hills, including the two most powerful Shan states, Mohnyin and Mogaung. The Shan states were reduced to the status of governorships, but the
Saophas were permitted to retain their royal regalia and their feudal rights over their own subjects. Bayinnaung introduced Burmese customary law and prohibited all human and animal sacrifices. He also required the sons of Saophas to reside in the Burmese king's palace, essentially hostages, in order to ensure the good conduct of their fathers and to receive training in Burmese court life. Burmese kings continued this policy until 1885 when the kingdom fell to the British.) The reach of the Burmese sovereign waxed and waned with the ability of each Burmese monarch. Shan states became briefly independent following the collapse of the first Toungoo dynasty, in 1599. The Restored Toungoo dynasty under King
Nyaungyan and King
Anaukpetlun recovered the Shan states, including the two strongest—Monhyin and Mogaung by 1605 and Lan Na by 1615. ending more than two centuries of Burmese suzerainty over the region. It retained only Kengtung on the Burmese side. The southern border of Shan State remained contested in the following years. Siam invaded Kengtung in
1803–1804 and
1852–1854, and Burma invaded Lan Na in
1797 and 1804. Siam occupied Kengtung during
World War II (1942–1945). Throughout the Burmese feudal era, Shan states supplied much manpower in the service of Burmese kings. Without Shan manpower, the
Burmans alone would not have been able to achieve their victories in Lower Burma, Siam, and elsewhere. Shans were a major part of Burmese forces in the
First Anglo-Burmese War of 1824–1826, and fought valiantly—a fact that the British commanders acknowledged. After the
Second Anglo-Burmese War of 1852, the Burmese kingdom was reduced to Upper Burma alone. The Shan states—especially that east of the
Salween River, were essentially autonomous entities, paying token tribute to the king. In 1875, King
Mindon, to avoid certain defeat, ceded
Karenni states, long part of Shan states, to the British. under a commissioner who also administered the
Wa States. This arrangement survived the constitutional changes of 1923 and 1937. During World War II, most of the Shan states were occupied by the
Japanese. Chinese
Kuomintang forces who entered Burmese territory came down to northeastern Shan states to face the Japanese. Thai forces, allied with the Japanese, occupied
Kengtung and
surrounding areas in 1942,
annexing the territory to the Thai state. After the war, the British returned, while many Chinese KMT forces stayed inside Burmese Shan states. Negotiations leading to independence at the
Panglong Conference in February 1947 secured a unitary Shan State, including former Wa states, but without the Karenni states. More importantly, Shan State gained the right of secession in 10 years from independence.
Independence (1948–2010) Soon after gaining independence in January 1948, the central government led by
U Nu faced several armed rebellions. The most serious was the Chinese Nationalist KMT invasion of Shan State in 1950. Driven out by the Chinese Communist forces, Nationalist KMT armies planned to use the region east of the Salween River as a base from which to regain their homeland. In March 1953, the KMT forces, with US assistance, were on the verge of taking the entire Shan State and within a day's march of the state capital
Taunggyi. In recent decades, Chinese state and ethnic Chinese involvement in Shan State has deepened. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants from China have come to work in Upper Burma since the 1990s. Chinese investment in the state has funded everything from hydro power and mining projects to rubber plantations, logging, and wildlife trade. Wa and Kokang regions, led by local leaders, use the
Chinese yuan and operate on
Chinese Standard Time.
New constitution (2010–present) In the general election of November 2010, 117 seats were open for Shan State Parliament (or Shan
State Hluttaw): two each for 55 townships and seven seats for different ethnic constituencies. But elections for
Mongmao, Pangwaun, Pangkham, Namphan, and Mong La Township Constituencies were canceled. Fifty-four candidates from
Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), 31 from
Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP), six from PaO National Organization, four from Ta'ang (Palaung) National Party, three each from Inn National Development Party and Wa Democratic Party, four from three other parties, and two independent candidates were elected. Only one candidate from
National Unity Party (Burma) was elected for Shan State Hluttaw (2011), although it was the second largest party in term of numbers of candidates. In 2011, Aung Myat (aka Sao Aung Myat), a former military officer of the
Myanmar Army and a USDP candidate of Pindaya constituencies, was named as Chief Minister of Shan State Government. Two candidates from SNDP were named for the first Shan State Government. Sai Ai Pao (aka Sai Aik Paung) was named for Industry and Mining Minister and Sai Naw Kham (aka Tun Tun Aung) was named for Construction Minister. In the Shan State cabinets (2011), one was from the Myanmar Army and six were from the Union Soldiery and Development Party (USDP).
Sai Mauk Kham (aka Maung Ohn), one of the two vice presidents of Myanmar (2011–2015), was elected from Shan State No. 3 Constituency as a National Assembly candidate in the November 2010 election. According to data from the
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the region produces the most
opium in Myanmar, accounting for 82% (331 metric tons) of the country's total output (405 metric tons) in 2020. However, opium poppy cultivation has declined year-on-year since 2015. In 2020, cultivation in Shan State declined a further 12%, with reductions taking place in East, North and South Shan with respective decreases of 17%, 10% and 9% from previous levels in 2019. ==Geography==