Volume 1 (PDF full article)
"Half a Century of Publishing in
Mandalay" pp. 83-106
The Ludu Kyi-bwa-yay Press was established in Mandalay as a radical left-wing publishing house by Ludu U Hla and his wife, Daw Amar, in 1938. Ludu U Hla was a pioneering Burmese journalist, would-be social reformer, social historian, and, most of all, recorder of folk-tales. Daw Amar began her writing career in 1938 as a translator, mostly of anti-Western works; in 1964 she began a series of major works dealing with Burmese traditional performing arts and the history and culture of Upper Burma and of Mandalay. U Hla died in 1982, and in March 1984 much of the press was destroyed in the great Mandalay fire. Nevertheless, the press resumed publishing in 1987 under the direction of Daw Amar and despite continued strict government censorship has remained in operation until the present. The latest book in Ludu U Hla's folktale series appeared posthumously in 1996. This article is followed by a translation of a short biography of Ludu U Hla written by Daw Amar.
Volume 9 (PDF full article)
"Professor U Pe Maung Tin (1888–1973):
The Life and Work of an Outstanding
Burmese Scholar" pp.7-10
In 1998, Daw Tin Tin Myaing (Brenda Stanley), the youngest daughter of the late Burmese scholar U Pe Maung Tin, organized a symposium at the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies to honor the achievements of her father. U Pe Maung Tin grew up as a Christian, but mastered Pali, the language of Buddhism, early in his career. This led him to become one of the world’s leading translators of Pali texts into English and interpreter of Buddhist doctrine to Western scholars. This article by guest editor and former student Anna Allott outlines U Pe Maung Tin’s life and work as a Pali scholar, lifelong student and promoter of the Burmese language, historian, linguist, phonetician, teacher, and editor.
L.E. Bagshawe
Volume 3 (PDF full article)
"Kingship in Pagan Wundauk U Tin's
‘Myan-Ma-Minok-Chok-Pon-Sa-Din"
pp.77-91
This paper analyzes the attitudes toward kingship expressed in the Myan-ma-Mn Ok-cjok-pon Sa-dnn’ ["The Royal Administration of Burma"], written by Pagan U Tin (1861-1933) and first published shortly after the author's death. Following a brief biographical account of Pagan U Tin, the discussion considers four perspectives on Burmese kingship appearing in the work: 1) the king as judge; 2) the king as guarantor of regularity; 3) the king as descendant of the Sun (and of Mahasammata, originator of civil society); and 4) the king as Buddha-to-be. The Burmese monarch was predominantly a symbolic figure who affirmed the kingdom's past and guaranteed its future. Although U Tin reports on the questionable morality of Kings Mindon and Thibaw, he nevertheless addresses both as "Excellent King" and admonishes his readers against offending the dignity of the throne.
Denise Bernot
Volume 9 (PDF full article)
"U Pe Maung Tin — Researcher,
Scholar, Pedagogue: His Contribution
to Burmese Studies in France" pp.42-51
U Pe Maung Tin possessed, by nature, all of the qualities of an erudite researcher: he was always ready to learn more; constantly trying to deepen his understanding; frequently opening a new line of inquiry; and in his work, at once rigorous and bold. U Pe Maung Tin never allowed himself to become a prisoner of tradition, though he knew perfectly the traditions of his own country and masterfully assimilated those of Great Britain. Convention never obstructed him from stating a scientific truth or doing the morally right thing. For those reasons, he left behind a legacy of lasting valuable research.
