Mya Than Tint
Encyclopedia
Mya Than Tint was a Burmese writer and translator.
, Pakokku
Township, Magway Division
, Myanmar
, he was the eldest of seven children to Paw Tint and his wife Hlaing.
Mya Than Tint entered Rangoon University in 1948, the year Burma gained independence from Great Britain
, and received a degree in philosophy, political science and English literature.
His writing career began in 1949 when his first short novel “Refugee” was published in Tara Magazine (No. 21, Vol. 3, 1949). He published many short and full length novels, documentaries and translated works in his 50 year writing career.
Dataung Ko Kyaw Ywei, Mee Pinle Ko Hpyat Myi (Across the Mountain of Swords and the Sea of Fire) (1973) is considered to be his greatest masterpiece. He also wrote historical documentaries like “Breeze over Taungthaman Lake” .
Also a prolific translator of Western literature into Burmese, Mya Than Tint introduced his readers to world classics like War and Peace
, Gone with the Wind
(လေရူးသုန္သုန္), Dream of the Red Chamber
etc. He won the Myanmar National Literature Award
five times for translation War and Peace
(1972), Gone with the Wind
(1978), Dream of the Red Chamber
(1988), City of Joy
(1992) and Beyond Love (1995).
As a political prisoner, Mya Than Tint was jailed from 1963 to 1972 by Ne Win
's military regime that seized power from a democratic government in 1962. He was initially incarcerated in Rangoon's notorious Insein Prison
, but later transferred with other political prisoners to the Coco Islands
penal colony in the Indian Ocean
until his release three years later. At the age of 68, he died in his home in Sanchaung Township in Rangoon of a brain hemorrhage after an accidental fall from a staircase in the early morning of Feb.18,1998. He was cremated at the Hteinpin cemetery in Rangoon.
His collection of short stories Annyattara Yoke Pon Hlwa (Images of Ordinary People) has been translated in English titled On the Road to Mandalay.
Sherlock Holmes
series into 5 Volumes -
Biography
Born Mya Than on 23 May 1929 in MyaingMyaing
Myaing is a town and seat of Myaing Township in the Magway Region of central Burma....
, Pakokku
Pakokku
Pakokku or Pa Kok Ku is a town in the Magway Division in Myanmar. It is situated about 30 km northwest of Bagan on the Ayeyarwady River. It is the second most important education center for Sangha after Mandalay. It is the administration seat of Pakokku Township and Pakokku District.The town...
Township, Magway Division
Magway Division
Magway Region is an administrative division in central Burma . Magway Region is the largest of Myanmar's seven divisions, with an area of .-Geography:...
, Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, he was the eldest of seven children to Paw Tint and his wife Hlaing.
Mya Than Tint entered Rangoon University in 1948, the year Burma gained independence from Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, and received a degree in philosophy, political science and English literature.
His writing career began in 1949 when his first short novel “Refugee” was published in Tara Magazine (No. 21, Vol. 3, 1949). He published many short and full length novels, documentaries and translated works in his 50 year writing career.
Dataung Ko Kyaw Ywei, Mee Pinle Ko Hpyat Myi (Across the Mountain of Swords and the Sea of Fire) (1973) is considered to be his greatest masterpiece. He also wrote historical documentaries like “Breeze over Taungthaman Lake” .
Also a prolific translator of Western literature into Burmese, Mya Than Tint introduced his readers to world classics like War and Peace
War and Peace
War and Peace is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in 1869. The work is epic in scale and is regarded as one of the most important works of world literature...
, Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind
The slaves depicted in Gone with the Wind are primarily loyal house servants, such as Mammy, Pork and Uncle Peter, and these slaves stay on with their masters even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 sets them free...
(လေရူးသုန္သုန္), Dream of the Red Chamber
Dream of the Red Chamber
Dream of the Red Chamber , composed by Cao Xueqin, is one of China's Four Great Classical Novels. It was composed in the middle of the 18th century during the Qing Dynasty. It is considered to be a masterpiece of Chinese vernacular literature and is generally acknowledged to be a pinnacle of...
etc. He won the Myanmar National Literature Award
Myanmar National Literature Award
Myanmar National Literature Awards are award presented to an author who has written a particularly lauded piece or body of work. There are awards for forms of writing ranging from poetry to novels. Many awards are also dedicated to a certain genre of fiction or non-fiction writing...
five times for translation War and Peace
War and Peace
War and Peace is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in 1869. The work is epic in scale and is regarded as one of the most important works of world literature...
(1972), Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind
The slaves depicted in Gone with the Wind are primarily loyal house servants, such as Mammy, Pork and Uncle Peter, and these slaves stay on with their masters even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 sets them free...
(1978), Dream of the Red Chamber
Dream of the Red Chamber
Dream of the Red Chamber , composed by Cao Xueqin, is one of China's Four Great Classical Novels. It was composed in the middle of the 18th century during the Qing Dynasty. It is considered to be a masterpiece of Chinese vernacular literature and is generally acknowledged to be a pinnacle of...
(1988), City of Joy
City of Joy
City of Joy is a novel written by Dominique Lapierre and a 1992 film directed by Roland Joffé.-Plot:The story revolves around the trials and tribulations of a young Polish priest, Stephan Kovalski, the hardships endured by a rickshaw puller, Hasari Pal in Calcutta , India and the experiences of...
(1992) and Beyond Love (1995).
As a political prisoner, Mya Than Tint was jailed from 1963 to 1972 by Ne Win
Ne Win
Ne Win was Burmese a politician and military commander. He was Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974 and also head of state from 1962 to 1981...
's military regime that seized power from a democratic government in 1962. He was initially incarcerated in Rangoon's notorious Insein Prison
Insein Prison
Insein Prison is located in Yangon Division, near Yangon , the old capital of Myanmar. It is run by the military junta of Myanmar, the State Peace and Development Council, and used largely to repress political dissidents....
, but later transferred with other political prisoners to the Coco Islands
Coco Islands
Coco Islands are a pair of strategically important islands located in the eastern Indian Ocean, politically administered by Burma under Yangon Division. They are allegedly leased to the People's Republic of China since 1994...
penal colony in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
until his release three years later. At the age of 68, he died in his home in Sanchaung Township in Rangoon of a brain hemorrhage after an accidental fall from a staircase in the early morning of Feb.18,1998. He was cremated at the Hteinpin cemetery in Rangoon.
Literary Works
Famous Burmese Novels by Mya Than Tint:- Dataung Ko Kyaw Ywei, Mee Pinle Ko Hpyat Myi - Across the Mountain of Swords and the Sea of Fire (1973)
- A-hmaung Yeik We - In the Dark Shadow (1960)
- Annyattara Yoke Pon Hlwa - Images of Ordinary People
- Like Hkedaw Mya Nanda - Run with me, Mya Nanda (1960)
- Khit Pyaing Yoke Pon Hlwa - Images of Our Modern Era
- Pondaung Ponnya Thwa Tawla - Travelogue of Pondaung Ponnya
- Taungthaman Shwe Inn ga Lei-hnyin Sawdaw - Breeze over Taungthaman Lake (1999)
His collection of short stories Annyattara Yoke Pon Hlwa (Images of Ordinary People) has been translated in English titled On the Road to Mandalay.
Translations
Well Known Works of Translation into Burmese:| No | Burmese Name | No. of Volumes | Original Novel | Original Author | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sit Nink Nyein Chan Yay | 12 Vols: | War and Peace War and Peace War and Peace is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in 1869. The work is epic in scale and is regarded as one of the most important works of world literature... |
Leo Tolstoy Leo Tolstoy Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist... |
1972 National Literature Award for Best Translation |
| 2 | Lei Yuu Thon Thon | 2 Vols: | Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind The slaves depicted in Gone with the Wind are primarily loyal house servants, such as Mammy, Pork and Uncle Peter, and these slaves stay on with their masters even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 sets them free... |
Margaret Mitchell Margaret Mitchell Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was an American author and journalist. Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937 for her epic American Civil War era novel, Gone with the Wind, which was the only novel by Mitchell published during her lifetime.-Family:Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta,... |
1978 National Literature Award for Best Translation |
| 3 | Pari Kya Sone Gan | 3 Vols: | The Fall of Paris | Ilya Ehrenburg Ilya Ehrenburg Ilya Grigoryevich Ehrenburg was a Soviet writer, journalist, translator, and cultural figure.Ehrenburg is among the most prolific and notable authors of the Soviet Union; he published around one hundred titles. He became known first and foremost as a novelist and a journalist - in particular, as a... |
|
| 4 | Shwe Pyidaw Hmyaw Daing Way | 8 Vols: | The Far Pavilions The Far Pavilions The Far Pavilions is an epic novel of British-Indian history by M. M. Kaye, first published in 1978, which tells the story of an English officer during the Great Game. The novel, rooted deeply in the romantic epics of the 19th century, has been hailed as a masterpiece of storytelling... |
M. M. Kaye M. M. Kaye Mary Margaret Kaye was a British writer. Her most famous book was The Far Pavilions .-Life:M. M. Kaye was born in Simla, India, and spent her early childhood and much of her early-married life there... |
|
| 5 | Lei Lwint Thu | ||||
| The Catcher in the Rye The Catcher in the Rye The Catcher in the Rye is a 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger. Originally published for adults, it has since become popular with adolescent readers for its themes of teenage confusion, angst, alienation, language, and rebellion. It has been translated into almost all of the world's major... |
J. D. Salinger J. D. Salinger Jerome David Salinger was an American author, best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, as well as his reclusive nature. His last original published work was in 1965; he gave his last interview in 1980.... |
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| 6 | Meinma do Akyawn | 2 Vols: | The Second Sex The Second Sex The Second Sex is one of the best-known works of the French existentialist Simone de Beauvoir. It is a work on the treatment of women throughout history and often regarded as a major work of feminist literature and the starting point of second-wave feminism. Beauvoir researched and wrote the book... |
Simone de Beauvoir Simone de Beauvoir Simone-Ernestine-Lucie-Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir, often shortened to Simone de Beauvoir , was a French existentialist philosopher, public intellectual, and social theorist. She wrote novels, essays, biographies, an autobiography in several volumes, and monographs on philosophy, politics, and... |
|
| 7 | Kan Saung Ni Einmet | 9 Vols: | Dream of the Red Chamber Dream of the Red Chamber Dream of the Red Chamber , composed by Cao Xueqin, is one of China's Four Great Classical Novels. It was composed in the middle of the 18th century during the Qing Dynasty. It is considered to be a masterpiece of Chinese vernacular literature and is generally acknowledged to be a pinnacle of... |
Cao Xueqin Cao Xueqin Cao Xueqin was a Qing Dynasty Chinese writer, best known as the author of Dream of the Red Chamber, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature... |
1988 National Literature Award for Best Translation |
| 8 | Thuhka Myodaw | 2 Vols: | City of Joy City of Joy City of Joy is a novel written by Dominique Lapierre and a 1992 film directed by Roland Joffé.-Plot:The story revolves around the trials and tribulations of a young Polish priest, Stephan Kovalski, the hardships endured by a rickshaw puller, Hasari Pal in Calcutta , India and the experiences of... |
Dominique Lapierre Dominique Lapierre Dominique Lapierre is a French author.-Life:Dominique Lapierre was born in Châtelaillon-Plage, Charente-Maritime, France. At the age of thirteen, he traveled to America with his father who was a diplomat... |
1992 National Literature Award for Best Translation |
| 9 | A Chit Moe Kaungin | 2 Vols: | Beyond Love | Dominique Lapierre Dominique Lapierre Dominique Lapierre is a French author.-Life:Dominique Lapierre was born in Châtelaillon-Plage, Charente-Maritime, France. At the age of thirteen, he traveled to America with his father who was a diplomat... |
1995 National Literature Award for Best Translation |
| 10 | Lwan Maw Khe Ya Thaw Tekkatho Nwei Nya Myar | 3 Vols: | The Class | Erich Segal Erich Segal Erich Wolf Segal was an American author, screenwriter, and educator. He was best-known for writing the novel Love Story , a best-seller, and writing the motion picture of the same name, which was a major hit.... |
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| 11 | Lu Mya Thekkayit Mya Nink Bawa | 5 Vols: | Memories:Men, Years - Life | Ilya Ehrenburg Ilya Ehrenburg Ilya Grigoryevich Ehrenburg was a Soviet writer, journalist, translator, and cultural figure.Ehrenburg is among the most prolific and notable authors of the Soviet Union; he published around one hundred titles. He became known first and foremost as a novelist and a journalist - in particular, as a... |
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| 12 | Eikari Pwa Saw(ဧက္ကရီဖွားစော}}) | ||||
| She Was a Queen | Maurice Collis Maurice Collis Maurice Stewart Collis was an administrator in Burma when it was part of the British Empire, and afterwards a writer on Southeast Asia, China and other historical subjects.-Life:... |
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| 13 | Chit Thaw Yun Khin Khin | ||||
| the Lacquer Lady | F. Tennyson Jesse | ||||
| 14 | A-ywe Ma Taing Mi | ||||
| Childhood Childhood (novel) Childhood is the first published novel by Leo Tolstoy, released under the initials L. N. in the November 1852 issue of the popular Russian literary journal The Contemporary.... |
Maxim Gorky Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov , primarily known as Maxim Gorky , was a Russian and Soviet author, a founder of the Socialist Realism literary method and a political activist.-Early years:... |
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| 15 | Bon-Le Ta Khwin | ||||
| My Apprenticeship | Maxim Gorky Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov , primarily known as Maxim Gorky , was a Russian and Soviet author, a founder of the Socialist Realism literary method and a political activist.-Early years:... |
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| 16 | Bawa Tekkatho | ||||
| My Universities | Maxim Gorky Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov , primarily known as Maxim Gorky , was a Russian and Soviet author, a founder of the Socialist Realism literary method and a political activist.-Early years:... |
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Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
series into 5 Volumes -
- The Adventures of Sherlock HolmesThe Adventures of Sherlock HolmesThe Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of twelve stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring his famous detective and illustrated by Sidney Paget....
- The Memoirs of Sherlock HolmesThe Memoirs of Sherlock HolmesThe Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories, originally published in 1894, by Arthur Conan Doyle.-Contents:The twelve stories of the Memoirs are:*"Silver Blaze"...
- The Return of Sherlock HolmesThe Return of Sherlock HolmesThe Return of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of 13 Sherlock Holmes stories, originally published in 1903-1904, by Arthur Conan Doyle.-History:...
- His Last BowHis Last BowHis Last Bow is a collection of seven Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, as well as the title of the last story in that collection...
- The Case-Book of Sherlock HolmesThe Case-Book of Sherlock HolmesThe Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes is the final collection of Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. Originally published in 1927, it contains stories published between 1921 and 1927....
Quotes
- "Since my childhood, I have believed that writing is the most honourable job, and honour doesn’t mean material wealth, but honest and truthful dignity."
- "I will not exchange my job as a writer for anything."
- "I wouldn’t do now, I won’t do in the future."
External links
- Book review: On the Road to Mandalay Martin Morland, September 1996
- On the Road to Mandalay: Tales of Ordinary People Mya Than Tint
- Controversial Novel Finally Cleared The Back Page (June 2005), The IrrawaddyThe IrrawaddyThis article is about a newsmagazine. For other uses of the term, please see Irrawaddy.For the Second World War battle honour, see Battle of Pokoku and Irrawaddy River operations...