Theinni
Encyclopedia
Theinni or Hsenwi is a town
in northern Shan State
of Burma, situated near the north bank of the Nam Tu River
and now the centre of Hsenwi Township in Lashio District
. It is 28 miles north of Lashio
. It is 2,100 feet above sea level. The ruins of what was the old capital of Hsenwi State lie at a short distance, and show it to have been a large and well-built town.
, Mong Sang, and Mong Nawng, besides having a sort of protectorate over Mang Lon and other Wa
states east of the Salween. These had, however, fallen away in Burmese
times, and before the British
annexation
, Theinni was divided into five parts by name; but there was no central authority, and the whole state was in hopeless disorder. After the pacification of the region in March 1888, the colonial
administration divided Theinni into two states: North Theinni, which was assigned to a successful adventurer, Hkun Sang, of Ton Hong, and South Theinni which went to Nawmong, of the old Shan ruling house. North Theinni with an area of 6330 m² had a population (1901) of 118,325 persons; estimated revenue, £6000. South Theinni with an area of 2400 m² had a population (in 1901) of 67,836; estimated revenue, £4800. Mong Yai was the capital of South Theinni, with a population of about 2000. Lashio
, the headquarters of the superintendent of the Northern Shan State, is in North Theinni.
After the disruption of the ancient Shan empire at Tali by Kublai Khan
, Theinni seems to have been the centre of the independent Shan kingdom, with various capitals in the Shweli River
and Nam Tu River
valleys. This kingdom of Kawsampi was ended by the Burmese about 1738, and the country was divided into various states, with appointment orders from Ava
. Numerous rebellions and civil wars reduced Theinni from its position as the most powerful and populous Shan state to a condition of fearful desolation. It later regained much population since the British occupation in 1888, but is still far from its old prosperity.
There were total 16 rulers in Hsenwi from 1778AD to 1888AD.
US Air Force attacked it several times during World War II.
Kokang
is part Hsenwi Saopha
territory before Myanmar getting independence from British.
, Burmese
, Lihsaw, Wa
, Palaung and Yanglam.
valley, and has thrown up a series of parallel ranges which extend northwards to the Shweli River
(Lung Kiang), without altogether destroying the north and south trend which is the characteristic of the Shan hills as a whole. In the valleys between these hills are numerous tracts under rice
cultivation, some circular or oval, some mere ribands along the river banks.
The southern portion has much more flat land, along the, line of the Nam Tu, its tributaries the Nam Yao and the Nam Nim, and the Nam Yek flowing into the Salween. This was formerly densely populated, and still remains the most valuable portion of the state. A range running westwards from the Salween, and marking the southern border of the rift in the hills, divides North from South Theinni. Both north and south of the Nam Tu there are many peaks which rise to 6000 ft, and several over 7000 ft. The northern portion is almost consistent enough in its altitude of about 4000 ft to be called a plateau
. It has large, grassy, upland downs. This part of the state has fallen almost entirely into the hands of the Kachins.
The Shans are found in the Nam Mao (Shweli or Lung Kiang) valley, and in the Nam Tu and other valleys in the southern part of the state. The line of the Nam Mao is the lowest portion of North Theinni, being little over 2000 ft above sea-level. The southern valleys are about 500 or more ft higher. South Theinni is practically bisected by the huge mass of Loi Ling, nearly 9000 ft above sea-level, and by the spurs which that peak sends north and south. Apart from this it consists of broken hill-country of no great height, or open rolling downs, the latter chiefly in the eastern half of the state. It is watered by numerous streams, of which the chief is the Nam Pang, an affluent of the Salween.
, which rises on the Irrawaddy
- Salween watershed, not far from the latter, and flows westwards through the state into Taungbaing or Thibaw
, and eventually into the Irrawaddy at Amarapura
. The Nam Mao or Shweli only skirts the state, but it receives a considerable tributary, the Nam Paw, which has its entire course in Theinni territory, and is large enough to be barely fordable in the dry weather, and only passable by boats in the rains. The deforestation caused by years of upland cultivation has dried up many of the springs, but as a whole North Theinni is very well watered. Considerable deposits of coal
, or rather of lignite
, exist in both North and South Theinni, but do not appear to be of high quality. Gold
is washed in many of the streams in a fitful way. Limestone
exists in large quantities. No valuable timber exists to any considerable extent.
in the Nam Yao valley, and scattered wood-oil trees exist. Pine
forests cover some of the ranges, but, as elsewhere in the Shan states, varieties of the oak
and chestnut
are the commonest forest trees.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in northern Shan State
Shan State
Shan State is a state of Burma . Shan State borders China to the north, Laos to the east, and Thailand to the south, and five administrative divisions of Burma in the west. Largest of the 14 administrative divisions by land area, Shan State covers 155,800 km², almost a quarter of the total...
of Burma, situated near the north bank of the Nam Tu River
Myitnge River
Myitnge River in Myanmar . The name Myitnge in Burmese and Dokhtawaddy in Pali both mean "little river" in comparison with the Ayeyarwady or "big river".-Source, course and outflow:...
and now the centre of Hsenwi Township in Lashio District
Lashio District
Lashio District is a district of the Shan State in Myanmar. It consisted of four towns and 2431 villages in 2001.-Townships:The district contains nine townships, including:*Lashio Township*Hsenwi Township*Mongyai Township...
. It is 28 miles north of Lashio
Lashio
Lashio is the largest town in northern Shan State, Myanmar, about northeast of Mandalay. It is situated on a low mountain spur overlooking the valley of the Nam Yao river. The population grew from around 5000 in 1960 to 88,590 in 1983. It is currently estimated at around 130,000.Lashio is the...
. It is 2,100 feet above sea level. The ruins of what was the old capital of Hsenwi State lie at a short distance, and show it to have been a large and well-built town.
Before Independence
It was the capital of by far the largest of the cis-Salween Shan states, and at one time included not only all the territory of the present states of North and South Hsenwi, but also Kehsi Mansam, Mong HsuMong Hsu
Mong Hsu is the principal town of Mong Hsu Township of Shan State. In early 1990s, there is a major discovery rubies near Mong Hsu. Within a few years, Mong Hsu rubies constituted over 95% of faceted rubies entering world market. It is known in ancient as Hansawadi.-References:...
, Mong Sang, and Mong Nawng, besides having a sort of protectorate over Mang Lon and other Wa
Wa State
Wa State is an unrecognised state in Myanmar and is currently subsumed under the official Wa Special Region 2 of the Northern Shan State. The administrative capital is Pangkham . The name Wa derives from an ethnic group, who speaks a language in the Austroasiatic family of languages...
states east of the Salween. These had, however, fallen away in Burmese
Bamar
The Bamar are the dominant ethnic group of Burma , constituting approximately two-thirds of the population. The Bamar live primarily in the Irrawaddy basin, and speak the Burmese language, which is also the official language of Burma. Bamar customs and identity are closely intertwined with general...
times, and before the British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
annexation
Annexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...
, Theinni was divided into five parts by name; but there was no central authority, and the whole state was in hopeless disorder. After the pacification of the region in March 1888, the colonial
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
administration divided Theinni into two states: North Theinni, which was assigned to a successful adventurer, Hkun Sang, of Ton Hong, and South Theinni which went to Nawmong, of the old Shan ruling house. North Theinni with an area of 6330 m² had a population (1901) of 118,325 persons; estimated revenue, £6000. South Theinni with an area of 2400 m² had a population (in 1901) of 67,836; estimated revenue, £4800. Mong Yai was the capital of South Theinni, with a population of about 2000. Lashio
Lashio
Lashio is the largest town in northern Shan State, Myanmar, about northeast of Mandalay. It is situated on a low mountain spur overlooking the valley of the Nam Yao river. The population grew from around 5000 in 1960 to 88,590 in 1983. It is currently estimated at around 130,000.Lashio is the...
, the headquarters of the superintendent of the Northern Shan State, is in North Theinni.
After the disruption of the ancient Shan empire at Tali by Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan , born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu , was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...
, Theinni seems to have been the centre of the independent Shan kingdom, with various capitals in the Shweli River
Shweli River
Shweli River is a river in Myanmar . Also known as Nam Mao in Shan and Lung Chuan Chiang in Chinese, it forms part of the boundary between Burma and China. It is one of the tributaries of the country's chief river, the Ayeyarwady, and arises in Yunnan Province of China...
and Nam Tu River
Myitnge River
Myitnge River in Myanmar . The name Myitnge in Burmese and Dokhtawaddy in Pali both mean "little river" in comparison with the Ayeyarwady or "big river".-Source, course and outflow:...
valleys. This kingdom of Kawsampi was ended by the Burmese about 1738, and the country was divided into various states, with appointment orders from Ava
Konbaung dynasty
The Konbaung Dynasty was the last dynasty that ruled Burma from 1752 to 1885. The dynasty created the second largest empire in Burmese history, and continued the administrative reforms begun by the Toungoo dynasty, laying the foundations of modern state of Burma...
. Numerous rebellions and civil wars reduced Theinni from its position as the most powerful and populous Shan state to a condition of fearful desolation. It later regained much population since the British occupation in 1888, but is still far from its old prosperity.
There were total 16 rulers in Hsenwi from 1778AD to 1888AD.
US Air Force attacked it several times during World War II.
Kokang
Kokang
Kokang , formally the First Special Region, is a self-administrative region of Burma . It is located in the northern part of Shan State, with the Salween River to its west, and it shares a border with China's Yunnan Province in the east. Its total land area is around . The capital is Laukkai...
is part Hsenwi Saopha
Saopha
Saopha, Chaofa, or Sawbwa was a royal title used by the rulers of the Shan States of Myanmar . The word means "king" in the Shan and Tai languages...
territory before Myanmar getting independence from British.
Population
The races found in Theinni comprise predominantly Shan and Kachin, but ChineseBurmese Chinese
The Burmese Chinese or Chinese Burmese are a group of overseas Chinese born or raised in Burma . Although the Chinese officially make up three percent of the population, the actual figure is believed to be much higher...
, Burmese
Bamar
The Bamar are the dominant ethnic group of Burma , constituting approximately two-thirds of the population. The Bamar live primarily in the Irrawaddy basin, and speak the Burmese language, which is also the official language of Burma. Bamar customs and identity are closely intertwined with general...
, Lihsaw, Wa
Va people
The Va nationality lives mainly in Northern Burma, in the northern part of Shan and eastern Kachin States, near and along the border with China. Their defacto capital is Pangkham in the unofficial Wa State in North Eastern Shan state. The majority of the Va live in Burma...
, Palaung and Yanglam.
Geography
The northern part of North Theinni is a mass of hills affected by the geological fault which has produced the rift that forms the Nam Tu or MyitngeMyitnge River
Myitnge River in Myanmar . The name Myitnge in Burmese and Dokhtawaddy in Pali both mean "little river" in comparison with the Ayeyarwady or "big river".-Source, course and outflow:...
valley, and has thrown up a series of parallel ranges which extend northwards to the Shweli River
Shweli River
Shweli River is a river in Myanmar . Also known as Nam Mao in Shan and Lung Chuan Chiang in Chinese, it forms part of the boundary between Burma and China. It is one of the tributaries of the country's chief river, the Ayeyarwady, and arises in Yunnan Province of China...
(Lung Kiang), without altogether destroying the north and south trend which is the characteristic of the Shan hills as a whole. In the valleys between these hills are numerous tracts under rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
cultivation, some circular or oval, some mere ribands along the river banks.
The southern portion has much more flat land, along the, line of the Nam Tu, its tributaries the Nam Yao and the Nam Nim, and the Nam Yek flowing into the Salween. This was formerly densely populated, and still remains the most valuable portion of the state. A range running westwards from the Salween, and marking the southern border of the rift in the hills, divides North from South Theinni. Both north and south of the Nam Tu there are many peaks which rise to 6000 ft, and several over 7000 ft. The northern portion is almost consistent enough in its altitude of about 4000 ft to be called a plateau
Plateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
. It has large, grassy, upland downs. This part of the state has fallen almost entirely into the hands of the Kachins.
The Shans are found in the Nam Mao (Shweli or Lung Kiang) valley, and in the Nam Tu and other valleys in the southern part of the state. The line of the Nam Mao is the lowest portion of North Theinni, being little over 2000 ft above sea-level. The southern valleys are about 500 or more ft higher. South Theinni is practically bisected by the huge mass of Loi Ling, nearly 9000 ft above sea-level, and by the spurs which that peak sends north and south. Apart from this it consists of broken hill-country of no great height, or open rolling downs, the latter chiefly in the eastern half of the state. It is watered by numerous streams, of which the chief is the Nam Pang, an affluent of the Salween.
Rivers
The chief river in the northern state, apart from the Salween, is the Nam Tu or MyitngeMyitnge River
Myitnge River in Myanmar . The name Myitnge in Burmese and Dokhtawaddy in Pali both mean "little river" in comparison with the Ayeyarwady or "big river".-Source, course and outflow:...
, which rises on the Irrawaddy
Ayeyarwady River
The Irrawaddy River or Ayeyarwady River is a river that flows from north to south through Burma . It is the country's largest river and most important commercial waterway. Originating from the confluence of the N'mai and Mali rivers, it flows relatively straight North-South before emptying through...
- Salween watershed, not far from the latter, and flows westwards through the state into Taungbaing or Thibaw
Hsipaw
Hsipaw , is a town in Shan State, Myanmar on the riverbank of Myitnge River. It is 200 km northeast of Mandalay.-Shan Saopha:Hsipaw is perhaps one of the most well known and powerful saopha states of Shan State...
, and eventually into the Irrawaddy at Amarapura
Amarapura
Amarapura is a former capital of Myanmar, and now a township of Mandalay. Amarapura is bounded by the Ayeyarwady river in the west, Chanmyathazi township in the north, and the city of Innwa in the south...
. The Nam Mao or Shweli only skirts the state, but it receives a considerable tributary, the Nam Paw, which has its entire course in Theinni territory, and is large enough to be barely fordable in the dry weather, and only passable by boats in the rains. The deforestation caused by years of upland cultivation has dried up many of the springs, but as a whole North Theinni is very well watered. Considerable deposits of coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, or rather of lignite
Lignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad,is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat...
, exist in both North and South Theinni, but do not appear to be of high quality. Gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
is washed in many of the streams in a fitful way. Limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
exists in large quantities. No valuable timber exists to any considerable extent.
Vegetation
There is some teakTeak
Teak is the common name for the tropical hardwood tree species Tectona grandis and its wood products. Tectona grandis is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma, but is naturalized and cultivated in many countries, including those in Africa and the...
in the Nam Yao valley, and scattered wood-oil trees exist. Pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
forests cover some of the ranges, but, as elsewhere in the Shan states, varieties of the oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
and chestnut
Chestnut
Chestnut , some species called chinkapin or chinquapin, is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.-Species:The chestnut belongs to the...
are the commonest forest trees.
Climate
The climate of the state as a whole is temperate. In the plains of the uplands there are yearly frosts in January, February and March, but in the greater part of the state the thermometer rarely falls to freezing-point, and in the hot weather does not exceed ninety degrees for any length of time. The average rainfall seems to be about 60 inches yearly.External links
- Satellite map GeoNamesGeoNamesGeoNames is a geographical database available and accessible through various Web services, under a Creative Commons attribution license.- Database and web services :...