224 pp, 232 x 170 mm
Paperback, 150 illustrations
ISBN 978 616 7339 16 0

Price $ 0.00

Through the Labyrinth – The Shan Princes in Burma is written from a Tai/Shan perspective of the intricate and often fractious reality that existed in the Shan States up to the military coup in 1962. It is the first comprehensive overview of the stresses and strains the princes endured from early periods of monarchs and wars, under British rule and Japanese occupation, independence and Burman military regime. They were relentless times overlaid with anxieties and uncertainties and Part One covers these chronological events relating them to the rulers, the antagonists and the people.

Part Two deals with the 34 Tai/Shan rulers, the saohpas describing their personal histories, their lives and work. Much of the accounts vary in length for each of the states were different in size and importance. It also explains the complexity of the relationships between the Tai/Shan and the diverse peoples living on the Shan plateau.

Able to interview those who were directly connected to the saophas, with many sharing family archives publicly for the first time, Sanda Simms offers a unique and privileged insight into the lives of the Shan States’ ruling princes.