Thakin Kodaw Hmaing

Who is Thakin Kodaw Hmaing?

Thakin Kodaw Hmaing, born Maung Lun Maung in the village of Wale near Shwedaung in 1876, is regarded as one of the greatest Burmese poets and writers of the twentieth century and is often called the father of modern Burmese nationalist literary thought. As a child he witnessed the British annexation of Upper Burma and the exile of the last Konbaung king, Thibaw, an event that shaped his lifelong opposition to colonial rule. He began his career in Rangoon in the 1890s as a playwright before moving into journalism, writing for nationalist newspapers such as Thuriya, and in 1916 he caused a stir with a satirical novel published under the pen name Mr Maung Hmaing. In 1934 he joined the Dobama Asiayone, the "We Burmans Association," quickly becoming a mentor and leading figure to its younger members, who were known as Thakins, a title of respect he adopted as part of his own name. After independence he remained active in politics and the international peace movement, representing Burma at the Asia-Pacific Peace Conference in Beijing in 1952 and receiving the Stalin Peace Prize in 1954. His poetry and prose combined classical Burmese literary forms with an explicitly political, anti-colonial message, and he remains a towering figure in Myanmar's literary and nationalist history.

Sources: Wikipedia, 'Thakin Kodaw Hmaing' · The Irrawaddy, 'Thakin Kodaw Hmaing (1876-1964)' · Myanmar Literature Project, burmalibrary.org archive