Burmese History Reconsidered:A Review of Recent Studies on Pre-modern Burma
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Three excellent historical studies on pre-modern Burma were published between 1984 and 1990. These books, providing comprehensive views of pre-modern Burma, have raised the level of analysis far beyond what was available before. This article discusses:1) Michael Aung-Thwin. 1985. Pagan: The Origins of Modern Burma.2) Victor B. Lieberman. 1984. Burmese Administrative Cycles: Anarchy and Conquest, c. 1580-1760.3) William J. Koenig. 1990. The Burmese Polity, 1752-1819: Politics, Administration, and Social Organization in the Early Kon-baung Period.Michael Aung-Thwin focuses on the relationship between the state and the sangha during the Pagan period. In the eleventh and the twelfth centuries both kings and laymen built religious edifices, principally pagodas and monasteries, and endowed them to the sangha. This shift of resources (land and labor) to the Sangha resulted in a similar shift of political power. Aung-Thwin argues that the decline of the Pagan Empire was attributed to this structural contradiction and claims that this structure has persisted the present day.Victor Lieberman's book examines the administration and politics of the Toungoo and the early Konbaung periods. Between the late sixteenth and the eighteenth centuries Burma experienced a cyclic trend, in which phases of effective leadership alternated with periods of dynastic decline. This cycle depended on the distribution of resoureces and power between administrative elites and the crown. Lieberman reveals furthermore that maritime trade and administrative reforms made an important contribution to the integration of the Toungoo Dynasty.William Koenig's book provides a case study of the state and society of the early Konbaung period, from 1752 to 1819. His approach to Burmese history is similar to Lieberman's, in that he examines socio-economic background, kingship, political thought, and administrative structure. The richness of Koenig's analysis is present in his discourse on royal succession, the main focus in the politics of the period.Both Aung-Thwin and Lieberman explore the internal dynamics of Burmese history in the Pagan and Toungoo periods respectively, and show us two exciting models. In doing so, they provide counterpoints to each other. Aung-Thwin stresses the continuity of state-sangha relationships, which were firmly established by the thirteenth century, throughout Burmese history, while Lieberman suggests that between the ninth and the nineteenth centuries Burma saw a number of administrative and economic changes mainly derived from maritime trade and internal development.It appears to the author that both models of Burmese history display some weaknesses, one of them being that the relations between Burma and other countries seem to be overlooked. It would have been better if these scholars had put Burmese pre-modern history in a broader historical development such as Southeast Asian or even world history.
- 東南アジア学会の論文
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