‘Theippan Maung Wa’ U Sein Tin and Myanmar in 1930's

Abstract

In South East Asian countries, how did an individual accept the great changes in social structure resulting from the change from colonialism to independence? How did an individual face the breakdown of traditional ideas which accompanied this transition? In modern Myanmar, the works of U Sein Tin, well-known in Myanmar as ‘Theippan Maung Wa’ give many hints.In the first part of the 1930's, while working for the English colonial government as a high level public servant, U Sein Tin wrote many essays and short novels which vividly describe the reality of the rural life based on his own experiences. Because of his unique writing style and themes, his works became popularly known as ‘Khitsan Sapei’ (Modern Literature), and had a great impact on Myanmar literature.However, in the last part of the 1930's, the period when Myanmar began to change drastically, U Sein Tin stopped focusing on social matters. Instead, he began to write mainly about his own private life-his wife, children, relatives, and so on. He even wrote many stories about the dogs which were kept at his home. This sudden change in focus seemed unnatural to him. However it reveals his reactions towards the transition in modern Myanmar. It is clear from eight essays and novels about his dogs, that he changed his focus in order to show his opinions and feelings about the changes in Myanmar.Particularly, through the story ‘Fire of Love’ (Achit Myi) which was written in 1936 and describes the love relationships of young dogs, U Sein Tin showed that he identified himself as a man who belonged to the colonial older generation. Although he loved Myanmar people, he belonged to the colonial government, and he could not reject the colonial government as the new generation did.In another story, ‘The Separation’ (Khwekhwayei) U Sein Tin symbolized his situation through an episode of the separation of a master and his dogs. This story was written in 1938, after further changes in Myanmar. At that time, he began to lose his publishing patrons, because ‘Khitsan Sapei’ was not the fashion any more and other new literature movements had begun to capture attention. The collapse of colonial social structure and losing his status in the world of literature made him feel as though he had lost his identity.Those stories reflect the sorrow and agony of an intellectual who was raised with a ‘colonial’ identity, then faced with revolutionary ways of thinking. U Sein Tin's literature was underestimated during his lifetime, but after his death the value of his literature was recognized. Many Myanmar people loved his literature in the 1930's and still love it today. His works represent the feelings of modern Myanmar people.