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SHAN STATES

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Originally appearing in Volume V24, Page 803 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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SHAN STATES , a collection of semi-See also:

independent states on the E. frontier of Upper See also:Burma inhabited by the Shan or Thai See also:race. The Shan States have a See also:total See also:area of 57,915 sq. M. and a total See also:population (1901) of 1,137,444. There are six states under the supervision of the See also:superintendent of the N. Shan States, and 37 under the superintendent and See also:political officer of the S. Shan States. In addition, two states are under the See also:commissioner of the See also:Mandalay See also:division, namely, Hkamti See also:Long on the N. of See also:Myitkyina See also:district and Mong Mit which is temporarily administered as a subdivision of the See also:Ruby Mines district; and two states, Sinkaling Hkamti and Hsawng Hsup, near See also:Manipur, are under the supervision of the commissioner of the See also:Sagaing division. There are besides a number of Shan States beyond the border of Burma, which are tributary to See also:China, though China exercises an authority which is little more than nominal. The See also:British Shan States were tributary to Burma and came under British See also:control at the See also:time of the See also:annexation of Upper Burma. They See also:rank as British territory, not as native states. By See also:section 11 of the Burma See also:Laws See also:Act 1898, the See also:civil, criminal and See also:revenue See also:administration of each See also:state is vested in the See also:chief, subject to the restriction specified in the sanad or See also:order of See also:appointment granted to him. Under the same section the See also:law to be administered is the customary law of each state so far as it is in accordance with See also:justice, and not opposed to the spirit of the law in British See also:India.

See also:

Physical Features.—The shape of the Shan States is roughly that of a triangle, with its See also:base on the plains of Burma and its See also:apex on the See also:Mekong See also:river. The Shan See also:plateau is properly only the See also:country between the See also:Salween and See also:Irrawaddy See also:rivers. On the W. it is abruptly marked by the long See also:line of hills, which begin about See also:Bhamo and run S. till they sink into the plains of See also:Lower Burma. On the E. it is no less sharply defined by the deep and- narrow rife of the Salween. The See also:average height of the plateau is between 2000 and 3000 ft., but it is seamed and ribbed by See also:mountain ranges, which split up and run into one another. On the N. the Shan States are barred across by the E. and W. ranges which follow the line of the Namtu. The huge See also:mass of Loi See also:Ling, 9000 ft., projects S. from this, and from either See also:side of it and to the S. extends the wide See also:plain which extends down to Mong Nai. The highest peaks are in the N. and the S. Loi Ling is the highest point W. of the Salween, and in Kokang and other parts of N. Hsenwi there are many peaks above 7000 ft. The See also:majority of the intermediate parallel ranges have an average of between 4000 and 5000 ft. with peaks rising to over 6000. The country beyond the Salween is a mass of broken hills, ranging in the S. towards the See also:Menam from 2000 to 3000 ft., while in the N. towards the Wa states they average from 5000 to 7000.

Several peaks rise to 8000 ft. such as Loi Maw (8102). The See also:

climate varies considerably. From See also:December to See also:March it is cool everywhere, and to° of See also:frost are experienced on the open See also:downs. The hot See also:season temperature is 8o° to 90°, rising to too° in the Salween valley. The rains begin about the end of See also:April, but are not continual till See also:August, which is usually the wettest See also:month. They last until the end of See also:October or beginning of See also:November. The See also:annual rainfall varies from 6o in. in the broader valleys to too on the higher mountains. Race and See also:Language.—According to the See also:census of 1901 there were 787,087 See also:Shans (see above) in Burma. The Thai or Tai, as they See also:call themselves, were first known to the Burmese as Taroks or Tarets. The See also:original See also:home of the Thai race was S.W. China, or rather that was the region where they attained to a marked See also:separate development as a See also:people. It is probable that their first See also:settlement in Burma proper was in the Shweli valley, and that from this centre they radiated at a comparatively See also:recent date N., W. and S.E. through Upper Burma into See also:Assam.

It is supposed that the Thai race boasts of representatives across the whole breadth of Indo-China, from the See also:

Brahmaputra as far as the gulfs of See also:Siam and See also:Tongking; that it See also:numbers among its members not only the Shans proper, the See also:Laos and the Siamese, but also the Muongs of See also:French Indo-China, the Hakas of S. China, and the Li, the inhabitants of the interior of the far Eastern See also:island of See also:Hainan in the China seas. But no exhaustive survey of the Thai has yet been accomplished. For the purposes of Burma they may be divided into the N.W., the N.E., the E. and the S. Shans. The Siamese and the Laos are the See also:principal representatives of the S. division. Siamese are found in considerable numbers in the districts of See also:Amherst, See also:Tavoy and See also:Mergui in the See also:Tenasserim division. The total at the time of the census of 190I was 31,800, while that of the Laos was 1047. The country of the E. Shans lies between the See also:Rangoon-Mandalay railway and the Mekong, and is bounded roughly on the N. and S. by the 22nd and loth See also:parallels of See also:latitude. It includes the S. Shan States, and comprises the country of the Lii and the Hkiin of the states of Kengtung and Kenghung.

Linguistically the connexion between the latter two races and the Laos is very See also:

close, but apparently the racial See also:affinity is not sufficiently near to justify the See also:classification of the Hkfin and the Lu with the S. Thai. The N.W. Shan region is the area ex-tending from Bhamo to Assam between the 23rd and 28th parallels of latitude. It corresponds more or less with those portions of See also:Katha, Myitkyina, Bhamo and Upper See also:Chindwin districts which at one time or other during the palmy days of the Shan dominion acknowledged the See also:suzerainty of the Sawbwa of Mogaung.' The N.E. Shans are the See also:Chinese-Shans who are found where Upper Burma and the N. Shan states border on China. The Thai language may be divided into two sub-See also:groups, the N. and the S. The S. includes Siamese, Lao, Lu and Hkiih; the N., the three forms of Shan, namely, N. Burmese-Shan, S.-Burmese Shan and Chinese-Shan with Hkamti and See also:Ahom. The See also:vernacular of the people who are directly known in Burma as Shan is S. Burmese-Shan.

This language is isolating and polytonic. It possesses five tones, a mastery of which is a sine qud non if the language is to he properly learnt. It is exhaustively described in the See also:

works of Dr See also:Cushing. The Shans are a peaceful race, fond of trading. During the past See also:decade the See also:trade with Burma has increased very largely, and with the construction of the railway to See also:Lashio a still further increase may be expected in the N. states. The cultivation of See also:wheat and potatoes in the S. states promise them See also:wealth also when a railway furnishes them means of getting the produce out of the country. Since 1893 the See also:peace of the Shan States has been practically undisturbed. See See also:Ney See also:Elias, See also:Introductory See also:Sketch of the See also:History of the Shans in Upper Burmah and See also:West Yun-nan (See also:Calcutta, 1876) ; Cushing, Shan See also:Dictionary (Introduction); Bock, Temples and Elephants; See also:Sir A. Phayre, History of Burmah; A. R. Colquhoun, 4cross Chryse (See also:London, 1883), and Amongst the Shans (1885); Diguet, Etude de la longue Thai (See also:Paris, 1896). (J.

G. Sc.) SHAN-TUNG (" See also:

East of the Mountains "), a maritime See also:province of China, bounded N. by the province of Chih-li and the Gulf of Chih-li, E. by the Yellow See also:Sea, S. by Kiang-su and the Yellow Sea and W. by Chih-li. Area about 56,000 sq. m., population (estimated) 37,500,000. It is the most densely inhabited See also:part of China, and is celebrated as the native province both of See also:Confucius and See also:Mencius. It is divided into ten prefectures, with as many prefectural cities, of which Chi-nan Fu (q.v.), the provincial See also:capital, is the chief. The physical features of the province are very plainly marked. The centre and eastern are occupied by mountain ranges See also:running N.E. and S.W., between which See also:lie fertile valleys, while the See also:north-western, See also:southern and western portions See also:form part of the See also:great deltaic plain of the north of China. The mountainous region projects seaward beyond the normal See also:coast line forming a large See also:peninsula, the shores of which are deeply indented and contain some See also:good harbours, such as that of Kiao-chow. The most considerable range of mountains occupies the centre of the province, the highest See also:peak being the T'ai-shan (5o6o ft.), a mountain famous in Chinese history_ for more than 4000 years, and to which hundreds of pilgrimsannually resort. The Lao-shan, east of Kiao-chow, fringes the See also:south-eastern coast for about 18 m. With the exception of the Hwang-ho, which traverses the province in a north-easterly direction to the sea, there are no large rivers in Shan-tung. The most considerable are the Wei, which flows into the Gulf of Chih-li; the I-ho, which empties into a See also:lake lying east of the See also:Grand See also:Canal; and the Ta-wen, which rises at the southern See also:foot of the I-sham Mountains and terminates in the Grand Canal.

The canal traverses the provinces S. to N. east of the mountain region. There are several lakes, notably the Tu-shan Hu, which See also:

borders on the Grand Canal in the south-west. The See also:fauna includes See also:wild boars, wolves, foxes, badgers, partridges, quails and See also:snipe. See also:Cotton, See also:silk, See also:coal, See also:grain, &c. are produced in the fertile tracts in the neighbourhood of the lakes. Not being a See also:loess region, the mountains are unproductive, and yield only brushwood and grass, while the plain to the north is so impregnated with See also:salt that it is almost valueless, especially near the sea, for agricultural purposes. The valleys between the mountains and the plain to the south-west are, however, extremely See also:rich and fertile. The chief wealth of Shan-tung consists in its minerals, the principal of which is coal. Several coal-See also:fields are worked ; the most considerable lies in the valley of the Lao-fu river in the centre of the province. Another large See also:field lies on the plain a little to the south of I-chow Fu in the south. A third field is in the district of Wei Hien to the north; and a See also:fourth in the neighbourhood of I-Hien in the south-west. See also:Iron ore, ironstone, See also:gold, See also:galena, See also:lead and See also:copper are also found in considerable quantities in many districts. Agricultural products are wheat, See also:millet, See also:Indian See also:corn, See also:pulse, See also:arrowroot and many varieties of fruits and vegetables.

See also:

Rice is grown in the extreme south of the province. Among trees, stunted pines, See also:dwarf oaks, poplars, willows and the See also:cypress are fairly plentiful. The See also:castor-oil plant, is See also:common, and the See also:wax See also:tree grows plentifully in the neighbourhood of Lai-yang in the east, giving rise to a considerable trade in the wax produced by the wax See also:insects. Unlike those of their See also:kind in Sze Ch`uen, the wax insects of Shan-tang breed and become productive in the same districts. They are placed upon the trees in the See also:spring, and at the close of the summer they void a See also:peculiar substance which when melted forms wax. In the autumn they are taken off the trees, and are preserved within doors until the following spring. Sericulture is an important See also:industry. The See also:worms are fed in the west on mulberry leaves, in the east on those of the dwarf See also:oak, the material made from the silk produced from the oak-fed.worms being known as pongee or Chifu silk. The See also:worm itself, after the cocoon has been used, is eaten and is esteemed a delicacy. Besides Chi-nan Fu, the provincial capital, other inland cities are Tsao-Chow Fu (pop. 15o,000) on the Grand Canal (an See also:industrial centre) and Wei-hsien (1oo,000), a commercial centre. The ports of Shan-tung include Chifu, Wei-See also:hai-wei and Kiao-chow (Tsing-tao), all separately noticed.

As part of See also:

compensation for the See also:murder of two. See also:German missionaries in 1897 in this province—See also:Protestant See also:mission See also:work in Shan-tung See also:dates from 186o—the Germans took See also:possession on See also:lease of the See also:port of Kiao-chow, 300 M. N. of See also:Shanghai,. a 36-See also:hours'. run by steamer, with which were associated many railway and See also:mining rights in the district. In fulfilment of these rights a railway has been constructed connecting Kiao-chow with Chinanfu, the capital; there it connects with another railway See also:crossing the province north to south and forming part of the See also:Tientsin and See also:Chin-kiang line. In consequence of this acquisition: of territory by See also:Germany and the subsequent seizure of Port See also:Arthur by See also:Russia, Great See also:Britain accepted the lease of Wei-hai-wei on the same terms. The See also:convention confirming this arrangement was signed on the 1st of See also:July 1898. It was in Shang-tung that the Boxer See also:movement was first turned against foreigners (see CHINA, § History). See M. Broomhall, The Chinese See also:Empire (London, 1907), pp. 93-too; L. See also:Richard, Comprehensive See also:Geography of the Chinese Empire (Shanghai, 1908), pp. 79-89, and authorities there cited.

End of Article: SHAN STATES

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