The Development of Modern Burmese Theatre and Literature Under Western Influence

The Development of Modern Burmese Theatre and Literature Under Western Influence U WIN PE (MAUNG SWAN YI) ITUATED BETWEEN CHINA AND INDIA, the two cultural giants, from the beginning of its history, Burma has adopted S foreign cultural elements into its own culture. Burmese literature came into existence in the eleventh century, almost a thousand years ago. In Burma, as in other Asian countries, Buddhism had a great impact on the development of written narrative. In fact, Burmese literature grew on the basis of Buddhism and was semi-religious. Even today, some elderly people wonder how modern stories could possibly outdo Jataka tales. When novels and plays appeared in print, young people began reading them for their Buddhist lessons. Older people certainly did not encourage the younger generation to read the new books, which they called ‘Bo-oks’ – for them, those things were ‘mere idle talk’ that only encouraged ta-nha (Pali for ‘lust’); they considered reading these new books to be immoral. Most of the Burmese traditional literature was written by Buddhist monks in long verse (Pyo), similar to Western epics. During the Konbaung Dynasty (1752–1885), the prince, princess, and ministers wrote most of the traditional novels and dramas, which were composed in rhymed prose. The characters of the court novels and plays were princes and princesses, devils and demons. During that period, Burma also had contacts with other South- east Asian countries, and non-Jataka stories such as the I-nao and the Ramayana were said to be brought in from Cambodia and Thailand. Bur- mese court literature came to an end when the British army moved the royal family to India. In 1824, 1852, and 1885 respectively, the three 94 U WIN PE W ⏐ X Anglo-Burmese wars took place. After the first war, Burma lost two coastal regions; after the second, lower Burma became a British colony; finally, after the third war the whole country was subjected to British rule. Colonialism brought modern trade, communications, education, and the Christian faith to Burmese society. During precolonial times, the only schools were monastic, teaching Burmese children Buddhist literature in Pali. Some monks taught astrology, indigenous medicine, martial arts, and various other subjects. Soon after the first Anglo-Burmese war, the British government opened Western schools in Arakan and Moulmein; in 1837 schools followed in Kyauk Phyu and Akyab (now Sittwe); and in 1886 in Prome (now Pyi). The Burmese called the Western-type schools ‘the science schools’ or ‘man schools’, distinguishing them from the ‘monk schools’. At the Western schools, Burmese children were taught many subjects, including English, geography, geometry, general science, arithmetic, and British history for the purpose of preparing them for clerical jobs, especially in the department of land records. Following the path of the Government schools, Christian missionary schools emerged in the larger cities throughout the country. The mission- aries and merchants brought in printing machines to publish newspapers, and later to publish magazines and books. With a broader variety of reading material available, Burmese intellectual horizons were widened and people were encouraged to accept ‘new cultural ideas.’ The Transitional Phase With the introduction of the printing press, newspapers began to appear. In 1836, the Moulmein Chronicle began its circulation in English, and in 1841, the Morning Star appeared in print in Karen State. Three years later, in 1874, the Dhamma Thadin-za (‘dharma’ in Pali; ‘newspaper’ in Burmese) started up, likewise in English. The first Burmese newspaper in Mandalay, upper Burma, was the Yadanabon Thadin-za (Mandalay Gazette), which was published by King Mindon in 1874. All of these press institutions also published drama books, which would remain very popular for about another fifty years. Unlike the older court dramas, which were performed and read before the King, the new puppet plays were acted for a general public. The literary standard of most of these plays was quite low. Accord- ingly, reading non-religious books and watching ‘modern drama’ became popular largely among common people. .

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