Kinwun Mingyi U Kaung
Kinwun Mingyi U Kaung, Duke of Lekaing | |
|---|---|
ကင်းဝန်မင်းကြီး ဦးကောင်း | |
Prime Minister First Rank in Hluttaw | |
| In office ? – 29 November 1885 | |
| Leader | King Thibaw |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Daw Si |
| Alma mater | Bagaya Monastery, Inwa |
| Occupation | Civil servant |
| Awards | Companions of the Order of the Star of India |
Kinwun Mingyi U Kaung, Duke of Lekaing
Background
Kinwon Mingyi was born Maung Chin (မောင်ချင်း) on 3 February 1822 (Sunday, 12th waxing of Tabodwe 1183
Joining service
After the
In 1871, he led the first Burmese diplomatic group to
Before King Mindon's death in 1878, U Kaung was made Commander-in-Chief. After King Mindon's death, Kinwun Mingyi lost much of his influence. He ordered the Burmese troops during the Third Anglo-Burmese War to not attack invading British. As U Kaung journeyed across the globe, he witnessed the might of the British military firsthand. When he implored King Thibaw at the royal court to avoid conflict with the British, Supayalat angrily says,[3]
"This old man is always timid. He should wear a woman's htamein. Sent a htamein and a thanaka grinding stone to U Kaung's house this evening."
U Kaung's role in the initial collapse of Burmese resistance later gave rise to the popular mnemonic U Kaung lein htote, minzet pyouk ("U Kaung's treachery, end of dynasty", ဦးကောင်းလိမ်ထုတ် မင်းဆက်ပြုတ်), corresponding to
British rule
Under British colonial rule, Kinwon Mingyi served as a civil servant in the British administration. In 1887, he was awarded the Companionship of the Order of the Star of India (CSI)[5] and in 1897, he became one of the first two indigenous Burmese to be appointed to the Legislative Council of Burma.
During his civil service, he penned many famous books and poems in Burmese literature. Among them were the Attathamkhepa Wunnana Dhammathat (အဋသံခေပဝဏ္ဏနာဓမ္မသတ်) and the Digest of Buddhist Law. His personal library was acquired by the Bernard Free Library in Rangoon.
U Kaung was twice married. His first marriage was to the Princess of Singyan, one of the lesser queens of Pagan Min. His second was to Shwe Me, the daughter of the myothugyi (hereditary chief) of Ahlone, a town in Monywa Township. He did not have any biological children, but he adopted two sons of his brother-in-law (of his second wife).
He died of paralysis at his residence in Fort Dufferin in Mandalay on 30 June 1908.
References
- ^ Than Tun 2011: 66
- ^ S2CID 144644106.
- ^ Saminʻ, Canʻʺ (1979). Mranʻ māʹ sveʺ mranʻ māʹ dhāʺ mranʻ māʹ paññā (in Burmese). Chī mīʺ cā pe.
- ^ Correspondences: U=1, Ka=2, La=4, Hta=7
- ^ "No. 25673". The London Gazette. 15 February 1887. p. 786.
Bibliography
- Taw Sein Ko (1913). Burmese sketches. British Burma Press.
- Than Tun (2011). Short Essays on Burmese History (in Burmese) (compilation ed.). Yangon: Gangaw Myaing Sarpay.
- Burmese Encyclopedia Vol 2, p-406 printed in 1955
