The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c29.s3.52

v3.c29.s3.52

Away from the track of the chiefs and their rabble, people were probably happy enough, and in many a monastery life must have been calm and beautiful. As is usual in secluded countries, Burmese literature is narrow in range and, though quite voluminous according to mediaeval standards, small in quantity. It shows little development and no improvement has been made on the earliest poets. The prose consists largely of translations and paraphrases from scripture stories. The verse is more original and includes minor poetry of a high order but the condensation of its style and the obscurity of its dialect militate against its having a wide appeal. The usually accepted view, that the following are the first vernacular writers, is probably correct, but the finish of their style indicates that the vernacular had been practised for some generations previously. The earliest writers are three monks, Shin Uttamagyaw, Shin Thilawuntha, and Shin Maharattathara. Shin Uttamagyaw, the author of *Tawla*, a celebrated poem, was a valued counsellor in the Ava palace. He was born on the same day as Shin Thilawuntha (1453–1520) and together they entered a monastery school at Taungdwingyi, Magwe district. Shin Thilawuntha was expelled for writing *Paramiganpyo*, as the monk considered poetry sinful; he continued writing in a fine monastery built for him at Ava by the chief, Minhkaung (1401–22); *Yazawingyaw*, the earliest chronicle extant, is his; it is a disappointing work, for instead of recording what went on round him—it would have been an invaluable picture—he merely reproduced scriptural traditions. Shin Maharattathara (1468–1529), a descendant of the Thihathu, the Shān Brother, wrote *Koganpyo* and other poems. Probably it is in this period that Yaweshinhtwe lived; she was a maid of honour and wrote verse on the 55 styles of hairdressing used by maids of honour in the Ava palace, styles some of which are still in popular use.