Youthful Yearnings in Yunnan
Dr Maung Maung Nyo
I have been to
I liked it really for its scenic sights
The first time I was young, in 1964
Second time I was old, 18 years ago.
(South East Asia has a long History with Yunnan that includes the
Origin of Its Peoples)
The first time I went in from
I crossed the Wanding Bridge as a delegate
Of Medical Corps visiting nearby neighbour
Chinese had willingly invited me to savour;
(The Wanding Bridge Border Post)
They wanted to show us how to live and fix
How to work and succeed like them as Communists
They all wore blue uniforms made of cotton fabrics
I was very receptive, but was not impressed with.
(Some of the Places We Have Visited)
The second time was thirty years later
It was in 1991 I went there as a writer
I was Secretary of
We roamed
This time the Chinese looked more cheerful
At least they wore different suits all colorful
We saw more departmental stores with goods
We heard life for every one had improved.
(Modern Kunming City, Yunnan, China)
True, the Chinese seemed to be happier
They wore better, they ate better
All Chinese seemed to be fitter and thicker
Some of them were trying to go to
They now know
It’s no longer the bastion of Communist revolution
Chinese are set and reputed for money making
They have chosen the path of market economy, capitalism.
(Kunming City by Night)
But, I met some old people still nostalgic about old days
They said they had enjoyed better health and happier ways
Jobs, pensions, hospital and education were more ensured
People did not need to worry for children and their future;
“But, now every thing is on line and comes like tender
Income and expenditures are not balanced and in arrears,
We have to worry every day for our present and future”
They wished Mao alive like before the Red Guards Era!
(Statue of Mao Ze Dong in Lijiang, Yunnan, China)
Tibeto-Burman, Shan-Tai and Mon-Khmer had origin
Before they traveled south wards along rivers basins
Of Maikha, Malikha, Mekong, Irrawaddy, and
Majority of peoples of
(Rivers of South East Asia Taking Origin in Tibet and Yunnan)
So, I had great interest in exploring
I enquired actively about their social customs
Their ways of life, legends, livelihoods and history
They showed us skulls and bones of human (Homo sapiens)
Man made weapons of Stone Age, Iron Age in Yunnan
They are the remnants of SEA peoples left behind as tail end!
(Cyclists in Kunming City: They are a scene morning and evening))
Roads and streets were teeming with human activities
Buses and cars were jammed with people and poultry
Livestock shared the vehicles with men and machinery;
(Burma Teak to be Loaded for Yunnan,China)
Separate lanes for bicycles formed columns of clinking chimes
Burmese goods imported ranged from teak to animals of wild
They hosted us with special dishes of monkey, snake and brine.
(Ledo's Burma-China Road at Baoshan to Kunming)
Since 1990s Yunnanese were talking about importing oil
From
Through
There they would refine it and use or sell it to earn;
They said backyard of
Their foresight was at the expense of a neighboring small nation
I remember King Sinbyushin routing many Chinese invasions.
(Burmese Dresses during Konbaung Sinbyushin's Era,
He repulsed 4 Chinese Invasions from Yunnan))
Most remarkable visit to
It was scenic and seemed like
It was the seat of Nan Chao King that invaded
During the times of Pyu and ransacked Srikestra;
(The Erhai Lake with Three Pagodas at the Background)
They burnt Halin and took away 3000 Pyu fighters
That led to disappearance of Pyu from early
Han Chinese dominates the whole of
(Dali Old City Wall and Gate,King Anawrahta had Visited in
11th Century A.D.)
We also visited Tali or Dali
It was an old historic city
We saw old city wall and gate
It was ruled by U Ti Phwa the Great;
(Pu Tou Island in the Centre of the Erhai Lake, surrounded by Many
Villages whose Sons Migrated to USA Via Burma)
King Anawrahta visited U Ti Phwa in Dali
He asked for the Buddha’s tooth relic or copy
He was unable to take the relic successfully
(Bridges and Pavilions in the Erhai Lake)
There is a story I was told to remember
20 people from
All belonged to a family in the village near
They worked hard, some became doctors
They prospered and migrated to
They are now sponsoring their villagers' visa.
(The Stone Forest in Yunnan)
We visited a natural wonder called the
We had to drive 3 to 4 hours from
The 120 Kilometer long road was smooth and safe
On the way we stopped at different roadside places;
(Stone Forest Teeming With Tourists)
Many houses displayed dried ducks and sausages
We also noticed bundles of corns and chili in laces
Our guides said we could buy them for memory
This was one way to help the Chinese economy.
(Panoramic View of the Stone Forest)
Many looked like tall columns or spikes pointing out
From the centre of earth as though directed to the sky
It was like lances and needles ready to fire at any time;
For an average man it must be the work of the angels
In reality, it was nature that made it admirable
It was originally a place of shallow sea with rock bed
When water receded it left behind eroded rocks rugged.
(Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution 1966-1976)
One thing that struck me was the
They were simple, stolid, friendly and helpful
They offered us sweets and cigarettes as a rule
I said cigarette smoking is dangerous to their health too;
(Monument of Cultural Revolution at Stone Drum Village, Yunnan)
But,
What can you do if the State is doing foolhardy?
People were afraid to talk about Mao Ze Dong
Cultural Revolution had frightened them all along
It was excessive and uncontrollable there upon
So people became very vulnerable and forlorn;
(Deng Xiao-Ping, Paramount Leader,Who Finished the Cultural
Revolution, Brought China Back to Order and Economic Development)
Our Interpreter Professor said, “It was despicable”
He himself was sent by Red Guards to the stables
He had to sweep stallions’ shits, scraps and unusable
He was often at breaking point saved only by his scruples.
(People Protest Against General Ne Win and BSPP in August 1988)
Cultural Revolution also almost destroyed
Many leaders of CPB were summarily executed there
Their Pegu Yoma Headquarters was literally littered at
So were above ground Communists by propaganda fads;
(People Protest against U Ne Win and His Party in August 1988)
U Ne Win had benefited much from Red Guards’ errors
Only Deng Xiao-Ping had the means to extinguish theirs.
Villains of Burma; I U Ne Win, II General Saw Maung, III U Sein Lwin)
I sometimes wonder what the world would be like
If there were no cultural revolution and nothing to fight
Would
Would U Ne Win have scapegoat for abusing our rights?
(Heroes of Burma; the Only Hope for the Burmese)
However, we must fight on for our lives
For our children rights and their future life;
We cannot be satisfied with what we get as best
Because it’s our historic duty to fight for the rest!
Dr Maung Maung Nyo
30.12.2008
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