Asian Civilisations Museum

The coastal region of Myanmar seems to be one of the most northern expansions of the Peranakans in the former British Straits Settlements. There are Peranakans in Mergui, Tavoy, Moulmein and Yangon. They are known as “Pashu” by the Myanmar, the Chinese, and the Sino-Myanmar participants we interviewed for this preliminary survey. The Pashu community in Yangon is disappearing fast as they integrate with the local Myanmar people and other Overseas Chinese. This talk is based on the interviews Dr Thaw Kaung and his team conducted in 2003 with Pashu descendants in Yangon. Examples of some sojourners and settlers amongst the Overseas Chinese will be given, with emphasis on the Myanmar-Penang relationship. In addition, some brief biographies of Overseas Chinese leaders in Myanmar and short accounts of Chinese temples, clan houses and associations will be featured in the lecture.

Dr Thaw Kaung studied and obtained a 1^st class B.A. Hons. in English Literature from Yangon University in 1959. He later studied Librarianship at University College London and was awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in Librarianship from the University of London in 1962 and an Honorary Fellowship by the Library Association (U.K.) in 1984. Dr Thaw Kaung worked in various libraries of Yangon University from 1957, and was the Chief Librarian of the Universities Central Library from 1969 until his retirement in December 1997. From January 1998 to the present, he has been a Full-time Member of the Myanmar Historical Commission, part-time Professor in Library and Information Studies at the University of Yangon and the University of East Yangon, the Vice-Chairman of the National Literary Awards Selection Committee and a Member of a number of other Literary Prize committees. He established the Department of Library and Information Studies at Yangon University in 1971 and also the Myanmar Library Association in the early 1990s. Recently he was nominated as the Myanmar scholar to serve on the Advisory Council of the Nalanda Mentor Group in 2007 for re-establishing the Nalanda University in India.