Revelations from historical stone inscriptions in Shan State

Blog series Asian and African studies

Author Jana Igunma, Henry Ginsburg Curator for Thai, Lao and Cambodian

Rubbings of stone inscriptions dating from 1451–1924, found near Kengtung in Shan State, offer valuable historical and cultural insights into linguistic and social connections among Buddhist communities in Myanmar and northern Thailand.

In autumn 2025, a small cataloguing project was completed thanks to the expertise of a scholar from Chiang Mai University, Dr Nuttapong Punjaburi, who visited the Library for one month. Trained as an epigrapher with a PhD degree from Silpakorn University in Bangkok, Dr Punjaburi researched fifteen stone rubbings from Shan State, Myanmar, in the Library’s Southeast Asian collection. He provided detailed information and partial translations of the stone inscriptions, which is crucial for cataloguing these unique materials. It was possible to identify the creation dates, donors, places, and in many cases the occasions for which the stone inscriptions in Tai Khoen and Pali languages were made.

Of special interest to him was the fact that these bi-texts were carved in Fak Kham and Tai Dhamma scripts, which were also used in northern Thailand. The rubbings were made with locally produced mulberry bark paper in the early 2000s, and they are of great importance today for understanding the linguistic and social relations between Buddhist communities in Shan State and northern Thailand in historical perspective.

The first two stone rubbings we examined depict fragmented inscriptions in Tai Khoen language in Fak Kham script (Or 16785/C, ff.1-2). Tai Khoen (other spellings include Tai Khuen and Tai Khün) is a Tai-Kadai language spoken in eastern Shan State and parts of northern Thailand. The name of the script, Fak Kham (English: tamarind pod), comes from its characteristic curved letterforms in the shape of a tamarind pod.

This writing system evolved from the 14th-century Sukhothai script, the prototye of modern Thai script. The sizes of the two sheets are 59 cm height x 84.5 cm width, and 195 cm height x 29 cm width. Initially we assumed they were from two different stones, but after careful consideration and deciphering the text, Dr Punjaburi established that one rubbing depicts the lower parts of the front, left and right sides of the stone, whereas the other rubbing shows the top and upper parts of the left and right sides of the stone.

The inscription refers to King Chao Phraya Ta Tha… Ratchanarin (name not fully legible), made in the year BE 2080 (1537 CE) with an instruction for lay followers at the temple Wat Pa Mai. The right side mentions that worshippers at the temple wished that Buddhism shall continue for 5,000 vassa (years). The left side inscription, added later in 1600 CE, in a slightly different writing style, records donations including 400 rice fields with people/farmers, and a Buddha statue worth three Baht (Siamese silver currency) to the temple Wat Phiang Sri. Some other names are mentioned, but not legible due to the fragmentary state of the inscription.

An added note in pencil in Burmese script states: ကျိုင်းတုံမြို့မှမိုင်၆၀ကွာမိုင်းယန်းသို့သွားရာလမ်း (မိုင်းလွေ)ရွာမှအရှေ့၂ဖါလုံကွာတောင်ကုန်းပေါ်ရှိကျောက်အပိုင်း၏နံဘေး၂ဘက် (Found on the road to Mong Yang, 60 miles from Kengtung, 2 miles east of Mong Lwe [Moeng Luai/เมืองหลวย], on the two sides of a stone on a hill).

Another rubbing in Fak Kham script caused some real excitement, although it was quite hard to decipher (Or 16784). Depicted on a large sheet with a size of 91 cm height x 156 cm width, are four sides of one stone inscription dated BE 1994 (1451 CE). On the right side (north), traces of a number diagram are visible. The inscription around the stone consists of 118 lines of text, only partially legible, in northern Thai language (Tai Yuan). A note in pencil in English states: 'Behind the hall and Thein (Wasute) at Wat Ba Lyan (Wat Pa Daeng). Beyond the east gate on the way to Lwai Mwe'. The original stone inscription has been the subject of previous research by Thai scholars Panpen Kruathai and Srilao Ketphrom, listed as 'Lanna Inscription no.188488 ชัยมนตารามพ.ศ. 1994 / Chaimontaram A.D.1451', published in Prachum čhārưk Lānnā = Corpus of Lān Nā inscriptions, v. 15, pt. 1, 2013 (British Library YP.2023.b.13). They provided a summary of the legible parts of this inscription:

'In BE 1977 (1434 CE), Maha Thera Khem Mongkol was re-ordained in the school of Phra Thammakampian, who brought the Sri Lankan sect of Buddhism to Thailand. Phaya Sirithikha determined the land boundary for the ordination of the Uposatha hall. In BE 1989 (1446 CE), Phaya Sri Satthammarat Chulamanee ascended the throne and was ordained in the school of Maha Thera Khem Mongkol for two years before disrobing and assuming the throne as before. In BE 1994 (1451 CE), Phaya Sirithikha’s mother donated land to Chaimontharam. Phaya Sirithikha had faith in Maha Thera Khem Mongkol and donated gold and enshrined it in a chedi at Chaimontharam. In BE 1994 (1451 CE), Phaya Sri Satthammarat Chulamanee ordered the construction of a chedi at Chaimontharam to enshrine the relics that Maha Thera Khem Mongkol had brought from Chiang Mai. He also donated fields, rubber trees, and people to care for the chedi, ultimately as the creator wished.'

The most recent recorded location of the stone from the year 2012 states that it was placed on a base in the pavilion at the entrance to the chedi, behind the main temple of Wat Pa Daeng in Chiang Tung, Shan State, Myanmar.

This is the oldest inscription we found in this collection of stone rubbings, and the second oldest inscription in Fak Kham script altogether. The oldest known Fak Kham inscription, only forty years older (1411 CE), was found at Wat Suwanna Maha Wihan in Phayao Province in northern Thailand.

Several 19th-century stone rubbings in this collection depict inscriptions in Tai Khoen language carved in Dhamma script. Dhamma script was used in the northern Thai, Lao, Tai Khoen and other Tai literary traditions, shaped by the cultural and political influence of the Lanna and Lan Sang kingdoms, which were briefly united in the mid‑sixteenth century.

One such example records donations of one family to a temple in Kengtung, possibly Wat Chom Thong (now known as Wat Jom Kham) between 1869 and 1886 (Or 16785/G). At the top of the rubbing we can see a circular horoscope diagram (in Tai: duang loek or duang chata), followed by 23 lines of text. The first passage elaborates on the astrological calculations that determined the auspicious date for the inscription.

It records an initial donation of a Buddha image made from bronze, alongside funding construction or renovation works at the temple (details illegible) by Kaeo Yi and his wife Nang Kham In, their son In Kaeo, daughter Nang Am, daughter Nang Kham Daeng, and son U Yot in the year Chulasakkarat 1231 (1869 CE).

Eight years later, in 1877 CE, the donors commissioned another Buddha image, and in 1882 CE they renovated the pagoda. In Chulasakkarat 1248 (1886 CE) Nai Phanda and his wife Nang Kham In commissioned a pedestal to raise the Buddha image in the temple’s Vihara, as well as the construction of a thammat (a monk's raised seat for giving sermons), a mondop (wooden decoration above and behind the Buddha image) and a sala (pavilion). The final passages are in Pali language and express the donors‘ hope that their good actions will bring happiness, deeper understanding of the Buddha’s teachings, overcoming of the cycle of rebirth, attainment of Buddhahood and Nirvana in the future.

What stands out is the change of husbands of Nang Kham In – possibly her previous husband Kaeo Yi has passed away and she has remarried – which did not affect the family’s dedication and loyalty towards this particular temple.

An added pencil note in English states 'Leaning against the small pagoda in the NE corner of Cwamtaung Pagoda , Kengtung'.

One particularly beautiful rubbing with two circular horoscope diagrams at the top, connected by a decorative element in the shape of a crown or garland of lotus blossoms, dates from 1916 CE. The size of the mulberry paper sheet is 83 cm height x 75 cm width. The inscription, consisting of 33 lines of text in Tai Khoen language in Dhamma script, is surrounded by a decorative border.

The text reveals the occasion for a major donation: The monk Phra Mahathera Ratsa.... Bhikkhu (part of the name illegible), and his younger brother U Saeng Duang, younger brother Phaya Lai, older sister Nang Chiang, older sister Nang Yuang, and the wives of his younger brothers and husbands of the older sisters, and uncles and aunts and nephews and their children, as well as other relatives came together to celebrate the promotion of the (above mentioned) monk to a higher rank.

The main donor is Princess Nang Sukhantha Thepthida from Moeng Chiang Kham (situated near the Mekong River) who commissioned a kantha-kuti (shrine for relics), a Buddha image made from five different types of sacred/blessed/protective wood, and a replica of Chetiya Langka made from stone for the price of 300 silver (units/currency not stated). The work on these donations started in the year Chulasakkarat 1272 (1910 CE) and was completed on a Wednesday, 13th day of the waxing moon in the eighth month, Chulasakkarat 1278 (12 July 1916 CE, on time for Asalha Puja, an important Buddhist festival celebrating the Buddha’s first sermon, followed by the beginning of Vassa, the annual Buddhist rains retreat).

A pencil note in English states 'Between the two buildings (the hall and monastery) on the platform of Cawmtaung Pagoda, Kengtung”, and another pencil note in Burmese reads “ကျိုင်းတုံ၆၊နွမ်တောင်းဘုရားယင်ပြင်တော်ဝတ်ကျောင်းနှင့်ဘုန်းကြီးကျောင်းအကြားရှိအလယ်ကျောက်။'.

The original stone inscription still exists today at the before-mentioned temple Wat Jom Kham (previous name Wat Chom Thong, different spelling Cawmtaung) in Kengtung, Shan State.

By sheer coincidence, Venerable Dr Phramaha Duangthip Pariyattidhari, Abbot of Wat Jom Kham (at the time residing at Oxford Buddha Vihara), and another fellow monk joined us when Dr Punjaburi was reading this stone rubbing on 6 November 2025! He recognised the inscription immediately as it is well preserved at his home temple in Kengtung. He contributed valuable contextual information regarding the temple today, and even provided a photo of the original stone.

The stone‑rubbing process involves applying moistened paper onto the carved surface of the inscribed stone, and pressing it carefully into the incised characters. Ink – prepared by grinding an ink stick and gradually adding water to reach the desired viscosity – is then gently stippled onto the paper with an ink‑soaked cloth, allowing it to coat the raised areas without seeping into the recessed lines of the inscription.

Once the paper is removed, the carved text appears as white negative space, while the surrounding surface is rendered in black. This small collection of stone rubbings was collected by late Dr Henry Ginsburg, former Curator for Thai, Lao and Cambodian collections at the Library, during a trip to Shan State in the early 2000s. While visiting Buddhist temples there, he was able to acquire the stone rubbings in return for monetary donations to the temples. After Dr Ginsburg passed away in 2007, his collection was gifted to the British Library.

In the context of this catloguing project, Dr Punjaburi also met with other manuscript experts and scholars based in the UK, and we visited the British Museum, the V&A Museum and SOAS Library to view artefacts and consult manuscripts from Shan State and northern Thailand.

All translated contents of the stone inscriptions in this blog post courtesy of Dr Nuttapong Punjaburi, Chiang Mai University. With added information by Ven. Dr Phramaha Duangthip Pariyattidhari, and translation of Pali passages by Ven. Phramaha Thapakorn Thanadhammo (Daraphirom Temple, Chiang Mai).