Originally published as "28 articles on the Shan States of Burma in the newspaper "Nation" in the early 1950s. It was a unique time in the history of the Shan States --- Burma had just gained independence, and in the process the Shans, represented by their various chiefs, or Sawbwas, had willingly formed a union with the rest of Burma. However, unlike the rest of democratic Burma, the Shan States were still ruled by the Sawbwas just as in the days of British rule, and even before that, as in the days of the Burmese Kings. But this was just a brief period, for by 1958, the Sawbwas had relinquished their powers."...Preface; Introduction; Kentung; Hsipaw; Hsenwi; Tasungpeng; Mongmit, South Hsenwi & the Rest of the North; The Central and True Shan States; Mognai and the Southeast; Three River Valleys...and Nine States; Yawnghwe; The Myelat Area...The Alternate URL contains the original division into 28 articles. The main URL is to a version which brings them into a single document -- easier for reading and printing out. The date of publication I have given is as near as I could get to "the 1950s"