Tai Soe - Four Classical Poets

Ko Yin Pho Thein

In 1852 (due to the Second Anglo-Burmese War), Burma was divided into two parts: Upper Burma, still ruled by the Burmese king, and British (Lower) Burma, now ruled by the British viceroy.

At that time, in the village of Min, in the Hanthawaddy District (near Mawpi) of British (Lower) Burma, there lived a poor family named U Shwe Kyu and Daw Ngwe. From that family were born three sons and a daughter: Phoe Nyein, Phoe Thein, Pan Oo, and Ma Ohn Pwint. U Shwe Kyu, like most of the villagers, were farmers. They were hired laborers in the fields. They could not even send their children to the monastery in the village regularly.

It is not always the case that there is a monastery in every village. Even if there is, it is difficult to send your children to school for two years to ensure that they are literate. Generally speaking, they send their children to school for only one summer and then they are forced to do household chores.

Here, Phoe Thein is relevant to this booklet, so it is necessary to mention him mainly. He was born in the year 1862 (Monday, the 2nd day of the last month of the Tanghu month, 1223 Burmese calendar). However, before he reached adulthood, when he was about nine or ten years old, he and his brother Phoe Nyein joined their father U Shwe Kyu in his business.

Phoe Thein worked as a buffalo herder and rice delivery coolie at the homes of Karen Ko Phyu and Ko Shwe Lang from the end of the rainy season to the end of the winter. He worked as a cowherd and oil miller at the homes of Daw Poh and Ko Shwe Meik, the boat chiefs of Min village. He occasionally helped his father with rice milling, threshing, and rice washing. He also occasionally accompanied his mother when she went to the market to sell.

However, their father did not neglect the education of Phoe Nyein and Phoe Thein. He also sent Phoe Nyein, who was five years older than Phoe Thein, to the teacher to teach him. He also made a plan for Phoe Thein.

In fact, there was no good monastery in the village. So, Phoe Thein was sent to Ko Shwe Meik's house to take care of the cows and teach them. Ko Shwe Meik taught him and he was very good at it.

Then, my father asked U Wait Hti Htin, a monk from Sha, to go to the monastery. U Wait taught him the religious courses such as Mangal Sut, Aung Aung Aung, Yadanar Shwe Chaing, etc. In turn, my father invited the monk of Nat Ye Kwin village, a village about a mile away from Min village, to ordain Phoe Thein. He stayed as a monk for seven days.

The first time Phoe Thein stayed as a monk for a year was when a new monastery was built on the bank of the river in Min village. The monk was U Wunna. He lived with that monk and memorized the precepts and the eight-chapter nissayas of the story.

There is one thing. As I said before, Ko Yin Po Thein cannot study for one or two seasons. Their marriage is rare. He will have to work around him. He will have to try to feed himself freely.

Ko Yin Pho Thein returned to his village in the spring and reaped the rice for his livelihood. Then, as soon as he had a little hobby, he sat behind the counter and played the bamboo flute and the stringed instrument. He even acted as a clown in the play Myaing Panpin Thar.

Thus, Phoe Thein reached the age of 16. Then the path of progress began to open up for him. How it appeared remains to be seen. At that time, under the British rule, the administrative offices, the provincial offices, the city offices, the criminal offices, and the administration were very extensive. (After the opening of the Suez Canal) the price of rice also rose from 50° to 70 ° , 80 ° per bushel , and people began to apply for land permits and grants.

Thus, the government began to do more work, such as land classification and tax administration. As these jobs were done, lower-paid jobs such as land surveyors, application clerks, audit clerks, and city clerks also emerged. Phoe Thein's brother, Phoe Nyein, also had a limited education.

There was an uncle from Thanlyin who was the town clerk in Thanlyin-Kyauktan. At that time, U Shwe Kyu and his elder son were also busy with their work, so it was unclear whether their finances would be better off. In any case, Phoe Thein was called by his uncle and brother Phoe Nyein and went to Thanlyin. They handed him over to U Nanda Mala, a monk at Nyaung Waing Monastery (Thein Monastery).

It was a beautiful place. The school was full of books, pamphlets, and a library. Phoe Thein did not just read dry and dry sermons like Lokaniti Nissaya and Hitaw Padaya. He gradually began to encounter Burmese poetry. He came across the love letters of Kantaw Min Kyaw, which were composed of sermons in rhyme. He came across the love letters of U Punya, which were interspersed with satirical and humorous stories. In addition, he enjoyed reading the novels of King Yun Min, King Thiwi Min, and King Saddan Sin Min, which were written by U Punya himself.

Ko Yin Phoe Thein became fond of U Punya's teachings and memorized them. Then, on weekdays, he would preach in front of a large audience with a loud voice, and he became famous. Thus, the news of Ko Yin Phoe Thein's good preaching spread to nearby villages and schools, from Bogyoke Village, Thae Phyu San Village, and Pyin Taung Kyaung Village to Kyaik Khao Pagoda. With the permission of the monk, he would go from village to village and preach almost every weekday.

Is it true? In the month of Ta Saung Mone (November), during the alms-giving ceremony, the villages of Thathi Kwin, Chaung Saw, and Petlet still invite Ko Yin to listen to the Dhamma. After the Dhamma ceremony, they also donate silk robes and silk robes. Ko Yin Pho Thein, while preaching the Dhamma, also studied the Vidhu Ra Po, Nara Soe Po, and Dhamma Saths at the request of the monk.

However, Ko Yin Pho Thein's desire to continue his education at school was interrupted. This was because Ko Yin Pho Thein's desire to study Burmese and Burmese was instilled in him. The fact that the king, who was the head of the Burmese government, was still ruling in Upper Burma was also a source of strength for Ko Yin. If the situation were good, even British Burma would want to return to the hands of the Burmese king.

In any case. The lower classes can be proud that there is still a religious leader in Upper Mandalay. But now that King Mindon has passed away, King Thibaw has come to power and the princes are being arrested and imprisoned. The country is in turmoil. Relations with the British are also bad. The Mandalay palace is already in turmoil.

Ko Yin Pho Thein had imagined that he would go to Mandalay from Thanlyin and study. He had even heard about it from a Bagyidaw in Mandalay. However, from that Bagyidaw

"I gave up on going to Mandalay, it was not the right place. I would rather serve the British."

I received a letter of notification. I showed the letter to Sayar Pho Thein. Monk U Nanda Ma came and said,

"Well, I'm disappointed too. I don't want to stay at this school, I'm going somewhere else. You should serve as you should," he said and left the school.

There is no teacher to instruct Ko Yin Pho Thein,