"Tai Yai" redirects here. Not to be confused with Tai Ya or Tayal. For other uses of Shan, see Shan.
Tai Shan တႆး Tai Yai
National flag of the Shan people
Shan woman from Lai-Hka, Shan State
Total population
c. 5 million (est.)[1][2]
Regions with significant populations
Myanmar (mainly Shan State)
5 million[a][2]
Languages
Shan, Burmese, Northern Thai, Thai
Religion
Majority: Theravada Buddhism, Tai folk religion, Minority: Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Tai Ahom, Chinese Shan, Tai people, Tai Lao, Nung Bouyei, Dong, Tai Thai
This article contains Burmese script. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Burmese script.
1889 photograph of a Shan woman
The Shan people (Shan: တႆး, pronounced[táj]; Burmese: ရှမ်းလူမျိုး, pronounced[ʃáɰ̃lùmjó]), also known as the Tai Long or Tai Yai, are a Tai ethnic group of Southeast Asia. The Shan are the biggest minority of Burma (Myanmar)[3] and primarily live in the Shan State of this country, but also inhabit parts of Mandalay Region, Kachin State, Kayah State, Sagaing Region and Kayin State, and in adjacent regions of China (Dai people), Laos, Assam and Meghalaya (Ahom people), Cambodia (Kula people), Vietnam and Thailand.[4] Though no reliable census has been taken in Burma since 1935, the Shan are estimated to number 4–6 million,[1] with CIA Factbook giving an estimate of five million spread throughout Myanmar[2] which is about 10% of the overall Burmese population.[3][5]
'Shan' is a generic term for all Tai-speaking peoples within Myanmar (Burma). The capital of Shan State is Taunggyi, the fifth-largest city in Myanmar with about 390,000 people. Other major cities include Thibaw (Hsipaw), Lashio, Kengtung and Tachileik.
^ ab"The Shan People". The Peoples of the World Foundation. Archived from the original on 2016-03-14. Retrieved 2015-01-16.
^ abc"The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". cia.gov. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
^ ab"Shan | people". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 2020-10-04. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
^Sao Sāimöng, The Shan States and the British Annexation. Cornell University, Cornell, 1969 (2nd ed.)
^"FACTBOX: The Shan, Myanmar's largest minority". Reuters. 2007-08-30. Archived from the original on 2021-09-29. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
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Shan State (Shan: မိူင်းတႆး, Möng Tai; Burmese: ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်, pronounced [ʃáɰ̃ pjìnɛ̀]) is a state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the...
symbols instead of Burmese script. The Shan language is the native language of the Shanpeople and is mostly spoken in Shan State, Myanmar. It is also spoken...
form of Shannen/Shannon Shanpeople, Southeast Asian ethnic group inhabiting Myanmar Shan language Dai people, also known as Shan, ethnic group in China...
The Shan States (1885–1948) were a collection of minor Shan kingdoms called muang whose rulers bore the title saopha in British Burma. They were analogous...
majority of the Shanpeople, green represents the rich agricultural land in Shan State, red represents the bravery of the Shanpeople and the white circle...
The Shan Horse or Shan Myinn is a breed of small mountain horse or pony from the Shan Highland, in Shan State in eastern Myanmar (Burma). It was traditionally...
Fruit. In a tale collected by anthropologist Mrs. Leslie Milne from the Shanpeople with the title The Story of a Fairy and a Prince, a king has seven sons...
trained thousands of local Shanpeople to join their ranks. Although their initial purpose was to fight for autonomy in Shan State, their battle had extended...
Huang ShanShan may refer to: Huang Shanshan (黄珊汕; born 1986), Chinese trampoline gymnast Huang Shan-shan (黃珊珊; born 1969), Taiwanese politician and lawyer...
of the Shanpeople varies across locales. Generally speaking, Shan men wear baggy khaki trousers similar to fisherman pants, and a headwrap. Shan women...
groups being Dai, Thais, Isan, Tai Yai (Shan),Tai Lai (Shanni), Lao, Tai Ahom, Tai Meitei and Northern Thai peoples. The Tai are scattered through much of...
Hpeung village, in the Loi Maw ward of Mongyai, Northern Shan State, Burma. Before he assumed the Shan name "Khun Sa" in 1976, he was known primarily by his...
The Shan alphabet is a Brahmic abugida, used for writing the Shan language, which was derived from the Burmese alphabet. Due to its recent reforms, the...
Pain, Frédéric (2008). An Introduction to Thai Ethnonymy: Examples from Shan and Northern Thai. Journal of the American Oriental Society Vol. 128, No...
groups. Both schemes treat the Shanpeople who live in the same or contiguous areas as ethnically distinct. Jingpo people have frequently defied the Western...
The Tian Shan (Chinese: 天山), also known as the Tengri Tagh or Tengir-Too, meaning the "Mountains of God/Heaven", is a large system of mountain ranges in...
Thais, Cambodians, Singaporeans, Malaysians, and Indonesians. Chao Shanpeople are mainly spread over Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and Hainan;...
markets, livelihoods, services and medical care. The Shanpeople are the largest ethnic group in Shan State and the second largest in Myanmar. They were...
Leng. The town's name is derived from the Shan words "Loi", meaning mountain; "Tai", meaning the Shanpeople; and "Leng", meaning light. The town's entire...
Liu Shan (pronunciation, 207–271), courtesy name Gongsi, was the second and last emperor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. As he...
Shan Lloyd (née Shan Davies; 1 July 1953 – 13 December 2008) was a British journalist, writer and reporter. She was the fifth wife and widow of actor Hugh...
Zhang Shan (simplified Chinese: 张山; traditional Chinese: 張山; pinyin: Zhāng Shān; born March 23, 1968) is a Chinese sports shooter and Olympic champion...
Weijian Shan (Chinese: 單偉建; pinyin: Shàn Wěijiàn; born 1954) is an economist, businessman, and author based in Hong Kong. Shan is the Executive Chairman...
are assuaged and her parents bless their marriage. In a tale from the Shanpeople translated as The Silver Oyster, a king has many wives, but no child...
(Myanmar) referred to them as Siamese Shan, to distinguish them from the Shan proper, whom they called Burmese Shan. The people of this ethnicity refer to themselves...
Global Information
Myanmar
Shan State)
