Taw Sein Ko, CIE, ISO ( my, တော်စိန်ကို; ; 7 December 1864 – 29 May 1930) was
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
's first recorded archaeologist.
Personal life
He was born in Moulmein (present-day
Mawlamyine
Mawlamyine (also spelled Mawlamyaing; , ; th, เมาะลำเลิง ; mnw, မတ်မလီု, ), formerly Moulmein, is the fourth-largest city in Myanmar (Burma), ''World Gazetteer'' south east of Yangon and south of Thaton, at th ...
, Mon State) in 1864. He was the son of a
Burmese Chinese father with ancestry from
Amoy
Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong' ...
, China, Taw Sein Sun (杜成孫) who worked in shipping operations along the Burmese coast in the 1840s. His mother Daw Nu () was probably a
Mon lady.
Later, their family went north. Taw's father became a well-known merchant in
Bhamo
Bhamo ( my, ဗန်းမော်မြို့ ''ban: mau mrui.'', also spelt Banmaw; shn, မၢၼ်ႈမူဝ်ႇ; tdd, ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ᥛᥨᥝᥱ; zh, 新街, Hsinkai) is a city in Kachin State in northern Myanmar, south of the ...
. Taw married to the daughter of Tan Htun (who died in October 1910), a merchant in
Rangoon.
Taw studied in "Mandalay's Dr. Marks School" together with the princes of the
Royal House of Konbaung, including Prince
Thibaw in 1871.
Taw graduated from
Rangoon College
'')
, mottoeng = There's no friend like wisdom.
, established =
, type = Public
, rector = Dr. Tin Mg Tun
, undergrad = 4194
, postgrad = 5748
, city = Kamayut 11041, Yangon
, state = Yangon Regio ...
in 1881 and read law at the
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...
,
Inns of Court
The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court – Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple.
All barristers must belong to one of them. They have ...
in 1892. He also attended
Christ’s College, Cambridge.
Career
Taw Sein Ko joined the
Indian Civil Service
The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947.
Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...
in 1884.
In 1886, he wrote ''Maung Po: A Product of Western Civilization''.
Throughout the 1880s to 1910s, he was a prominent advocate of university education and education of women in Burma and lobbied for prioritising Buddhist education in the British-led state curriculum.
He was an advocate for modernising Burma's medical education system, and unsuccessfully lobbied for incorporating indigenous treatments and practices into school curriculum. He was also instrumental in re-instituting nationwide Buddhist scripture examinations in
Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...
for Buddhist monks in 1895 and the appointment and election of a Buddhist
Supreme Patriarch
Sangharaja ( Pāli: '' sangha'' religious community + ''raja'' ruler, king, or prince) is the title given in many Theravada Buddhist countries to a senior monk who is the titular head either of a monastic fraternity ( nikaya), or of the ''Sangha'' ...
in 1903.
In 1893, he became the Assistant Secretary to the Government of Burma.
That year, after completing his first archaeological tour of
Mon areas, he published his findings where he advocated for the preservation of the
Mon language through conservation of manuscripts and relics at various museums in Burma (
Bernard Free Library
The Bernard Free Library was the first free public library in Burma (now Myanmar), and a direct predecessor to the National Library of Myanmar.
History
The Bernard Free Library was established on 21 February 1883 when the Commissioner of Lower ...
and Phayre Museum) and England.
In 1897, he was sent as part of a government delegation to
Peking
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
(now Beijing) and appointed Government Burmese Translator, concurrently with the positions of Archaeologist and Adviser on Chinese Affairs for two years.
During the 1899–1900
Boxer uprising, he served as a Warden of the Frontier Areas, and helped to establish an Anglo-Chinese School.
In 1902, he returned to his position as Assistant Secretary. From 1903–1905, he served his terms as Government Archaeologist and Adviser on Chinese Affairs.
In 1906, the government re-designated the position of Government Archaeologist as Superintendent of the Archaeological Survey.
In 1903, Taw Sein Ko was awarded the Gold
Kaisar-i-Hind Medal
The Kaisar-i-Hind Medal for Public Service in India was a medal awarded by the Emperor/Empress of India between 1900 and 1947, to "any person without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex ... who shall have distinguished himself (o ...
from Delhi Durbar. On 12 December 1911, King
George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...
bestowed upon him the
Imperial Service Order.
In 1917, he was appointed by
King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...
(1865–1936) to the Most Eminent Order of the
Indian Empire
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
.
He died at the age of 66 years in
Mandalay and left behind six sons and one daughter.
Legacy
Taw Sein Ko was the founder of
Bagan Archeological Museum, Myanmar. In 1902, he founded a small museum near
Ananda Temple
The Ananda Temple ( my, အာနန္ဒာ ဘုရား, ), located in Bagan, Myanmar is a Buddhist temple built in 1105 AD during the reign (1084–1112/13) of King Kyansittha of the Pagan Dynasty. The temple layout is in a cruciform with ...
in
Bagan, which became present-day Bagan Archeological Museum.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taw, Sein Ko
1864 births
1930 deaths
Companions of the Imperial Service Order
Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire
Recipients of the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal
Burmese archaeologists
Burmese people of Chinese descent
University of Yangon alumni
Burmese Theravada Buddhists
People from Mawlamyine
Burmese people of Shan descent
University of Yangon faculty
Members of the Inner Temple
Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London
Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge