White elephant
White elephant

မင်္ဂလာပါ, I am Jon Fernquest (journalist, historian, programmer, teacher). [1]

User:Jon_Fernquest_2022 Bio & Declaration of Purpose

Edits under preparation:

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My planned additions are listed below. This includes, for instance, the addition of important sources for citation in articles, edits to make articles higher quality articles, and suggestions for new articles for important noteworthy topics that are missing.

List

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The Vamsadipani is missing from the list of religious chronicles [2]
Monastic reforms of Mon King Dhammazedi detailed in original primary source (added to page)
Pranke, P. A. (2004). The" Treatise on the Lineage of Elders"(Vamsadipani): Monastic reform and the writing of Buddhist history in eighteenth-century Burma. University of Michigan. (Doctoral Dissertation)
Myanmar Inscriptions has not yet been made a separate category, despite its importance
This variety of historical source (evidence) warrants a separate category. The citing of experts in this small but important field is also important but lacking.
Inscriptions are a separate category, however, they are categorized under chronicles of which they are not truly a part: "[Notable inscriptions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burmese_chronicles#Inscriptions] Myazedi Inscription Sawlumin inscription Kalyani Inscriptions Shwezigon Pagoda Bell Inscription Kuthodaw Pagoda Inscriptions"
Epigraphy and inscriptional evidence is extremely important for writing history for every mainland Southeast Asian culture. This includes Lan Na (Northern Thai), Sukhothai Kingdom, Mon kingdoms and even Pyu city-states (Myanmar) and Dvaravati (Thailand) long before that.
It is particularly important for writing Burmese (or Myanmar) history because inscriptional (epigraphical) evidence has long been considered to have a higher level of veracity in addition to counter-balancing the historical chronicle record of events.
As an example of this importance, there is an important hypothesis about the causes behind the fall of Pagan, namely, manpower flow into monastic institutions, that inscriptional evidence allegedly proves. The evidence for this assertion and the full reasoning behind this assertion from the evidence has never been made publicly available. [3]
The work of epigraphists such as Tilman_Frasch (especially his dissertation Pagan: Stadt und Staat (1996)) should be cited. (Note: There is an informal translation of this dissertation into English which has circulated informally).
This includes especially his relatively recent overview of the state of the field of Myanmar Epigraphy: Frasch, Tilman (2018) Myanmar Epigraphy - Current State and Future Tasks. In Writing for Eternity: A Survey of Epigraphy in Southeast Asia. Études thématiques. EFEO Paris. [4]
Conch (Horn Trumpet) a musical instrument
The English Wikipedia article on 'Conch as musical instrument' Conch (instrument) is far inferior to the German version 'Schneckenhorn'[5],

even in citing the most important English language sources. What to do? The English version I guess needs an update. (Note: One always assumes that the English language Wikipedia is authoritative with better information than other languages, because it is the original and largest Wikipedia.) BTW the late great ethnomusicologist Jeremy Montagu [6] is sure in need of a Wikipedia article.

Buddhist Art of Northern Thailand (and Thailand) lacking citations and references
Pages such as: Iconography of Gautama Buddha in Laos and Thailand and Thai Buddhist sculpture really need improvement in sources and citations.
Credible sources include:
Chiu, A. S. (2017). The Buddha in Lanna. In The Buddha in Lanna. University of Hawaii Press.
Stratton, C. (2004). Buddhist Sculpture of Northern Thailand. Serindia Publications, Inc..
Myanmar Law treatises and precedents
Work of leading scholars in this area such as the late Andrew Huxley [7], Ryuji Okudaira in Japan, and Christian D. Lammerts [8] at Rutgers in the United States are not used or listed as sources. Not only does the most important legal treatise Manu Kye Dhammathat not have its own page, unlike the Wareru_Dhammathat, legal treatises are a separate literary genre from Burmese_chronicles and thus should probably have their own page. There is, however, a very small stub article for Dhammasattha, Pali-derived legal treatises in Southeast Asia.
Rajadhirat Epic
Existing article Razadarit Ayedawbon focuses only on the Burmese version
of this work. There are also Thai language, Mon language
and Pali language versions as well. The work can thus be characterized
as Transnational history, but since Wikipedia's historical coverage
is organized along the lines of the nation state, the nature of this work
is not adequately covered. This is an important issue because the longstanding
belief is that the original version of this work was in Mon, not Burmese,
and the version of this work in Thai is considered an important literary work
composed during the restoration of Rama I in Thailand.
History of Tai peoples
Integrate history of Tai peoples articles such as Möng_Mao, Lan Na Kingdom
Sukhothai Kingdom, Ayutthaya Kingdom and kingdoms they
interacted with such as Mon Kingdoms.
Missing important source:
Liew-Herres, F. M., & Grabowsky, V. (2008). Lan Na in Chinese Historiography: Sino-Tai Relations as Reflected in the Yuan and Ming Sources (13th to 17th Centuries). Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University.
Important publications of Volker Grabowsky on Lan Na should be included
* 2012. Chronicle of Sipsòng Panna: History and Society of a Tai Lü Kingdom, Twelfth to Twentieth Century. Chiang Mai: Mekong Press. ISBN 978-616-90053-3-9 .
* 2008 Chronicles of Chiang Khaeng: A Tai Lü Principality of the Upper Mekong (co-authored with Renoo Wichasin). Honolulu: Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Hawaii.
* “The Northern Tai polity of Lan Na (Babai-Dadian) between the late 13th to mid-16th centuries: internal dynamics and relations with her neighbors” as Working Paper No. 17 of a series produced by the Asia Research Institute, Singapore.
* FORCED RESETTLEMENT CAMPAIGNS IN NORTHERN THAILAND DURING THE EARLY BANGKOK PERIOD (SIAM SOCIETY) [9]
* POPULATION AND STATE IN LAN NA before THE MID-SIXTEENTH CENTURY (SIAM SOCIETY) [10]
The important publications of the recently deceased Anatole-Roger Peltier should also be covered.
He was the foremost scholar of the Khün language literature of the Tai Khün people of Kengtung, Shan State, Myanmar:
https://www.efeo.fr/biographies/notices/peltier.htm
https://changpuakmagazine.com/en-article/WORK-OF-A-LIFETIME/775085/
Bangkok Post
Needs info on the founder of the educational section Terry Fredrickson,
journalist, English teacher, and well-published author of textbooks
on learning English through newspapers.
There are both biographical articles [11]
as well as an article on his retirement [12]