The valley at the head of the jade road, where the track from the Uru diggings meets the route down to the Irrawaddy, and the jadeite country of Hpakant above it, where boulders are dug out of a river bed in country no kingdom reaches.
The Tai chronicles put the founding of Mong Kawng (Mogaung) in 1215, fifteen years after this date, and English Wikipedia gives the page a legendary foundation in 58 BC; the first dated events on the page are the Chinese occupations of 1479 to 1483. So on 1 January 1200 this is a gathering ground in the country of Kachin, Rawang, Kadu and other hill peoples, with Tai settlers beginning to arrive. The China trade in Burmese jade is firmly documented only much later (board).
Who holds it
- Title
- Hill and valley headmen; no lord of Mogaung is named
- Since
- not known
- Born
- not known
- Family
- not known
- Confidence
- low
No source we read names a holder.
How things stand that morning
A gathering ground and a hill tract; not yet the Tai muang of the chronicles.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1215 (Tai chronicles)Mong Kawng founded.Depends on: The Tai migration the chronicles describe. Stopped by: The chronicle date is late and doubtful.
Places of note
- Mogaung: Valley town.
- Hpakant: Jade tract.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Legend, a late Tai chronicle date and geology.
On the map: A block over the modern Mogaung and Hpakant townships. The south edge is drawn down to take in Mohnyin and the Indawgyi basin.
Primary sources for Shan and Kachin valley lordships
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Glass Palace Chronicle of the Kings of Burma, The Royal Historical Commission of King Bagyidaw (Monywe Sayadaw and others), drawing on U Kala's Maha Yazawin (about 1724) and earlier chronicles (1829 to 1832). The standard Burmese court chronicle, compiled six centuries after 1200 from older chronicles now lost. Read online
- Inscriptions of Pagan, Pinya and Ava; Inscriptions of Burma, Various (the Pagan kings, queens, ministers and donors), edited by Tun Nyein, Taw Sein Ko, G. H. Luce and Pe Maung Tin (inscriptions of the 11th to 14th centuries; editions 1899 and 1933 to 1956). The dedicatory inscriptions of Pagan are the only contemporary texts for the kingdom of Narapatisithu (reigning 1174 to 1211). Read online
Sources and studies
- English Wikipedia, Mogaung
- English Wikipedia, Hpakant
- English Wikipedia, Kabaw Valley
- English Wikipedia, Shan States
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.