The valley around Theinni (Hsenwi) on the road that carries Yunnan's cotton, silk and salt towards the Irrawaddy; whoever holds it taxes the China trade, and the campaign board says neither Pagan nor Dali holds it.
The Tai Yai chronicles make it the senior of the Tai valleys (the brothers Khun Lung and Khun Lai are acclaimed here in the sixth century in the legend; a predecessor state Sivirattha 'before 650'), and the later list gives rulers from 825 with absurdly even reigns. The entry for 1096 to 1127, Hkun Hpang Hkam, is said to have two younger brothers as the lords of Mongmit and Monglong, which is the later Tai idea of kinship between valleys. For 1 January 1200 the later list's Hso Hkan Hpa (1152 to ?) and Hso Wat Hpa (? to 1232) are the nearest names; they are a chronicle's, not a document's.
Who he is
- Name
- not known (the later Hsenwi list names Hso Hkan Hpa from 1152 and Hso Wat Hpa to 1232 for these years: back projection, with the changeover date lost)
- Title
- Lord of the valley (chao muang; called saopha in the later records)
- Since
- not known
- Born
- not known
- Family
- not known
- Confidence
- low
English Wikipedia, Hsenwi State: the Tai Yai chronicles' founding by the brothers Khun Lung and Khun Lai in the sixth century, a predecessor state Sivirattha, and a ruler list from 825 whose entries around 1200 are Hso Hkan Hpa (1152 to unknown) and Hso Wat Hpa (unknown to 1232); no inscription or dated document before 1300 is cited.
Overlord
None shown. Pagan claims and the nearer valleys may pay tribute in some years; Dali claims on the Shweli side.
What it holds
- The valley floor of Theinni and its villages
- Tolls on the caravan road
- Claim over Mongmit and Monglong by kinship in the later chronicle
How things stand that morning
A valley lordship with no firm name, standing on a trade road; no Pagan or Dali officer is attested here.
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.
- 1413 and after (later list)Hsenwi takes Mongmit as a district for its services to the Ming (1413) and rises as the senior Shan state.Depends on: The later Shan confederacy and Ming favour. Stopped by: Not relevant to 1200.
Places of note
- Hsenwi (Theinni): Seat of the northern valley.
Where the sources disagree
- The campaign board entry hsenwi-theinni 'neither Pagan nor Dali holds it': agreed; the campaign board's 'contested' is a claim, not a war.
Evidence: Later Tai chronicle list; the founding legends are centuries older than their record.
"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.
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
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.