Collis toured the Shan State in Northern Burma in the winter of 1937, meeting the various local rulers, attending a funeral, and following a murder trial.  <p>

These states later became known as "The Golden Triangle" an area, gaining infamy as the world's largest producer of opium. Collis served for more than twenty years as a colonial administrator in British Burma, but he never visited the Northeastern corner known as the land of Shan people. The Shan are a distinct nation, very different from their fellow-Burmese with whom they are forced to shar a nation with. Culturally the Shan are more closely related to the Thai and Lao.  The 33 Shan states were at the time ruled by what the Shan called Celestial Overlords. Collis toured most of these states and visited a number of rulers. He was struck by both the richness of traditional Shan culture and the sophistication of their rulers. Some of them had been educated at  British universities and a few had English wives. <p>

Collis was a very observant traveler.  He visited when Japan was making incursions into Chinese territory and using increasingly belligerent language and Collis predicted that in case of a Japanese thrust into South East Asia towards Singapore, the invasion would go right through Shan territory. During the Second World War this 'Burma Road'- the corridor between China and the Indian Ocean.  Collis saw also internal trouble beginning. With their distinct culture and history the Shan rulers were carefully announcing to their British overlords that they would prefer to opt out of Burma when independence was granted. However their efforts to obtain autonomy were ignored. The forceful entry of Shan states has been one of the major causes of the political unrest in Burma today. This is a thoughtful book about an intriguing era in the history of a remarkable people. Please email questions.