During the Bagan dynasty, King Anawrahta adopted Theravada Buddhism as the state religion, and brought many Pali texts from Ceylon.
They include proses recording monarchical merit acts and poetic works, the earliest of which was Yakhaing minthami eigyin (Cradle Song of the Princess of Arakan), dated to 1455.
[2] During the Bagan and Inwa dynasties, two primary types of literature flourished, mawgun (မော်ကွန်း) and eigyin, (ဧချင်း) and pyo (ပျို့), religious works generally derived from the Jataka tales.
[2] Non-fiction and religious works prevailed during this period although kagyin (ကာချင်း), a war poem by a monarch, was an early form of this genre in history.
The flexibility of the Burmese language, because of its monosyllabic and tonal nature, and its lack of many consonantal finals allowed poetry to utilise various rhyming schemes.
A contemporary of his, Shin Ottama Gyaw, was famous for his epic verses called tawla (တောလား) that revelled in the natural beauty of the seasons, forests and travel.
Yawei Shin Htwe, a maid of honour, wrote another form of poetry called aingyin on the 55 styles of hairdressing.
In the areas of law, there were two major types of literature, dhammathat (ဓမ္မသတ်), which appeared prior to the 13th century, and shauk-htone (လျှောက်ထုံး), which were compilations of brief accounts of historic cases and events in simple narrative to serve as guides and legal precedents for rulers.
This era has been dubbed the "Golden Age of Literature", with poets such as Letwe Thondara, Hlaing Thate Khaung Tin, Selay U Ponenya.
Kyigan Shingyi (1757–1807) wrote the Jataka Tales incorporating Burmese elements, including the myittaza (Pali metta or love + Burmese sa or letter), which are love letters and are important sources of first-hand accounts of the economic and social changes Burma was undergoing before colonialism.
[2] In 1829, King Bagyidaw appointed scholars to compile the Hmannan Yazawin (Glass Palace Chronicle), covering Burmese history until 1821.
The colonial period marked a tremendous change in Burmese literature, which had once been patronised and innovated by members of the royal court, and was now being led by civilians such as university students.
A major landmark in Burmese literature was called the Hkit san (Testing the Times, ခေတ်စမ်း) movement, a search for a new style and content, led most notably by Theippan Maung Wa along with Nwe Soe, Zawgyi, Min Thu Wun and Mya Kaytu, while still at university and after, in the decade before the Second World War.
Thakin Kodaw Hmaing was greatly influential in spawning this anti-colonial literature with his powerful laygyo gyi (လေးချိုးကြီး) and htika (ဋီကာ) verses famous for their patriotic and satirical content.
Because of strict government censorship beginning in the 1960s with the rule of Ne Win, Burmese literature has become subdued in many ways.
They often deal with everyday life and have political messages (such as subtle criticisms of the capitalist system), partly because unlike novels, short stories are not censored by the Press Scrutiny Board.
The journalist Ludu U Hla was the author of numerous volumes of ethnic minority folklore, novels about inmates in U Nu-era jails, and biographies of people working in different occupations.
[citation needed] The journalist Ludu U Hla (1910–1982) was the author of numerous volumes of ethnic minority folklore, novels about inmates in U Nu-era jails, and biographies of people working in different occupations.
Other writers who came of age prior to 1947 during the colonial era included Hmawbi Saya Thein (1862–1942), James Hla Kyaw (1866–1919), U Ottama (1879–1939), Thakin Kodaw Hmaing (1876–1964), P Moe Nin (1883–1940), Pe Maung Tin (1888–1973), Po Kya (1891–1942), Theippan Maung Wa (1899–1942), Dagon Khin Khin Lay (1904–1981), Saya Zawgyi (1907–1990), Htin Aung (1909–1978), Min Thu Wun (1909-2004), Thukha (1910–2005), Chit Maung (1913–1945), Thein Pe Myint (1914–1978) who wrote the classic The Ocean Traveller and the Pearl Queen, Richard Bartholomew (1926–1985) and Taw Phayar Galay (1926–2006).
Younger authors who became well known in Burma include Aung Thin (born c. 1927), Mya Than Tint (1929–1998) who was known for his translations of Western classics like War and Peace, Tekkatho Phone Naing (1930–2002), Maung Hsu Shin (c. 1932–2009), Tin Moe (1933–2007), Nanda Thein Zan (1947-2011), and Pascal Khoo Thwe (born 1967).
Other well-known authors include Thawda Swe, Chit Oo Nyo, Maung Khin Min (Danubyu), and Saw Wai.