Ancient China was a country admired by the whole world, and many countries took the initiative to establish diplomatic relations with the mainland, hoping to learn advanced culture and technology from Xi mainland.
However, due to the great social changes, the mainland gradually declined, and finally in modern times, it became the "fat meat" that the great powers said was slaughtered by others.
As early as the late Qing Dynasty, due to the invasion of foreign powers, the late Qing Dynasty, which was poor and weak, had to settle the matter by ceding land and paying compensation. As a result, many territories that were originally part of the mainland were separated from the bosom of the motherland in the form of "leases" or cedesions.
Among them, the Wa State was once Chinese territory in history, but now nominally belongs to Myanmar. It is called another "Little China", and what is the historical origin of the common people speaking Chinese and using the renminbi?
1. Wa State, the second special region of Myanmar
Many people are familiar with Wa State, because this autonomous region in Myanmar is now a "three-regardless" region. Although nominally part of Myanmar's Shan State 2nd Special Region, it has a high degree of autonomy and is more culturally Xi and Xi similar to China's.
In the Wa region, almost everyone speaks Chinese, and the official language of this region is actually dominated by Chinese characters. Why is that?
It is not difficult to find that as early as the Tang Dynasty on the mainland, the location of the Wa State once belonged to the Nanzhao Kingdom, which originated in the ancient kingdom of Yunnan on the mainland, which was destroyed by the Tang Dynasty Zheng Maisi during the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, and established the "Great Changhe" country here.
In the Song Dynasty, the location of the Wa State belonged to the territory under the jurisdiction of the Dali State. It can be said that in the subsequent Yuan and Ming dynasties, it was still under the actual control of the central government.
It's just that when the Qing Dynasty declined, the British began to enter Burma and separate Burma and the Wa people, so it can be said that the Wa State at this time had been out of the control of the Qing Dynasty.
From the perspective of the historical division of Wa State, Wa State borders the mainland Yunnan to the north and Thailand to the south, and is divided into two parts, "Northern Wa" and "Southern Wa", with a total area of about 30,000 square kilometers.
Since this is the second special region of Myanmar, all have a high degree of autonomy, which means that they have all the powers that the "special region" has.
The people living in the Wa area are mainly Burmese natives and Chinese descendants, so the locals not only speak Burmese but also Chinese. In fact, compared with Burmese, there are more people who speak Chinese, and even some literate people can know Chinese characters, and even regard Chinese as an official language.
2. The Wa State under Historical Change
Because the Wa region is very related to China, it is basically close to China in terms of life Xi customs and cultural characteristics.
However, after the British colonizers entered Burma, the people living in this land were called "Wa State", but there are certain differences between the historical Wa State area and the present, and there have been major changes in terms of territorial area and political consciousness.
In fact, as early as the Republic of China, due to the loss of actual control over the Wa region, China and Britain also signed a series of treaties in order to re-survey the border.
A small part of the undefined territory was determined to belong to China, but due to the impact of war and other factors, it eventually became Myanmar during the colonial period.
This small part of the territory was the prototype of the Wa State, which was later divided by the Burmese government because of its nominal control over the area, and the Wa State came into being.
Due to its unique location and the history of confusion, it was once a haven for many homeless people.
For example, as early as the Anti-Japanese War, the Nationalist government sent an expeditionary force, and later after the founding of New China, these Kuomintang troops entered the Wa State and united with the local hostile elements to suppress the Wa State's autonomous forces.
Later, the Communist Party of Myanmar intervened and helped the local armed forces to grow stronger. However, due to many factors, the local guerrillas decided to break away from the grip of the Communist Party of Burma, and a Wa State of the same nature as Kokang was formed.
At present, there are about 600,000 people in the Wa area, of which the number of troops is about 40,000, although it is only 1/15 of the population of the entire Wa State, but relatively speaking, the number is quite large, and the combat effectiveness is enough to dominate the local area.
3. The current situation of the Wa State
Although nominally part of Burma, Wa State is in fact a highly autonomous region, and due to the hidden dangers left by the British colonial era, the locals have to rely on opium cultivation for their livelihood.
Coupled with the demand for opium in the "Golden Triangle" region, opium was cultivated in large quantities in the Wa region, and this situation lasted until more than 20 years ago. It was only with the help of China and other international forces that the evil practices in the Wa region were improved.
Instead, a series of economic actions, especially China's support and help to the Wa State, so the ideology and living Xi of the Wa region are very similar to China, so it has the title of "Little China".
At present, the mainland has solved the problem of electricity shortage for Wa State, because the "Yunnan Power Grid" has supplied more than 60 million kilowatt hours of electricity to Wa State. However, because the Wa region is too backward, it needs to continue to work hard if it wants to be as developed as China.
Conclusion
Although the region now belongs to Myanmar, it is inextricably linked to China in terms of language, writing, and Xi.
Many people jokingly call Wa "Little China", in fact, this statement is not without reason, after all, as a region bordering Yunnan on the mainland, it will definitely be affected by the mainland.