Min Thu Wun

Thiri Pyanchi Min Thu Wun (; 10 February 1909 – 15 August 2004) was a Burmese poet, writer and scholar who helped launch a new age literary movement called Khit-San (Testing the Times) in Burma. He is the father of Htin Kyaw, President of Myanmar from 2016 to 2018.

Distinguished career

Born Maung Wun at Kungyangon in Mon state in 1909, he was of Mon and Bamar (Burman) descent. He started writing poems at the age of 20 for Rangoon College (later Rangoon University) magazine. It was in university that he, along with the other students of Professor Pe Maung Tin – Theippan Maung Wa and Zawgyi, pioneered the Hkit san style of short stories and poems, published in the university magazine, and Ganda Lawka (World of Books) magazine which he edited, under the tutelage of J.S. Furnivall, founder of the Burma Research Society.

In 1935 Min Thu Wun received his master's degree in Burmese literature. He went to study at Oxford University, and achieved a bachelor's degree in literature in 1939. Stories for Children – his translation of 26 stories for children from around the world from 1955 to 1961 were also collected into a book in 1965.

Min Thu Wun's prolific writings on literature, both classical and modern, in numerous articles were later collected into 3 important books. Pan hnin pinzi – The Tree Trunk and the Blooms (1965) Myanma sa Myanma hmu – Burmese Life and Letters (1965) Pyinma ngokto – The Tough Tree Stump (1968) He died on 15 August 2004 at the age of 95.