About Min Thu Wun

Min Thu Wun （1909-2004）， born U Wun， was a well-known Myanmar poet， translator， linguist， literary critic and recipient of the Myanmar National Literature Award. After graduating from Rangoon College （later the University of Yangon） with a master’s degree， he went to Britain to study at Oxford University， specializing in Pali， Sanskrit， Tibetan and general linguistics. There， he earned a bachelor’s degree in literature. Later， he served as a visiting scholar at the University of London in Britain and then at Yale University in the United States. He served as chairman of the Myanmar College Textbook Publication and Distribution Committee， chairman of the Burma Research Society， a member of the National History Committee of Myanmar， a member of the Translators Association of Myanmar， dean of the Burmese Department at the University of Yangon， president of the publishing house of the University of Yangon and guest professor at the Osaka University of Foreign Studies in Japan. With high-level proficiency in Myanmer language， English and Pali， he served as the editor-in-chief of the Burmese Dictionary for University and College Students， and participated in the revision of the Pali-Burmese Dictionary. The prolific writer composed many poems， novels， translated versions and literary reviews， enjoying a sterling reputation in Myanmar’s literary circles.

A great contributor to the promotion of cultural exchanges and friendly ties between China and Myanmar， Min Thu Wun translated a number of excellent Chinese literary works into Myanmar language， including those by Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi， modern literary giant Lu Xun and poet-diplomat Chen Yi. In 1957 and 1961， respectively， he headed Myanmar cultural delegations on visits to China.

Min Thu Wun and his wife had two sons and one daughter. His second son， U Htin Kyaw， is the incumbent president of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.