Hla Pe

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Born in 1913 in Kha-ye village in Maulamine (Mawlamyaing), Burma. Hla Pe had his early education in the village monastery. He then studied at government high school. After high school, he went to Rangoon University and earned MA (Burmese) in 1938. He was selected for a state scholarship for further studies in London the same year. In 1939, he got a Diploma in Education from the Institute of Education, University of London. In 1944 he obtained a PhD in Burmese at School of Oriental Studies (later renamed SOAS, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London). From 1942 to 1946 he was the news broadcaster, translator and commentator with the BBC Burmese. At the same time he was an assistant editor of Burmese-English dictionary. He became an associate editor of the dictionary in 1948. He devoted forty years to writing Burmese-English dictionary.

Professor Hla Pe taught Burmese (Myanmar) language and culture at SOAS from 1948. He was the Professor of Burmese at SOAS from 1966 until his retirement in 1980. He returned to Burma after his retirement and settled down in Mawlamyaing with his wife Daw Than Mya. On his return he brought back to Burma his life-long collection of books, said to be worth about 50, 000 USD, for donation to Burmese university libraries. Considered one of the most prominent Burmese scholars and one of the founders of Burma Studies, he has written numerous academic articles for Burma journals and published many books in English and Burmese during his academic career which only ended when he died aged 94 in August 2007.

Selected Books by Dr. Hla Pe

1) A Burmese-English Dictionary (Part 1 to Part 6) six volumes published from 1941 to 1981 by SOAS (jointly with J.A. Stewart, C.W.Dunn, H.F. Searle, A.J. Allott, J.W.A. Okell) 2) Burmese Proverbs (London 1962) 3) Konmara Pya Zat (Vol.1 Introduction and Translation) London 1952 4) Manual of Colloquial Burmese (by J.A. Stewart (co-editor with H.F. Searle) 1955

In Burmese 1) The Myanmar Buddhist: His Life from the Cradle to the Grave (translated by Dr. Tin Hlaing)Daung Books Rangoon 200