Home » CPA0016443

Burma / Myanmar / India: Shan and Karen chiefs dressed in their finery at the Delhi Durbar, 1902

Saopha, Chaofa, or Sawbwa (Thai: Chaofa, เจ้าฟ้า) was a royal title used by the rulers of the Shan States of Myanmar (Burma). The word means 'king' in the Shan and Tai languages. In some ancient Chinese literature it was recorded as 詔 (pinyin: Zhào) for example Six Zhao and Nanzhao.