A brief history of Myanmar

缅甸简史


The Bagan Era
In 849 the Burmans founded the town of Bagan on the banks of the Irrawaddy about 310 miles north of Yangon. Bagan was the first Burmese kingdom about which there are historical records. Before Bagan there were other kingdoms in the Irrawaddy valley but there is little or no information on them. Before the Burmans the people of the Mon, who were related to the Cambodians, and the Tibeto-Burman people of the Pyu had founded kingdoms in the Irrawaddy valley or delta, but they came to be conquered by the Bagan Burmans.

蒲甘王朝
公元849年,缅甸人在仰光以北约310英里的伊洛瓦底江畔建立了蒲甘城,蒲甘是第一个有历史记载的缅甸王国。在蒲甘之前,伊洛瓦底河谷还有其他的王国,但由于这些王国的信息很少,甚至有的根本没有记录。在蒲甘之前,与柬埔寨有着血缘关系的孟族人和缅甸彪关地区藏缅族群在伊洛瓦底江畔也建立过王国,但是之后被缅甸人的蒲甘王朝征服了。(译注:蒲甘王朝本来是缅甸本土众多小王国之一,崛起之后,一统缅甸,是缅甸历史上第一个统一缅甸的王朝,蒲甘王朝之于缅甸好比秦朝之于中国。蒲甘王朝国祚长达240年)




伊洛瓦底江是缅甸最大的河流,发源于中国青藏高原,中国境内河段叫独龙江。

In 1044 King Anawratha ascends the throne of Bagan and in 1056 he is converted to Buddhism by a Mon monk. Shortly afterwards he starts a war against the Mon town of Bago to gain possession of holy Buddhist scxts (the Tripitaka) which the Mon King Manuha is unwilling to give up voluntarily.

公元1044年,阿奴律陀(Anawratha)登上了蒲甘王朝的王位。1056年他被一位孟族和尚皈依成了佛教徒。不久之后,他为了来获得孟邦国王曼努哈不愿意交出的神圣的佛经手稿(大藏经),发兵入侵孟族城市巴格(孟王国首都)。(译注:阿奴律陀是第一个统一缅甸的蒲甘君主,好比秦始皇。)

After a siege of Bago, which lasted a few months, Manuha finally surrenders. Bago is destroyed and the Tripitaka is carried off to Bagan on the backs of 32 white elephants. The Burmese army brings 30,000 captured Mons to Bagan, among them numerous craftsmen and artisans, who in the following decades not only enrich, but even determine the culture of Bagan. During that time pagodas are almost exclusively built in the Mon style. The Burmese even incorporate the scxt of the Mon. Mon King Manuha is offered to the main pagoda of Bagan, Shwezigon, as a temple slave.

巴格被围困几个月后,曼努哈终于投降。巴格被毁,大藏经被32头白象背着运往了蒲甘。缅军将三万名孟族俘虏带到了蒲甘,其中包括众多的工程师,工匠,艺术家。蒲甘接下来几十年文化发展都因他们而丰富,甚至可以说蒲甘文化因他们而脱胎换骨。在这段时间,他们所有的佛塔几乎都是孟式建筑。缅甸语甚至都加入了孟语文字。孟王曼努哈在蒲甘的最大的佛塔瑞喜宫做寺庙奴仆。
(译注:孟族是缅甸与泰国一古老民族,生活在平原,种植水稻。泰国与缅甸很多早期王国也是他们建立,缅甸强盛一时的勃固王朝就是他们所建立,缅甸最古老的法典,《伐丽流法典》,也是他们创造的。孟族之于缅甸,好比希腊之于罗马,在缅甸少数民族中排名第四,人口为130万,占缅甸总人口的2.8%。)
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缅甸瑞喜宫

After his campaign against the Mon, King Anawratha makes successful conquests against the Shan realm of that time, which is adjacent to the Burmese realm in the North, and against the Arakan realm to the West of Bagan thereby consolidating the Burmese Kingdom.

在对孟战争之后,国王阿奴律陀征服了当时与缅甸王国北部的掸邦王国,并继续征服了蒲甘西部的若开王朝,从而巩固了缅甸王国。
掸族,Shan,一般指分布在缅甸联邦共和国境内的泰民族。缅甸官方将分布在掸邦高原的泰民族命名为“掸(Shan),但缅甸各地的泰民族并不承认缅甸官方的民族划分,对外均统一自称“泰(Tai),掸族(Shan)与泰国的泰族(Thai)、柬埔寨的泰族(Tai)、越南的泰族(Tai)、老挝的佬族(Lao)、中国的傣族(Dai)、印度的阿萨姆族(Assam),属分布在不同国家不同叫法的同一个民族,都是泰民族的一部分。)

After a reign of 33 years King Anawratha is killed by a wild buffalo in 1077. He is succeeded by his son Sawlu, who further extends the borders of the realm.
After King Sawlu's death in 1084 King Kyanzittha ascends the throne and extends the boundaries of the kingdom to the South.In 1287 hordes of Mongolian horsemen under Kublai Khan bring the Bagan realm to a graceless and bloody end.

公元1077年,在位33年的阿奴律陀被一头野生水牛给袭击致死,其子修罗继位,修罗王进一步扩大了王国的边界。
公元1084年,修罗王去世之后,江喜陀继位,并将王国边界继续向南延伸。公元1287年,忽必烈的蒙古骑兵大军压境,蒲甘王朝寿终正寝,死得屈辱而血腥。
(译注:江喜陀为阿奴律陀的一员大将。早年江喜陀效力于阿奴律陀,他和修罗王以及孟族人质耶曼干(亦称额罗曼干)在宫廷中长大。后来耶曼干领导孟族反抗缅族统治。修罗王命江喜陀率领一支军队征讨,自己也亲帅大军伐孟。最终大军溃败,修罗王兵败被俘,后被处死。江喜陀逃回蒲甘城,被大臣们立为蒲甘王。后江喜陀击败孟族起义大军,再次实现了全缅统一,他统治时期,兴修水利、发展生产、大兴佛教。因此在缅甸历史上,阿奴律陀和江喜陀统治时期也被称为盛世。)

Taungu Dynasty
After two centuries, during which the realms of the Burmans, the Shan and the Mon fight ceaselessly, King Minkyino ascends the throne of the Burmese town of Taungu in 1486. His reign sees a resurgence of the Burmese kingdom. After King Minkyino's death in 1530 his 16-year-old son Tabengshweti becomes Taungu's new King. Tabengshweti aims to return the Burmese kingdom to the size it was in its glory days.

东吁王朝:
两个世纪后,缅族、掸邦和孟邦的疆域纷争不断,明吉瑜(Minkyino)于1486年登上东吁城的王位,缅甸因他的统治而复兴。明吉瑜于1530年去世后,他16岁的儿子莽瑞体(Tabengshweti )继位为东吁王国的新王。莽瑞体的目标是将缅甸恢复到鼎盛时期的规模。

In 1535 Tabengshweti's troops conquer the Mon port town of Bassein, and in1539 he takes the most important Mon town of that time, Bago. Further conquest in the north sees Tabengshweti reign over an area roughly equivalent to today's Burma. Tabengshweti dies in 1550 and his conquests prove to be temporary, as his brother-in-law Bayinnaung has to re-conquer a number of towns when he ascends the throne of Taungu.

1535年,莽瑞体的军队征服了孟邦港口城市勃生(Bassein),1539年,他占领了当时最重要的孟邦城市巴格。之后,实现了向缅甸北部的进一步征服,莽瑞体统治的地区基本相当于今天的缅甸。但是他的统一是短暂的,因为他1550年就去世了,他的妹夫莽应龙(Bayinnaung)继东吁王朝王位后,又不得不对一些地区进行重新征服。

In 1564 Bayinnaung lays siege to the Siamese capital of Ayutthaya until it surrenders. The Siamese King and his family are abducted and taken to Burma along with a number of highly valued white elephants. As Siam is not content with the role of being a tributary to the Burmese, in 1569 Bayinnaung is forced to invade Siam again, this time leading an army of 200,000 men. After a siege of seven months Ayutthaya is taken by force.

1564年,莽应龙包围了暹罗首都大城府,直到其投降。其暹罗王和他的家人被俘虏,并与一些珍贵的白象一起被带到了缅甸。由于暹罗不满足于成为缅甸的属国,于是莽应龙于1569年不得不再次入侵暹罗,这次率领了一支20万的军队,围困其7个月后,大城府再次被占领。
(译注:莽应龙是缅甸历史著名的三大帝之一,莽瑞体的妹夫,东征西讨,实现了缅甸的第二次统一,史称东吁王朝。)
东吁王朝极盛时期版图,包括泰国,老挝。东吁王朝是在孟族建立的勃固王朝覆灭后缅族所建立的王朝。

King Bayinnaung dies in 1581. His successor, his son Nandanaung, is not a successful military leader and during his 18-year reign he loses most of the regions his father had previously conquered. 15 years after the fall of Ayutthaya, in 1584, Siam once again declares its independence. Several campaigns to recapture Siam, the last in 1592, are unsuccessful. During the following decades the realm of the Taungu Dynasty disintegrates.

莽应龙国王死于1581年,他的继任者,其子莽应里不是一个成功的军事领袖,在他18年的统治期间,他丢了他父亲生前征服的大部分江山。大城府王朝灭亡15年后,1584年,暹罗再次宣布独立。他发动了多次收复暹罗的战役,但直到1592年的最后一次攻打,都以失败告终。而东吁王朝也在这年继续延续了几十年后,迅速解体。

In 1636 the Burmans transfer their capital from Taungu to Ava in the North (close to today's Mandalay). The realm of the Burmans continues to lose influence. At the same time the realm of the Mon, whose capital is still at Bago, grows in strength. The Mon conquer Ava in 1752 and make it temporarily their own capital.

1636年,缅甸人将首都从东吁北移到了北部阿瓦(靠近今天的曼德勒),之后,缅甸人的影响力继续衰落。而与此同时,仍在巴格的孟人实力却在不断增强。孟人于1752年征服了阿瓦,并短暂的将其作为自己的首都。

Konbaug Dynasty
In 1753 Alaungpaya, a Burmese official in the small town of Shwebo, about 65 miles north of Ava, starts a revolt against the reign of the Mon in Ava. The revolt is successful and he succeeds in conquering Ava. Only a few years later, in 1757, King Alaungpaya conquers the Mon capital Bago. In 1759 Alaungpaya starts a campaign against Siam but during the siege Alaungpaya is injured and dies on the way back to Burma. He is succeeded, briefly, by his eldest son Naungdawgyi as in 1763 Naungdawgyi's younger brother Hsinbyushin becomes the Burmese King. In 1767 after a siege of 14 months the Burmese army finally succeeds in conquering the Siamese capital Ayutthaya. The city is so completely destroyed that after the retreat of the Burmese army the Siamese abandon its restoration. After a few years of transitory confusion they turn Bangkok into their new capital. In 1782 Alaungpaya's fifth son, Bodawpaya becomes King of the Burmese. During his reign, which lasts until his death in 1819, the Burmese realm expands, with the conquest of Arakan to the West. This leads to conflicts with the British Empire, which at the time is already securely established in Bangladesh and wields a strong influence over the Indian subcontinent from its base in Calcutta.

贡榜王朝
1753年,缅甸人阿郎帕耶,中文名雍籍牙,他是一个阿瓦以北65英里的小镇雪布(Shwebo)的一名缅甸官员,在阿瓦发起了反对孟人统治的起义。起义成功了,他成功地征服了阿瓦,仅仅几年后,1757年,阿郎帕耶国王打下了孟国首都巴格。
1759年,阿郎帕耶开始了一场针对暹罗的战役,但是阿郎帕耶在围城期间受伤,并死于返回缅甸的途中。
1763年,他的长子翁达吉(Naungdawgyi)的弟弟孟驳(Hsinbyushin)成为缅甸国王。1767年,经过14个月的围困,缅甸军队终于成功征服了暹罗首都大城府。大城府被彻底摧毁,缅甸军队撤退后,暹罗人放弃了重建。经过几年短暂的混乱之后,他们把曼谷变成了他们的新首都。
1782年,阿郎帕耶的第五个儿子孟云(Bodawpaya),成为缅甸国王。他从继位到去世,缅甸的领土因征服若开而继续扩大。这也导致了其与大英帝国的冲突。当时的大英帝国已经在孟加拉王国稳定了下来,并以其加尔各答基地对整个印度次大陆施加强大的影响力。
(译注:贡榜王朝就是历史上与清朝打了20年清缅战争的缅甸王朝,还从乾隆手里抢了20平方公里的领土。雍籍牙,是缅甸贡榜王朝的建立者(1753—1760年在位),与阿奴律陀、莽应龙并称为“缅甸三大帝”。1752年孟族占领东吁王朝的首都阿瓦后,曾向雍籍牙劝降。雍籍牙拒不投降,以贡榜为基地,一举击溃孟族大军的进攻,从此军威大振,各地首领纷来归顺,雍籍牙被拥戴为王。1753年攻占阿瓦后,1756至1757年又连续攻占卑谬、达贡(今仰光)和白古,所向无敌,统一了下缅甸。)

Colonial Times
In 1824 the first Anglo-Burmese war breaks out but peace is restored with the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826 under which the Burmese cede the old fiefdom of Arakan and the southern province of Tenasserim to the British. In 1852 the Burmese arrest two British captains and release them only after payment of a ransom. This sparks the second Anglo-Burmese war. With little effort the British occupy Yangon and southern Myanmar.

殖民时代
1824年,第一次英缅战争爆发,但随着1826年的《杨达波条约》恢复了和平。根据该条约,缅甸人将若开和南部的德林达依省割让给英国人。1852年,缅甸人逮捕了两名英国船长,并在支付赎金后才释放他们。这引发了第二次英缅战争。英国人毫不费力地占领了仰光和缅甸南部。

In 1853 Mindon Min succeeds his notorious brother, Bagan Min, as king and starts to modernise the Burmese state. In 1857 he transfers the seat of his government to Mandalay, which he has newly founded.

1853年,敏东王(Mindon Min)继承了他臭名昭著的兄弟蒲甘王(Bagan Min)的王位,并开始对缅甸进行现代化改造。1857年,他将政府所在地转移到曼德勒,这是他新建立的首都。

After the death of Mindon Min in 1878, Thibaw becomes the new Burmese King and during his reign relations with the British Empire deteriorate.

1878年敏东王死后,锡袍(Thibaw)成为缅甸新国王,在他统治期间,与大英帝国的关系恶化。

In 1886 another trade conflict causes a military confrontation between the British Empire and the part of Burma not yet occupied by the British.

1886年,又一场贸易冲突导致了大英帝国与缅甸之间的军事对抗。

After a short campaign (the third Anglo-Burmese war) the British occupy northern Burma and the capital Mandalay. Now Burma is entirely under British colonial rule. In the following decades there is an unprecedented economic boom in Myanmar. From 1855 to 1930 the area of the Irrawaddy Delta, which is used for the cultivation of rice, sees production increase ten-fold.

在短暂的战役(第三次英缅战争)后,英国占领了缅甸北部和首都曼德勒。到此,缅甸完全处于英国统治之下。在接下来的几十年里,缅甸出现了前所未有的经济繁荣。从1855年到1930年,水稻地区伊洛瓦底江三角洲的水稻产量增长了十倍。

In 1930, first in Yangon, then in other towns, anti-Indian feeling starts to grow. During the previous decades the British had brought a large number of Indian administrative officials to Burma, who were followed by Indian settlers in even larger numbers.

1930年,首先在仰光,然后在其他城镇,反印度情绪开始增长。在过去的几十年里,英国人带了大量的印度行政官员来到缅甸,随后带来了更多的印度移民。

Between 1930 and 1942 Burmese nationalists increasingly agitate for an end to colonial reign and a return to Burmese sovereignty under the leadership of Aung San and U Nu.
In 1936 the British grant Myanmar a certain degree of autonomy. After decades being part of the crown colony India, in 1937 Burma finally becomes an autonomous colony of the British Empire. The British allow Burma a constitution and a parliament of its own.

1930年至1942年期间,缅甸民族主义者频繁的煽动结束殖民统治,在昂山和吴努的领导下恢复缅甸主权。1936年,英国授予缅甸一定程度的自治权。在作为殖民地印度的一部分几十年之后,缅甸终于在1937年成为大英帝国的自治殖民地。英国允许缅甸有自己的宪法和议会。
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World War II & Post-war Period
In 1942 the Japanese army invades Burma. It is initially supported by a small troop of Burmese nationalists, among them Aung San and his comrade in arms Ne Win.
While the Japanese troops quickly gain control of the Burmese central regions, the British colonial forces retreat to India but not without destroying a large part of the infrastructure built in the decades of colonial rule. The Japanese declare Burma independent. Aung San becomes Burmese Minister of War and Ne Win is appointed Chief of the General Staff of the pro-Japanese Burmese army. During the three-year occupation of Burma by the Japanese, the British attack the Japanese and the Burmese administration installed by them, in a kind of guerrilla warfare. Both sides suffer enormous losses.
In March 1945 when it becomes obvious that Japan is going to lose the war, the Burmese army, led by Aung San, changes sides and declares itself allies of the allied forces. In the following months Burmese troops support the recapture of Burma by the British forces.

二战以及战争后期:
1942年,日本军队入侵缅甸,并且入侵最初是由一小部分缅甸民族主义者支持的,其中包括昂山和他的战友奈温。
日本军队很快控制了缅甸中部地区,虽然英国殖民势力撤退到了印度,但同时也摧毁了几十年殖民统治期间建立的大部分基础设施。
日本人宣布缅甸独立,昂山担任国防部长,奈温为缅军参谋长。日本占领缅甸3年期间,英国以打游击战的方式袭击日本人及其建立的缅甸政府。双方都遭受了巨大的损失。
1945年三月,日本败局已定,昂山领导的缅甸军队改变立场,宣布自己是盟军的盟友。在接下来的几个月里,缅甸军队支持英国军队夺回缅甸。



(译注:缅甸独立运动领袖、将军,缅甸反法西斯人民自由同盟主席,缅甸共产党创始人之一(之后退党),被尊称为“缅甸国父”。)
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The Japanese surrender in August 1945 and the British temporarily reinstate their colonial administration, but meet with strong opposition from Burmese nationalists under the leadership of Aung San.
In January 1947 at a conference in London the British Government, under Prime Minister Atlee, concedes to the Burmese demand for independence.
During parliamentary elections held in April 1947 Aung San's Anti Fascist People's Freedom League wins 248 out of 255 parliament seats.
But on 19 July 1947, Aung San and five of his closest advisors are assassinated by the pre-war Prime Minister U Saw.

1945年8月,日本投降,英国暂时恢复其殖民统治,但遭到昂山领导下的缅甸民族主义者的强烈反对。
1947年1月,在伦敦的一次会议上,艾德里首相领导下的英国政府对缅甸的独立要求做出了让步。
在1947年4月举行的议会选举中,昂山的反法西斯人民自由联盟在255个议会席位中赢得248个席位。
但在1947年7月19日,昂山和他的五位最亲密的顾问被二战前担任过总理的吴素暗杀。
(译注:吴素1938年创建爱国党。1939年任殖民地政府部长,1940~41年任殖民地政府总理。1946~47年吴素又被选为英属缅甸总督行政委员会(临时政府)委员,后来吴努政府以“买凶刺杀昂山”的罪名判处他死刑。)

Independence
At 4.20 am on 4 January 1948, a time recommended by Burmese astrologers, the Burmese flag is raised over Yangon and the country formally gains its independence. U Nu, who has played a significant part during the Burmese student revolts in the 1930s, becomes the first Prime Minister of the new state.

独立:
根据缅甸占星家建议的最佳日子,1948年1月4日凌晨4时20分,缅甸国旗在仰光升起,该国正式获得独立。在20世纪30年代缅甸学生起义中发挥了重要作用的吴努成为新政府的第一任总理。

But, within the next few months Burma falls into chaos. Rebellions of Communists and Muslim separatists in Arakan arise. The Karen declared their independence from the Burmese state on 5 May 1948, but this is not acknowledged by the Burmese government (ever since the civil war between Karen and Burmese armies has been smouldering). Only in 1951 does the government under U Nu succeed in gaining a semblance of control over the country by military means.

但是,在接下来的几个月内,缅甸陷入混乱。若开出现了共产主义者和穆斯林分离主义者的叛乱。克伦人于1948年5月5日宣布脱离缅甸独立,但缅甸政府并不承认这一点(自克伦和缅甸军队之间的内战爆发以来都从未承认)。直到1951年,吴努政府才成功地通过军事手段获得了对克伦邦的表面控制。


In 1958 internal conflict inside the government cause Prime Minister U Nu to order the Minister of Defence & Chief of the General Staff of the army, General Ne Win, to create a temporary military government.

1958年,政府内部发生内部冲突,导致总理吴努下令国防部长兼陆军总参谋长奈温将军成立临时军事政府。

Rebellions by the Kachin and the Shan in the North of Myanmar reach a peak in 1961. On 2 March 1962, Ne Win and a group of Generals seize political power in a coup d'état. Numerous politicians and delegates of the ethnic minorities, who at that time are present in Yangon attending a conference to find a peaceful solution to the ethnic conflicts, are arrested. All parliamentary institutions are dissolved and are replaced by a Revolutionary Council consisting of 17 members.

缅甸北部克钦族和掸族的叛乱在1961年达到顶峰。1962年3月2日,奈温和一群将军发动政变夺取政权。当时在仰光出席寻求和平解决种族冲突会议的众多政治家和少数民族代表被逮捕。所有的议会机构都被解散,取而代之的是由17名成员组成的革命委员会。

In April 1962 the military government publishes a communiqué entitled ‘The Burmese Way to Socialism’ in which Myanmar is prescribed a cocktail of Marxism and Buddhism as state philosophy.

1962年4月,缅甸军政府发表了一份名为“缅甸走向社会主义道路”的公报,在公报中,缅甸规定将马克思主义和佛教思想相结合作为国家哲学。

In 1972 Ne Win and 20 of his followers from the Burmese army resign from their military posts and form a civilian government. On 3 January 1974, the country is re-christened the Socialist Republic of the unx of Burma and a new constitution is validated. The Burma Socialist Program Party, formerly founded by Ne Win, is admitted as the sole political party. Party Chief Ne Win takes the newly created post of Head of the state council and becomes President. In 1976 a coup d'état attempt by young officers fails and is followed by numerous executions. In 1981 Ne Win resigns as President of State, but remains at the head of the Burma Socialist Program Party thus remaining the power behind the government.

1972年,奈温和他的20名缅军亲信辞去军事职务,组建了一个文官政府。1974年1月3日,该国重新命名为缅甸联邦社会主义共和国,新宪法生效。缅甸社会主义纲领党,由奈温创建,被定为唯一的合法政党。党委书记奈温担任新设立的国务院总理,并担任总统。1976年,年轻的军官们发动政变未遂,随后多人被处决。
1981年,奈温辞去了国家总统一职,但仍然是缅甸社会主义纲领党的领导人,因此仍然手握政府权利。

The Modern Era
After Myanmar's fall into the economic abyss in previous years, March 1988 sees massive demonstrations against the government start in Yangon. The demonstrations continue for several months and are tolerated for a while but on 8 August 1988, the army uses violence against demonstrators in Yangon, resulting in many deaths. In the days that follow demonstrations in other towns around Myanmar are quelled by the use of force.

缅甸的现代:
20世纪,八十年代,缅甸经济陷入经济深渊几年之后,1988年3月仰光爆发了大规模的反政府示威。示威持续了几个月,示威停止,是因为当年8月8日,缅甸军队对示威者使用了武力镇压,造成多人死亡,在接下来的几天里,缅甸其他城市的示威活动被相继使用武力平息。

The international media report that 3,000 to 4,000 are dead and 12,000 injured. The Burmese military, under the leadership of General Saw Maung, take over political power on 18 September 1988 and form the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) as the new government.

国际媒体报道有3000至4000人死亡,12000人受伤。缅甸军方在苏貌(Saw Maung)将军的领导下,于1988年9月18日接管政权,并组建了国家法律和秩序恢复委员会(SLORC)作为新政府。

SLORC promises free elections within a short space of time. In July 1989 the co-founder of the Burmese opposition party National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi, is placed under house arrest in Yangon. During the parliamentary elections on 27 May 1991 the National League for Democracy wins, with 82% of the vote, 392 of 485 parliament seats. However they are not allowed to form a government. In October 1991 Aung San Suu Kyi is awarded the Peace Nobel Prize. She is released from house arrest in June 1995 but is subsequently re-arrested, only to be released in 2010 as Myanmar starts to open up and usher in a new era of 'fledgling' democracy.

SLORC承诺在短时间内就会举行自由选举。1989年7月,缅甸反对党全国民主联盟联合创始人昂山素季在仰光被软禁。在1991年5月27日的议会选举中,全国民主联盟以82%的选票赢得了485个议会席位中的392个席位。
然而,他们不被允许组建政府。1991年10月,昂山素季被授予诺贝尔和平奖。1995年6月,她从软禁中获释,但随后再次被捕,直到2010年,随着缅甸开始开放,步入了一个渐渐拥有一点民主的新时代,她才被释放。
(译注:昂山素季,缅甸国父之女,政治家、外交官、作家,缅甸民主联盟创始人,总书记,现任缅甸国务资政,是缅甸的实际最高领导人。2021年被指控涉嫌腐败又被抓紧了监狱,判刑两年。)

The 'fledgling' democracy that grew out of these early elections has continued to grow since 2010 and in 2016, after the most democratic process in Myanmar’s history, Htin Kyaw was sworn in as president, finally ending Myanmar’s long and arduous path towards the implementation of a democratic system.

自2010年以来,这些早期选举产生的民主星火一直在发展,2016年,缅甸迎来了历史上最民主的时代,吴廷觉宣誓就任总统,标志着缅甸为了施行民主制度,而进行的艰苦漫漫长路终于结束。
(译注:吴廷觉是缅甸民盟成员,缅甸民选总统,当了两年就下野了。)