ISBN10: 0226762874, ISBN13: 9780226762876, [publisher: University of Chicago Press 1990-06-01, Chicago] Softcover Language: ENG
[London, United Kingdom] [Publication Year: 1990]

Chicago University of Chicago Press 1990 2nd ed. Trade paperback New in new dust jacket.

Chicago : White Lotus Press, Date: 1990. Paperback. Good. 1.00. Smalley, William A., Chia Koua Vang & Gnia Yee Yang. In February of 1971, in the Laotian village of Nam Chia, a forty-one year old farmer named Shong Lue Yang was assassinated by government soldiers. Shong Lue claimed to have been descended of God and given the mission of delivering the first true Hmong alphabet. Many believed him to be the Hmong people’s long-awaited messiah, and his thousands of followers knew him as “Mother (Source) of Writing”. This work provides a nontechnical linguistic analysis of the script and a survey of its current use. In addition, it gives an intriguing cultural account of Shong Lue’s life. The book traces the twenty-year-long struggle to disseminate the script after Shong Lue’s death, first by handwriting, then by primitive movable type, an abortive attempt to design a wooden typewriter, and finally by modern word processing. In a moving concluding chapter, Smalley discusses his own complex feelings about his coauthors’ story. 1990. White Lotus Press ISBN 0226762874 9780226762876 [US]