Michael Aris

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Michael Vaillancourt Aris (born March 27, 1946 in Havana , † March 27, 1999 in Oxford ) was a British historian and Tibetologist .

Life

Michael Aris attended Worth School in Sussex from 1959 to 1964 . Between 1964 and 1967 he studied at the University of Durham , where he did his BA in Modern History in 1967 . Upon graduation, he was invited to become a tutor to the children of the royal family of Bhutan . He accepted the offer and spent the years between 1967 and 1973 mainly in Bhutan.

His wife, who later won the Nobel Peace Prize, Aung San Suu Kyi , whom he met as a student, married Michael Aris in 1972 in London. Aung San Suu Kyi and Michael Aris spent the first year of their marriage in Bhutan, where, in addition to his position as a private tutor, Michael Aris had also become head of the Bhutanese Department of Translation and the Kingdom's official historian . Both son Alexander was born in 1973.

In 1974 the family moved back to England. Between 1974 and 1978 Michael Aris extended his studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London . In 1976 he became a Junior Research Fellow at St. John's College , Oxford. In 1977 Kim, the couple's second son, was born. Michael Aris received a Ph. D. in Tibetan Literature from the University of London in 1978 for his work A Study on the Historical Foundations of Bhutan, with a Critical Edition and Translation of Certain Bhutanese Texts in Tibetan .

In 1988, Aung San Suu Kyi returned to Burma after her mother suffered a stroke . In Burma, she took part in the pro-democracy protests and became chair of the National League for Democracy (NLD). In 1989 she was placed under house arrest for the first time . Michael Aris last saw his wife when her house arrest was lifted in 1995. At that time he already knew that he was suffering from incurable prostate cancer . Despite repeated requests, he was not allowed to enter Burma until 1999.

Michael Aris died in 1999 on his 53rd birthday in Oxford hospital.

Works

  • with Aung San Suu Kyi: Tibetan Studies in Honor of Hugh Richardson : Proceedings of the International Seminar on Tibetan Studies, Oxford, 1979: Seminar Proceedings (Aris & Phillips Central Asian Studies) . Orchid Press, Thailand 1979, ISBN 978-0-85668-190-5
  • with Joseph F. Rock: Lamas, Princes, and Brigands: Joseph Rock's Photographs of the Tibetan Borderlands of China . University of Washington Press, 1992, ISBN 978-0-295-97209-1
  • The Raven Crown: The Origins of Buddhist Monarchy in Bhutan . Serindia Publications, 2005, ISBN 978-1-932476-21-7
  • with Françoise Pommaret: From the Land of the Thunder Dragon: Textile Arts of Bhutan . Serindia Publications, 2008, ISBN 978-1-932476-42-2
  • with John A. Ardussi: Sources for the History of Bhutan . Motilal Banarsidass, 2009, ISBN 978-81-208-3409-5

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Aris, Michael
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Aris, Michael Vaillancourt (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British historian and Tibetologist
DATE OF BIRTH March 27, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH Havana
DATE OF DEATH March 27, 1999
Place of death Oxford