Shan State has played a pivotal role in Burma?s modern political history, but its culture and people have been under siege since the spirit of the historic Panglong Agreement was killed along with Aung San and other assassinated independence leaders in 1947, writes Irrawaddy culture editor Min Zin. Once known as the "land of the Sunset Kings", the homeland of the Shan is now struggling to emerge from the shadow of Burmese cultural hegemony.