The 'Uyghur' (also spelled 'Uygur', 'Uighur', 'Uigur';
Uyghur: ئۇيغۇر; ) are a
Turkic people of
Central Asia. Today Uyghurs live primarily in the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (also known by its controversial name
East Turkistan or Uyghurstan). There are also existing Uyghur communities in
Pakistan,
Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan,
Mongolia,
Uzbekistan,
Germany and
Turkey and a smaller one in
Taoyuan County of
Hunan province in south-central China.
[2]
There are small but very active Uyghur communities in the
United States, mainly in
Los Angeles,
San Francisco,
New York and
Washington, DC. Uyghur neighborhoods can also be found in major cities like
Beijing and
Shanghai,
[3] as well as in
Toronto and
Vancouver in
Canada.
Identity
Historically the term "Uyghur" (meaning "united" or "allied") was applied to a group of Turkic-speaking tribes that lived in the
Altay Mountains. Along with the
Göktürks (Kokturks) the Uyghurs were one of the largest and most enduring
Turkic peoples living in
Central Asia.
The earliest use of the term "Uyghur" (Weihu) was during the Northern
Wei Dynasty (386-534 CE), in China. At that time the Uyghur were part of the
Gaoche, a group of Turkic tribes, which were later called
Tiele people (or possibly
Turan). This group included tribes such as
Xueyantuo (Syr-Tardush), Basmil (Baximi),
Oguz (Wuhu), and
Yakut (Guligan) from the Lake Baikal Region. The forebear of the
Tiele belonged to those of
Hun (
Xiongnu) descendants. According to Chinese Turkic scholars Ma Changshou and Cen Zhongmian, the Chinese word
Tiele originates from the Turkic word "Türkler" (Turks), which is a plural form of "Türk" (Turk) and the Chinese word "Tujue" comes from the Turkic word "Türküt" which is a singular form of Türk.
[4] The origin of
Gaoche can be traced back to the
Dingling peoples c. 200 BCE, contemporary with the Chinese Han Dynasty.
[5][6][7]
The first use of "Uyghur" as reference to a political nation occurred during the interim period between the First and Second Göktürk Kaganates (630-684 CE). After the collapse of the
Uyghur Empire in 840 CE, Uyghur refugees resettled to the
Tarim Basin, intermarrying with the local people. It is only after this resettlement, that "Uyghur" can be properly used as an ethnic designation.
In modern usage, "Uyghur" refers to settled Turkic
urban-dwellers and farmers who follow traditional Central Asian practice, distinguished from nomadic Turkic populations in
Central Asia . The Chinese Communists reintroduced the term "Uyghur" to replace the previously used
Turki. "Uyghur" is widely credited as having been used by Chinese Communists for the first time in 1921 with the establishment of the
Organization of Revolutionary Uyghur (Inqilawi Uyghur Itipaqi), a
Communist nationalist group with intellectual and organizational ties to the
Soviet Union. There is some evidence that Uyghur students and merchants living in
Russia had already embraced the name prior to this date, drawing on Russian studies that claimed a linkage between the historical khanate and Xinjiang's current inhabitants.
Uyghurs live mainly in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, where they are the largest ethnic group, together with
Han Chinese,
Uzbeks,
Kazakhs,
Kyrgyz and
Russians. Thousands of Uyghurs also live in
Kazakhstan and
Kyrgyzstan. "Xinjiang", meaning "New Frontier", is the official Chinese name of the
Autonomous Region. Uyghurs still refer to "Xinjiang" as
East Turkistan.
History
Orkhon Uyghur
Uyghur history can be divided into four distinct phases: Pre-Imperial (300 BCE-630 CE), Imperial (630-840 CE), Idiqut (840-1225 CE), and Mongol (1225-1600 CE), with perhaps a fifth modern phase running from the death of the Silk Road in 1600 CE until the present. Uyghur history is the story of an obscure nomadic tribe from the Altai Mountains rising to challenge the Chinese Empire and ultimately becoming the diplomatic arm of the Mongol invasion.
Pre-630 CE
Map of the Western (purple) and Eastern (blue)
Göktürk khaganates at their height, c. 600 CE. Lighter areas show direct rule; darker areas show spheres of influence.
The ancestors of the Uyghur include the nomadic
Gaoche people and possibly the
Tocharian peoples of the
Tarim Basin. Gaoche, meaning 'High Cart', was a reference to the distinct high-wheeled, ox-drawn carts used to move
yurts. The Gaoche were Altaic nomads who lived in the valleys south of
Lake Baikal and around the
Yenisei River(Yenisei = Ana Say, or "Mother River" in Turkic). They practiced some minor agriculture and were highly developed metalsmiths due to the abundance of easily available iron ore in the Yenisei. They became vassals of the
Huns and provided them with manufactured arms. After the Huns they were passed as vassals to the
Rouran and
Hepthalite States. In
450 CE the Gaoche planned a revolt against the Rouran that was defeated by the
Türk (another Rouran vassal tribe). This incident marked the beginning of the historic Türk-Tiele animosity that plagued the
Göktürk Khanate. When the Göktürk defeated the Rouran/Hepthalite state, they became the new masters of the Tiele (the name "Gaoche" was replaced by "Tiele" in historic records around this time). It was also at this time that the Uyghur tribe was first mentioned in Chinese records as a small tribe of 10,000 yurts in the South
Baikal region.
The Uyghur participated in a coalition of Tiele under the leadership of the
Syr-Tardush tribe, who allied with the Chinese
Sui Empire in
603 to defeat Tardu Khan and win their independence. This alliance existed with varying degrees of autonomy from 603 until
630 when the Göktürk Khanate was decisively defeated by the Emperor
Tang Taizong. During this time the Uyghur occupied second position in the alliance after the
Syr-Tardush. In the interregnum between the first and second Göktürk Khanates (630-
683), the Uyghur toppled the Syr-Tardush and declared their independence. When a second Göktürk Khanate was established during the reign of
Empress Wu, the Uyghurs, together with other nomadic Turkic tribes, participated in the
Gokturk empire. the empire declined following
Bilge Khan's death in
734. After a series of revolts coordinated with their Chinese allies, the Uyghur emerged as the leaders of a new coalition force called the "Toquz Oghuz". In
744 the Uyghur, together with other related subject tribes (the Basmil and
Qarluq), defeated the Göktürk Khanate and founded the
Uyghur Empire at Mount
Ötüken, which lasted for about 100 years.
745 CE-840 CE
Map of the Uyghur Khaganate and areas under its dominion (in yellow) at its height, c. 820 CE.
Properly called the On- Uyghur (ten Uyghurs) and Toquz-Oghuz (nine tribes) Orkhon Khanate, the
Uyghur Empire stretched from the Caspian Sea to
Manchuria and lasted from 745 to 840 CE. It was administered from the imperial capital
Ordu Baliq, the first city built in
Mongolia. During the imperial phase "Uyghur" came to mean any citizen of the
Uyghur Empire, and not just a member of the Uyghur tribe. After the
An Shi Rebellion, the
Uyghur Empire considered conquering the
Tang Empire, but chose instead to use an exploitative trade policy to drain off the wealth of China without actually destroying it. In return, they policed the borders and quelled internal rebellions. Large numbers of
Sogdian refugees came to Ordu Baliq to escape the Islamic Jihad in their homeland. It was from them the Uyghur were converted from Buddhism to
Manichaeanism. The Uyghurs thus inherited the legacy of
Sogdian Culture.
In 840, following a famine and a civil war, the
Uyghur Empire was overrun by the
Kyrgyz, another Turkic people. The result was that the majority of tribal groups formerly under the umbrella of the Uyghurs migrated to what is now northwestern China, especially the modern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
Modern Uyghur
840 CE-1600 CE
Wall painting of Uyghur Princes
The Uyghur refugees who fled southwest and west following the collapse of the
Uyghur Empire established states in three areas:
Gansu, present day
Xinjiang, and the Valley of
Chu River in the West
Tian Shan ( Tengri-Tag) Mountains.
Those who fled west, together with other Turkic tribal groups living in
Dzungaria and the
Tarim Basin, established the
Beshbalik-
Turpan-
Kucha state in the Tarim Basin,
Turfan Depression, and Dzungaria. In the process, they merged with the local populations of Tocharians (or Tokharians, whose language was Indo-European). It is probable that
genetically and culturally, modern Uyghurs descended from the nomadic Turkic tribes and the Indo-European-speaking groups who preceded them in the
Tarim Basin oasis-cities, as well as Uyghurs from Mongolia . Today one can still see Uyghurs with light-colored skin and hair. Modern studies have found that modern Uyghur populations represent an admixture of eastern and western Eurasian
mtDNA[8] and
Y chromosome[9] lineages. It is at this time "Uyghur" can be used as an ethnic designation.
'Yugor' The eastern-most of the three Uyghur states was the Ganzhou Kingdom (870- 1036 CE), with its capital near present-day
Zhangye in the
Gansu province of China. There, the Uyghur converted from
Manicheism to
Lamaism (Tibetan and Mongol
Buddhism). Unlike other Turkic peoples further west, they did not later convert to Islam. Their descendants are now known as
Yugurs (or ''Yogir'', ''Yugor'', and ''Sary Uyghurs'', literally meaning "yellow Uyghurs" referring to their yellow hair) and are distinct from modern Uyghurs. In 1028-1036 CE the Yugors were defeated in a bloody war and forcibly absorbed into the
Tangut kingdom.
'Karakhoja' The central of the three Uyghur states was the Karakhoja kingdom (created during 856-866 CE), also called the "Idiqut" (" Holy Wealth, Glory ") state, and was based around the cities of
Turfan (winter capital),
Beshbalik (summer capital),
Kumul, and
Kucha. A Buddhist state, with state-sponsored Buddhism and Manichaeism, it can be considered the epicentre of Uyghur culture. The Idiquts (title of the Karakhoja rulers) ruled independently until 1209, when they submitted to the Mongols under
Genghis Khan and, as vassal rulers, existed until 1335.
'
Kara-Khanids', or The Karahans (Great Khans Dynasty), was the westernmost of the three Uyghur states. The Karahans (Karakhanliks) originated from Uyghur tribes settled in the
Chu River Valley after 840 and ruled between 940-1212 in
Turkistan and Maveraünnehir. They converted to
Islam in 934 under the rule of
Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan (920-956) and, after taking power over
Qarluks in 940, built a federation with Muslim institutions. Together with the
Samanids of
Samarkand, they considered themselves the defenders of Islam against the Buddhist Uyghur Idiqut and the Buddhist
Scythian-
Tocharian kingdom of
Khotan. The first capital of the Karahans was established in the city of
Balasagun in the Chu River Valley and later was moved to
Kashgar.
The reign of the Karahans is especially significant from the point of view of Turkic culture and art history. It is during this period that mosques, schools, bridges, and caravansaries were constructed in the cities. Kashgar,
Bukhara and
Samarkand became centers of learning. During this period, Turkish literature developed. Among the most important works of the period is
Kutadgu Bilig (translated as "The Knowledge That Gives Happiness"), written by
Yusuf Balasaghuni between the years 1069-1070.
Both the Idiqut and the Kara-Khanid states eventually submitted to the
KaraKhitans. After the rise of the
Seljuk Turks in
Iran, the
Kara-Khanids became nominal vassals of the
Seljuks as well. Later they would serve the dual-
suzerainty of the
Kara-Khitans to the north and the Seljuks to the south. Finally all three states became vassals to
Genghis Khan in 1209.
Most inhabitants of the
Besh Balik and
Turfan regions did not convert to Islam until the
15th century expansion of the
Yarkand Khanate, a Turko-Mongol
successor state based in western Tarim. Before converting to Islam, Uyghurs were
Manichaeans,
Zoroastrians,
Buddhists, or
Nestorian Christians.
Post-1600 CE
The
Manchus, nomads from present-day northeast China, vastly expanded the Qing empire, which they founded in 1644, to include much of Mongolia, East Turkistan, and Tibet. The Manchus invaded
East Turkistan in 1759 and dominated it until 1864. During this period the Uyghurs revolted 42 times against Manchu rule with the purpose of regaining their independence. In the revolt of 1864, the Uyghurs were successful in expelling the Manchus from
East Turkistan, and founded an independent
Kashgaria kingdom under the leadership of
Yakub Beg. This kingdom was recognized by the
Ottoman Empire, Tsarist Russia, and Great Britain.
Large Manchu forces under the overall command of General Zuo Zhong Tang attacked
East Turkestan in 1876. Fearing Tsarist expansion into East Turkestan, Great Britain supported the Manchu invasion forces through loans by British banks. After this invasion,
East Turkestan was renamed "Xinjiang" or "Sinkiang", which means "New Dominion" or "New Territory", and it was annexed by the Manchu empire on November 18, 1884.
In 1911, the Nationalist Chinese, under the leadership of Dr. Sun Yat Sen, overthrew Manchu rule and established a republic. Official recognition of the Uyghurs came under the rule of
Sheng Shicai who deviated from the official
Kuomintang ''five races of China'' stance in favor of a
Stalinist policy of delineating fourteen distinct ethnic nationalities in
Xinjiang. The Uyghurs staged several uprisings against Nationalist Chinese rule. Twice, in 1933 and 1944, the Uyghurs were successful in setting up an independent
Islamic Eastern Turkestan Republic. These independent Islamic Republics were subsequently overthrown by the Nationalist Chinese with the military assistance and political support of the Soviet Union, which opposed the Uyghur independence movement throughout this period. In 1949, the Nationalist Chinese were defeated by the Chinese communists and
East Turkestan was annexed by the
People's Republic of China.
Separatism
Main articles: East Turkestan independence movement
Following
9/11,
China voiced its support for the
United States of America in the
war on terror. The Chinese government has often referred to Uyghur nationalists as "terrorists" and received more global support in their own Chinese War on Terror since
9/11. Many human rights organizations have become concerned that this support is being used as a pretext to crack down on ethnic Uyghurs. Most Uyghur exile groups today claim their cultural rights are being suppressed by the Chinese government, which responds to Uyghur expressions of their culture, religion, or demands for independence with human rights violations. However, the fact that Uyghurs have never been forced to adhere to the one-child policy of China points to a degree of autonomy and respect for their Islamic culture, which expects people to have multiple children. A large proportion of the Uyghur
diaspora supports
Pan-Turkic groups and several organizations, such as the East Turkestan Party, provide support for the Chinese Uyghurs. The name
Xinjiang, which means "new dominion" in Chinese, is considered offensive by many advocates of independence who prefer to use historical or ethnic names such as Chinese Turkestan, East Turkestan (with Turkestan sometimes spelled as Turkistan), or Uyghurstan.
Though most Uyghur separatists support peaceful, secular Uyghur nationalism, there are some radical
Islamist militant groups (such as the
East Turkestan Islamic Movement and
East Turkestan Liberation Organization) vying for independence. This has caused much confusion with regard to names and beliefs of Uyghur political groups. Often the Chinese government refers generally to
East Turkestan nationalists as "
terrorists".
Executions, and imprisonment of Uyghur nationalists is common.
[10] On February 9, 2007,
Ismail Semed was executed by the
Peoples Republic of China for "attempting to split the motherland"
[11]. In March 2006, Huseyin Celil, a Canadian Muslim religious leader was arrested and later convicted for “separatist activities” because of his alleged links to groups seeking independence for Xinjiang.
Culture
Three Uyghur girls at a Sunday market in the oasis city
Khotan (Hotan / Hetian), in the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of
China.
The relics of the Uyghur culture constitute major collections in the museums of Berlin, London, Paris, Tokyo, St. Petersburg, and New Delhi. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, scientific and archaeological expeditions to the region of Eastern Turkestan’s Silk Road discovered numerous cave temples, monastery ruins, and wall paintings, as well as valuable miniatures, books, and documents. Explorers from Europe, America, and even Japan were amazed by the art treasures found there, and soon their reports caught the attention of an interested public around the world. The manuscripts and documents discovered in
Xinjiang (
Eastern Turkestan) reveal the very high degree of civilization attained by the Uyghurs. This Uyghur power, prestige, and civilization, which dominated Central Asia for over a thousand years, went into a steep decline after the
Manchu invasion of their homeland.
Currently, Turkic and Islamic cultural elements are dominant in the
Tarim Basin, which reflects a thousand years of Turkic rule in the region and resulted in the replacement of previous religious traditions.
Both Uyghur and Han locals live by the unofficial "Xinjiang time", two hours removed from the official Beijing time. Businesses and government offices have modified hours to compensate (e.g. opening at 10 am and closing at 8 pm).
Literature
Most of the early Uyghur literary works were translations of
Buddhist and
Manichean religious texts, but there were also narrative, poetic, and epic works. Some of these have been translated into German, English, Russian, and Turkish. After embracing Islam, world-renowned Uyghur scholars emerged, and Uyghur literature flourished. Among hundreds of important works surviving from that era are ''Qutatqu Bilik'' (
Beneficial Lore) by
Yusuf Balasaguni (Yüsüp Has Hajip) (1069-70),
Mähmut Qäşqäri's ''Divan-i Lugat-it Türk''- Turkic Languages Dictionary (1072), and Ähmät Yüknäki's ''Atabetul Hakayik''. Perhaps the most famous and well loved pieces of modern Uyghur literature are
Abdurahim Otkur's ''Iz'', ''Oyghanghan Zimin'', and
Zordun Sabir's ''Anayurt''.
Holy Books
Aside from the Quran, Sufi verse, and a host of exegetical and legal texts of the Islamic tradition, all of which have long been the main religious texts in the Arabic, Persian, Chaghatai, and Uyghur languages, foreign Christian missionaries have also worked to translate Christian texts into Uyghur. These activities can be seen at least as early as the beginning of the 20th century, when Turkish and Swedish missionaries printed translations of the Bible in Kashgar and an English missionary printed some portions of the Bible in Urumqi.
Medicine
The Uyghurs had an extensive knowledge of medicine and medical practice. Chinese
Song Dynasty (906-960) sources indicate that a Uyghur physician named Nanto traveled to China and brought with him many kinds of medicine unknown to the Chinese. There were 103 different herbs for use in Uyghur medicine recorded in a medical compendium by
Li Shizhen (1518-1593), a
Chinese medical authority. Some scholars believe that
acupuncture was originally a Uyghur discovery, not a Chinese discovery.
[12]
Today, traditional Uyghur medicine can still be found at street stands. Similar to other traditional medicine, diagnosis is usually made through checking the pulse, symptoms, and disease history, and then the pharmacist pounds up different dried herbs, making personalized medicines according to the prescription. Modern Uyghur medical hospitals adopted the Western medical system and apply advanced Western pharmaceutical technologies to purify and produce traditional medicines that are effective for a few chronic and rare diseases.
Art
The cave paintings at
Bezeklik and Kizil.
Wall painting at
Bezeklik caves in Flaming Mountains, Turpan Depression
Wall painting from
Kizil caves (Red caves) near Kucha, Tarim Basin
Music
Uyghurs have over 62 different kinds of musical instruments; most Uyghur homes have a
dutar. The 12
Muqams is perhaps the Uyghurs' most well known music. Uyghur music has close ties with
Persian music.
Orthography
Main articles: Uyghur alphabet
Throughout the centuries, the Uyghurs have used the following scripts:
#Confederated with the
Göktürks in the 6th and 7th centuries, they used the
Orkhon script.
#In the 5th century, they adopted
Sogdian italic script which became known as the Uyghur script. This script was used for almost 800 years, not only by the Uyghurs, but also by other Turkic peoples, by the Mongols, and by the Manchus in the early stage of their rule in China.
#After embracing Islam in the 10th century, the Uyghurs adopted the Arabic alphabet, and its use became common in the 11th century.
#During a short period of time (1969-1987), Uyghurs in China used a Latin script (yengi yazik).
#Today the Uyghurs of the former Soviet Union use
Cyrillic, the Uyghurs of
Xinjiang (Eastern Turkestan) use a modified Arabic script, and the Uyghurs of Turkey use the Latin alphabet.
See also
★
List of Uyghurs
★
Uyghur language
★
East Turkestan/Uyghurstan
★
Kushan Empire
★
Uyghur detainees in Guantanamo
★
Uyghur timeline
Notes
1. http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/04/20/eyeonchina.xinjiang/index.html
2. http://english.people.com.cn/english/200012/28/eng20001228_59085.html
3. http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/texts/chinethn.html
4. [A Historical Collection on the History of the Turks]. (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1958): 6-7.
5. Golden, Peter. ''An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples'' (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1992), 94.
6. Sima Qian, Shiji [Records of the Historian] Vol. 110: Xiongnu; and Ban Gu, Han Shu [History of the Han Dynasty], Vol. 94: Xiongnu.
7. Book of Sui, vol. 84 (c. 600 CE).
8. http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/21/12/2265.pdf
9. http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/98/18/10244
10. China 'crushing Muslim Uighurs' BBC News Online, 2007-04-21. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
11. http://www.rfa.org/english/news/breaking_news/2007/02/08/uyghur_execute/
12. Professor Rashid Rahmeti Arat, Zur Heilkunde der Uighuren (Medical Practices of the Uygurs), Berlin (1930 and 1932)
References
★ http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/texts/chinethn.html
★ Anderson, Elise. 2006. ''The muqam in modern Uyghur Life''. Oklahoma Baptist University. Honors project. Shawnee, Oklahoma: Oklahoma Baptist University.
★ Findley, Carter Vaughn. 2005. ''The Turks in World History''. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-516770-8; 0-19-517726-6 (pbk.)
★ Human Rights in China: ''China, Minority Exclusion, Marginalization and Rising Tensions'', London, Minority Rights Group International, 2007
★ Kamberi, Dolkun. 2005. ''Uyghurs and Uyghur identity''. Sino-Platonic papers, no. 150. Philadelphia, PA: Dept. of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Pennsylvania.
★ Mackerras, Colin. Ed. and trans. 1972. '''The Uighur Empire' according to the T'ang Dynastic Histories: a study in Sino-Uyghur relations 744–840''. University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 0-87249-279-6
★ Rall, Ted. ''Silk Road to Ruin: Is Central Asia the New Middle East?'' New York: NBM Publishing, 2006.
★ Millward, James A. and Nabijan Tursun, ''Political History and Strategies of Control, 1884–1978'' in ''Xinjiang: China's Muslim Borderland'' ISBN 0-7656-1318-2
★ Rudelson, Justin Ben-Adam, ''Oasis identities: Uyghur nationalism along China's Silk Road'', New York: Columbia University Press, 1997.
External links
★
Lost Nation: Stories from the Uyghur diaspora An introduction to the Uyghur Diaspora and links to resources
★
Lost Nation: Stories from the Uyghur diaspora A documentary film in which five Uyghurs from five cities around the world tell their personal story of migration.
★
The World Uyghur Congress
★
Unintended Uiyghurs
★
The “New T’ang History” (''Hsin T’ang-shu'') on the History of the Uighurs Translated and annotated by Colin Mackerras
★
The Uyghur Human Rights Project
★
The Uyghur American Association
★
East Turkistan Information
★
Introduction to Uyghur Culture and History Links to cultural and historical background, current news, research materials and photographs.
★
East Turkestan Culture and Solidarity Association, Kayseri, Turkey Information website by Uyghur diaspora in living in Turkey
★
The Uighurs Independent Tripod Site
★
Uyghur News Site
Language
★
Online UyghurWikipedia
★
Online English-Uighur Dictionary
★
An Uyghur-English Multiscript Dictionary
★
UighurLanguage.com
★
Online Uyghur-English Dictionary
★
Uyghur Language Discussion Group
★
English-Uyghur Online Dictionary
★
Uyghur Email Groups
Guantanamo Uyghur FOIA Documents
★
Uyghur testimony before Combatant Status Review Tribunal in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
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