ETHNONYMS: Aksulik, Kashgarlik, Uighur, Uygur, Turfanlik

At just under 7,215,000 people, the Uigur are one of China's

most populous minorities. They live in Xinjiang Province
and make up two-fifths of the population there.

The Uigur live primarily in the districts of Hotan, Kashgar,

Turfan, Aksu, and Korla, where they occupy oasis land at
the edge of the Taklamakan Desert and Tarim Basin.

The
Uigur language belongs to the Turkic Branch of the Altaic
Family and is written in Arabic script, which has been
modified to express all the sounds to be found in Uigur.
There are a large and growing number of Chinese loanwords
in Uigur.

The Uigur have a long and well-documented history, at least in part because it has been so
intertwined with Chinese history. In the eighth century, the forerunners of Uigur were under the
control of the East Turkic Steppe Confederation. When that confederation fell apart, the Uigur, along
with the Karluk, took control of the area (western Outer Mongolia) themselves. They came to the aid
of the Tang dynasty in 757 and 762, defeating a rebellious Chinese general. During this period, the
Uigur converted to Manichaeism. Later they would adopt Buddhism, Nestorian Christianity, and
finally undergo a widespread conversion to Islam.

In 840, they were routed from the area by the Kirgiz and spread in many directions. Most went west
and ended up where nearly all the Uigur are now, in what is now Xinjiang. They set up their own
state, but later came under Karakitai control. In the twelfth century they broke away and allied
themselves with Ghengis Khan. Following the decline of the Mongol empire, the area was disunited
and numerous political powers, in different places and times, held sway. Unification under one
leadership did not come until 1884, when the Qing government took control of what they called
'Xinjiang." After 1911, it was under warlord rule until 1933, had a short period as a 'republic," and
was back under Chinese (KMT) rule from 1944 to 1949. Xinjiang became an autonomous region in
1955.

The Uigur traditionally were pastoralists, although the economy had diversified by the tenth century.
Some Uigur were oasis farmers. They developed extensive irrigation systems to facilitate growing
grains, cotton, fruits, and melons. Many were town artisans and merchants-the area has a number of
towns of large size that were points on the Silk Road. Though the Uigur today are heavily involved in
manufacturing, mining, oil drilling, trading, and transportation, their pastoralist past still shows itself
in their diet; all meals must contain meat (particularly mutton) to be considered a meal and dairy
products are part of the Daily diet. The arid Xinjiang Province is unsuited to most types of agriculture,
but many Uigur are employed in growing cotton. Wool is also a major export of the region. Uigur
have largely adopted Western dress. They are noted for their music and dancing. The Uigur did not
convert to Islam until the midfifteenth century. For some five centuries before that the name "Uigur"
referred specifically to Buddhist and Nestorian oasis dwellers in Xinjiang. Today, however, all Uigur
are Sunni Muslims and adherence to Islamic teachings is one of the key markers of their identity.

See also Uighur in Part One, Russia and Eurasia

Bibliography
Ecsedy, H. (1964). 'Uigurs and Tibetans in Pei-t'ing (790-791)." Acta Orientalia Hungaricae 17:83-104.
Gladney, Dru (1990). "The Ethnogenesis of the Uighur."Central Asian Survey 9(1):1-27.
Ma Yin, ed. (1989). China's Minority Nationalities, 136-151. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press.
National Minorities Questions Editorial Panel (1985).Questions and Answers about China's Minority
Nationalities.Beijing: New World Press.
Schwarz, Henry G. (1976). 'The Khwajas of Eastern Turkestan."Central Asiatic Journal 20:266-296.
Schwarz, Henry G. (1984). The Minorities of NorthernnChina: A Survey, 1-16. Bellingham: Western
Washington University Press.

Uighur
ETHNONYMS: Uigur, Uyghur

Orientation

Identification. The Uighur, a Central Asian ethnic group of the former Soviet Union, are a distinct
ethnic group, although unlike larger Central Asian nationalities (such as Uzbek, Kazakh, or Kyrgyz),
they are not identified with an autonomous republic. In 1921 the Uighur were officially recognized as
a Soviet nationality during the All- Uighur Congress in Tashkent. An official Uighur district (raion) was
established in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Uighur comprise the largest minority in China's Xinjiang
Province.

Location.

The Uighur reside in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, with a smaller number in Turkmenistan
and Tajikistan. The Uighur inhabit two main areas of these Central Asian republics: Semirechie in
Kazakhstan and Farghana, a territory shared by Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Semirechie and Farghana
exhibit a great range of microclimatic variation. In Semirechie, sandy deserts to the North and
northwest are interspersed with meadows and lush forests along the Ili River. Southeastern foothills
give way to hardwood forests, then spruce forests and alpine meadows along the slopes of the
northern Tianshan and Dzungarian Alatau mountains (south and southeast). In Farghana, landscapes
vary from desert and oasis to foothills and high mountains with glaciers. Climate tends toward dry
and continental, and temperatures vary according to elevation.

Denographly.
The Uighur, with a population of 210,602 in 1979 (up from 173,276 in 1970), were one of the smaller
Soviet Central Asian nationalities. In China, however, with a population of approximately 7 million,
the Uighur are the predominant Central Asian nationality. According to 1990 estimates, the Uighur
population in the former USSR rose to approximately 300,000 (with about 200,000 in Kazakhstan). In
earlier decades (1925 to 1959), the Uighur population actually declined (108,570 to 95,208). This
phenomenon resulted from the assimilation of many Uighur in Uzbekistan into the Uzbek nationality,
an ethnic group with a similar language and culture. In 1970, 23,942 the Uighur resided in Uzbekstan,
120,881 in Kazakhstan, and 24,872 in Kirghizia, with 3,581 in Tadzhikistan and Turkmenia combined.
Although the majority of the Uighur population lives in rural villages, over 50,000 Uighur reşide in
urban areas (Alma-Ata, 29,618; Frunze, 11,548; and Tashkent, 9,353) (1970 figures).

inguistic Affiliation. The Uighur language has been classified as belonging to the Southeastern or
Eastern ("Turki") Subgroup of Turkic languages. The northern dialect has come to represent the
official Soviet Uighur language. The transliteration of Uighur was changed from modified Arabic script
to romanization in 1928, but as of 1947, Soviet Uighur has been written in the Cyrillic script.

History and Cultural Relations

The Uighur were an ancient confederation of Turkic tribes that united in the sixth century ("Uighur"
means "union") and established a khanate south of Lake Baikal (Mongolia) in A.D. 740. It maintained
political and military alliances with the Tang dynasty in neighboring China. Trade and marital
relations were forged as well, with Uighur princesses often marrying Chinese rulers. In 840 the
Uighur Kingdom was conquered by the Kirghiz, another Turkic group. In the successive years, the
original Uighur population dispersed south and west, often mixing with local populations.
One group of Uighur likely became absorbed into the Chinese Empire, whereas another migrated
south to became directly antecedent to the Yugur (Yellow Uighur) of China's Gansu Province.
Many Uighur migrated southwest to the desert-oasis regions north of the Tarim Basin (Xinjiang
Province, China). Near Turfan and Kucha they reestablished a kingdom increasingly based on
agriculture and trade. Even as its political power declined, art, music, and religion flourished. Uighur
established a new script based on the Sogdian writing system (an old Iranian dialect). Buddhism was
adopted, along with Nestorian Christianity and Zoroastrianism, but the original state religion of
Manicheanism was maintained.

Some Turkic groups, among them possibly Uighur, settled among the indigenous Iranian population
in the Kashgar oasis region, southwest of the Tarim Basin. This area became absorbed into the
Islamicized Kharakhanid domain during the tenth to thirteenth centuries. Kashgar became an
important Islamic center of learning, influenced by Arabic and Persian civilizations. In the early
thirteenth century, the Buddhist Uighur Kingdom to the north voluntarily submitted to Chinggis
(Genghis) Khan's rule. Uighur administrators, advisers, and accountants subsequently became
influential in the Mongol Empire. During the Chagatay dynasty ruled by Chinggis's offspring (mid-
thirteenth century), the entire Tarim Basin area became united and absorbed under the Islamic aegis.
The Uighur name, but not its script or language, virtually disappeared for approximately 500 years.
Inhabitants of this oasis region, now known as China's Xinjiang Province (formerly Eastern Turkistan),
called themselves according to local or regional affiliations: "Turfanlik" (person of Turfan),
'Kashgarlik," "Aqsulik," "Yarkandlik," and "Khotanlik," among others. Alternately, they were known by
occupation: "Taranchi" (farmer) or "Sart" (merchant). In the 1600s the Chinese Empire established
control of Eastern Turkistan during the Qing (Manchu) dynasty. During rebellions against the Qing in
the 1860s, several independent khanates were briefly formed. In 1881 the czarist government
annexed the Ili region along the Sino-Russian border from the weakened Qing government. When
the Ili region was returned to China after ten years, thousands of inhabitants of Eastern Turkistan
migrated across the Russian border. The czarist government offered them citizenship, land, and
exemption from taxes for ten years. In 1921, during the establishment of the multinational Soviet
state, the Uighur name was revived to unite Kashgarlik, Taranchi, and others into a single ethnic
identity.

Settlements
In Kazakhstan, the Uighur have settled an area that forms
an almost uninterrupted belt in the Alma-Ata Oblast. In
Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, the Uighur live in scattered
areas interspersed among the indigenous populations. In
the Soviet period, Uighur kolkhoz settlements, often several
hundred farmsteads, tended to duster together according
to original Uighur residence patterns, and quarters or
villages were modeled after former settlements in China's
Xinjiang Province. Although original village boundaries
were retained, Uighur kolkhozy have been internally
restructured. Formerly, mosques and bazaars dominated the
center of town or village. Now administrative buildings,
along with farmsteads, clubs, agricultural stores, schools,
and other cultural establishments line the streets.
Economy
Subsistence and Commercial Activities. For centuries,
Uighur subsistence was oriented toward oasis agriculture.
In czarist and early Soviet periods the Uighur played a key
role in developing agriculture, as well as urbanization, in
formerly nomadic areas of Kazakhstan. The Uighur engage
in both irrigated agriculture in desert regions and dry agriculture
in the uplands. Crops include a great variety of
grain and produce. In Uzbekistan, cotton has come to
dominate much of the local economy, whereas in Kazakhstan
animal husbandry has become a key element in the
Uighur economy. Uighur meals were traditionally spread
on the dasturkhan, a tablecloth laden with fruit, sweets,
nuts, and breads, a repast particularly associated with festive
occasions. This was followed by lamb and beef dishes,
including pilaf.
Industrial Arts. Uighur craft tradition derives from the
legacy of medieval guilds in Central Asia, in which specialists
in various applied arts were trained. In the late 1800s
artisans migrating to Russia settled in towns and urban
areas such as Yarkand or Panfilov (Kazakhstan) and
Andijian and Osh (Ferghana Valley). Tailors, hatmakers,
cobblers, blacksmiths, jewelers, bakers, and barbers set up
workshops quartered in the bazaars. Under the Soviet government,
Uighur artisans of urban areas were united into
trade artels, which became the basis for local industry.
With the development of light industry, certain crafts and
trades (e.g., silk manufacture) diminished in importance.
Garments of tie-died silk (atles), a fashion traditionally
popular among both Uighur and Uzbek women, continue
to be produced and sold at state-run stores, but such products
are often inferior to traditional handicrafts and goods
marketed by local cooperatives.
Trade. In addition to developing agriculture, the early
Uighur and other Central Asian peoples became merchants
along the Silk Road, which linked Byzantium and
Persia to China. Today trade exists on a much smaller
scale. Although bazaars no longer dominate the center of
town, as in pre-Soviet days, local open-air markets nevertheless
do a flourishing business. In Alma-Ata, periodic
trade fairs feature Uighur crafts, snacks, and musical performances
set up in pastel-colored tents inspired by Kazakh
yurts.

Division of Labor. Many crafts and trades have been

traditionally monopolized by males, but females have engaged
in specific industries such as embroidery, making
patterned felt, and weaving rugs. In more solidly Islamic
Uzbekistan, women are surrounded by traditional role
models of female propriety. In Kazakhstan, however,
Uighur women are often encouraged to pursue higher education
and white-collar jobs.
Land Tenure. In oasis areas, water rather than land was
traditionally subject to inheritance. After the Uighur migrated
to Russia, systems of land tenure and water rights
were subject to a great deal of flux until collectivization.
Kinship, Marriage, and Family
Kin Groups and Descent. As in other Central Asian
family systems influenced by Islam, the patrilineal principle
of kinship has prevailed. Polygamy traditionally could
occur, but monogamy prevailed. Unlike some other groups
that follow old Turkic prohibitions against marriage to
close kin, Uighur have often favored vicinal marriage or
village endogamy. Among the Uighur of Uzbekistan, however,
a divergent trend of out-marriage to Uzbeks has
occurred.
Kinship Terminology. Within the extended family, relationships
are often categorized according to relative age
group. For instance, older brother (aka) is distinguished
from younger brother (uka) and elder sister (apa) from
younger sister singlel). Certain relatives are given terms of
respect and endearment in addition to more formal titles:
aunt (apa) and uncle (togha) are also called "little mother"
(kichik apa) and "little father" (kichik dada).
Marriage. Soviet attempts to secularize wedding ceremonies
have evolved into celebrations that combine official
state ceremony with traditional celebration (music, dance,
and feasting).
Domestic Unit. Older-style farmhouses in the kolkhoz
often accommodate extended families, including sons and
their wives, who live in adjoining units around a courtyard.
Contemporary apartments with several rooms frequently
house a nuclear family, although relatives often live nearby.
Inheritance. Before collectivization, property was equally
divided among the sons.
Socialization. Deference and respect are paid according
to relative age-rank in the family. Female roles are confused
by often conflicting influences of Islam (which traditionally
favored isolation of women) and Soviet policy.
Sociopolitical Organization
Social Organization.. Unlike Central Asian nomadic and
seminomadic groups, the Uighur have lost all sense of tribal
and clan association. Social organization and identity
among the former Soviet Uighur differ according to regional
ties (and, to some extent, class affiliation). The
northern Uighur, living in Semirichie, retain a stronger
sense of Uighur identity. Intellectuals of this region have
promoted ethnic unity with the Uighur across the Chinese
border. On the other hand, southern Uighur often identify
with a Muslim, Turkic, or Turkistani social group rather
than a specifically Uighur one. Such social ties relate to
current residence patterns, as well as older affiliations.
Whereas southern Uighur have been assimilated to a large
extent by the Uzbeks, northern Uighur, living in more isolated
groups near the Chinese border, retain a stronger
sense of ethnic identity. Such divergence may be influenced
by older cleavages as well: southern Uighur were
more completely integrated into the Islamic aegis, whereas
northern Uighur retained a separate identity (if closely
linked to the Chinese and Mongol empires) for a longer
period.
Political Organization. Although the Uighur are not
identified with a national territory (except for the Uighur
National District of Kazakhstan), several official institutions
demonstrate evidence of Uighur autonomy. Five
newspapers are published, including Kommunizm tughi
(Communist Flag), Yengi hayat (New Life), and Bizning
watan (Our Homeland). A Uighur linguistic department
and Uighur institute were established (1949 and 1969) in
the Kazakh Academy of Sciences. The Institute for Uighur
Studies was established in Alma-Ata in 1980 as a separate
entity. The Uighur are the only nontitular nationality
group in Kazakhstan to be granted a special language
school.
The evolution of the (former) Soviet Uighur nationality
indicates two alternate and sometimes contradictory
trajectories, which were promoted at various periods by Soviet
policy: merging (sblizhenie) and fragmentation. Yet assimilation
among Central Asian groups, as with the
Uighur with Uzbeks, may precipitate pan-Islamicism or
pan-Turkism. Alternately, promoting distinct nationalities,
while allowing for a "divide-and-rule" program, may engender
ethnic separatism or interethnic conflict.
Social Control. After the Soviet system prevailed, the
influence of Sharia (Islamic law) and adat (customary
practice) courts were gradually undercut and replaced by
Soviet courts. Today, an unofficial system of community
coercion operates to sanction social and religious activity,
such as persuading young people to participate in Islamic
rituals.
Conflict. Modern Uighur history is fraught with border
conflict involving both Soviet and Chinese governments.
During the period of economic and political turmoil of the
Chinese Communist 'Great Leap Forward" in the late
1950s and early 1960s, thousands of Uighur fled to the
Soviet Union. As Sino-Soviet relations deteriorated in the
1960s, propaganda wars raged on both sides of the border,
each attempting to discredit the other's policies while wooing
Uighur and Kazakhs. During recent uprisings (1980s-
1990s) among Soviet Islamic groups, the Chinese government
has become increasingly concerned about the influence
of Soviet rebellions on its own Uighur and other
Turkic ethnicities. Thus, the Uighur minority, despite its
small size, may remain an important consideration, as the
former Soviet republics and China carve out policies with
respect to ethnic protest and religious or political conflict.
The degree of disaffection among Uighur and related Turkic
or Islamic groups will also be influenced, to some extent,
by the policies of Middle Eastern countries such as
Iran and Turkey and their relation to the former Soviet
Central Asian republics. The Uighur Institute in Alma-Ata
is involved in researching moral and political questions that play into conflict within the Middle East
as well as
the Soviet Union. While eschewing Islamic fundamentalism,
it advocates the development of Islamic religious principles
among the Uighur.
Religion and Expressive Culture
Religious Beliefs. Several religious traditions influenced
the emerging Uighur Kingdom. Buddhism was introduced
into Central Asia during the first century B.C. During the
following centuries, Zoroastrianism, an Indo-Iranian religion
based on the duality of light and dark, and
Nestorianism, a Gnostic sect of Christianity, spread
throughout much of Central Asia. Such religions coexisted
in the region for centuries, but Manicheanism was adopted
as the official state religion of the Uighur in 762.
The Manichean religion combined aspects of Zoroastrian,
Nestorian, and Buddhist traditions. Like Zoroastrianism,
its cosmology centered on the struggle between
the dualities of light and dark, associated with good and
evil. As in Gnostic Christianity, the soul, which was imprisoned
in darkness, sought reunification with Light. As
in Buddhism, the soul traveled through successive stages of
reincarnation in this journey.
Although Manicheanism was practiced by the elite for
several centuries, other religions persisted and prevailed
among the Uighur. Shamanism, a religion which called
upon spirits of nature for healing and divine intervention,
continued to hold sway among the populace. By the time
the Uighur Kingdom was reestablished in the Turfan oasis
region to the southwest, Buddhism had eclipsed Manicheanism
as the state religion.
By the tenth century, however, following the expansion
of the Arab Empire, Islam made inroads into eastern Central
Asia, and by the fifteenth century, Islam superseded
other belief systems or gained a stronghold throughout
Central Asia. After the Uighur migrated to the Soviet
Union from China, their superficial acceptance of Islam
intensified. The majority of the Uighur are Sunni Muslims
of the Hanafi branch, but some are adherents of Sufistic
sects. In recent years, large numbers of Uighur from the
People's Republic of China have been making the hajj to
Mecca and other sites sacred to Islam.
Religious Practitioners. Despite the all-encompassing
influence of Islam, pre-Islamic practices persisted under
Islam. In fact, the Central Asian cult of saints (mazar) attests
to shamanistic influence. Shamanism, common
throughout Inner and Central Asia before the influx of
Buddhism and Islam, revered holy places and objects as
manifestations of the divine. Among the Uighur, Islamic
mullahs and shamans alike were called upon to perform
healing trances. During some pre-Soviet rituals, the shaman
circled around a rope suspended from the ceiling
while uttering Quranic passages and other chants. Afterward,
the healer would beat the patient's body with a dead
chicken, in an attempt to transfer the evil spirit to the
bird.
Ceremonies. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Soviet
Union conducted widespread campaigns to replace religious
celebrations with secular ritual. Muslim celebrations,
such as Qorban (Great Sacrifice of Abraham) and Roza
(the fast of Ramadan), were downplayed but (sometimes)
carried on unofficially. For a period there was a largely
unsuccessful attempt to merge the pre-Islamic new year's
holiday of Nawruz with the Soviet secular new-year
celebration.
Arts. The Uighur, whether through indirect legacy or direct
history, claim a long tradition of achievement in the
plastic and performing arts. In the oasis kingdom near
Turfan, cave paintings featured Buddhist dieties, princesses,
and noblemen. After Islam gained influence and
discouraged direct depiction of human and animal figures,
decorative art prevailed. Plaster carving and embroidery
alike featured geometric forms, arabesques, and plant motifs.
Although few examples of Uighur architecture exist in
the former Soviet Union, the delicate decorative work is
prevalent in China's Kashgar. Pomegranates, flower buds
and vines, and interlaced tendrils carved in panels are
among the most popular designs. Blue, aqua, saffron, and
white are the most popular hues, rendered on plaster, tile,
and wood. A wider range of colors (including bright red)
and naturalistic flower and landscape motifs often derives
from Chinese or Western influences of the past few centuries.
Whereas applied arts are minimally developed
among the Soviet Uighur, they flourish in China's Uighur
community of Kashgar. Dozens of embroidery styles on
caps formerly varied with locale but now seem to be merely
identified with gender: delicate white stitchery on a green
background or embroidery of moons and arabesques on
black (male caps) contrast with elaborate beadwork on
purple velvet, needlework in a multihued patchwork mosaic,
and flower designs in metallic fabric (female caps).
Modern Uighur literature ranges from short stories,
essays, and love poetry to epic folk legends (dastans),
historical-heroic songs and oral narratives, proverbs, and
riddles. Drama is a flourishing genre as well, with a separate
Uighur theater housed in Alma-Ata, where musical
(or dance-drama) and spoken plays are performed. The
Uighur trace the beginnings of their literary tradition to
the seventh to eighth centuries, with the runic inscriptions
of the Orkhon texts in southern Siberia. These ancient
Turkic epigraphs include the Moyun-Churu text, which
mentions the emergence of the ancient Uighur state.
Uighur literary tradition combines two separate historical
trajectories/legacies. The northern oasis area of eastern
Central Asia, adjacent to the Chinese Empire and
Mongol region, was heavily influenced by Buddhism,
Manicheanism, and Nestorianism. In the tenth century,
Buddhist writings such as the Sutras of the Golden Luster
were translated from Sanskrit into the old Uighur script,
which was derived from Sogdian (an ancient language of
eastern Iran). Poetry, narrative plays, and the epic of
Oghuznama, a tale common in northwestern Turkicspeaking
areas, were also prevalent.
The classical tradition of Uighur literature that developed
in the south in the following centuries reflects a
strong Islamic influence. Many of these works were written
in Chagatay, a medieval Turkic language written in script
derived from Arabic. Foremost among such works is
Mahmud Kashgari's Dictionary of Turkic Dialects of the
eleventh century. Other important works include didactic
and ethical poetic writings, including Yusuf Khass Hajib'e
Balasaghuni's 'Knowledge Which Gives Happiness" of the eleventh century and lagnaki's "The Gift of
Reasons" of
the late twelfth or early thirteenth century. Medieval
Uighur literature includes Islamic religious (devotional)
works and legends as well: Rabghuzi's Tales of the Prophets
of the fourteenth century and Oghuzname (Legend of
Oghuz Kagan) of the fifteenth century. In the fifteenth
century, the Timurid Turkic poet and philosopher Alishir
Nowai, now claimed by Uzbeks as well as by Uighurs,
based epic poems on the Irano-Central Asian love stories
of Leyla and Majnun and Farhad and Shirin.
In the seventeenth to eighteenth centuries, in spite of
political decline throughout Central Asia, lyric genres such
as the ghazal and gasida flourished. In addition to themes
of heroism, romantic imagery was popular. Motifs of the
beloved and lover alternately expressed earthly love and divine
union, a Sufistic theme. Famous poetic works of these
centuries include "Muhabbatnama we Mihnetkame" (Love
and Bitterness Intertwined) by Hirkit, "Wandering" by
Nowbit, "Gut we Bulbul" (The Rose and the Nightingale)
by Shah Yari, and "Muhbbatnama" (Love Letter) by Molla
Abdureyim. In the nineteenth century Uighur literature included
songs of resistance as well as tales of love.
Uighur classical music, influenced by Persian and Arabic
musical theory (al-Farabi), features the Twelve Mugam,
an elaborate suite of over 120 songs, interludes, and so
forth. Folk music varies according to occasion, and varied
folk genres are associated with the meshrep (informal gatherings
of music and activity, often held during the evening)
and toy (weddings and other celebrations). Official and informal
organizations alike promote musical and dance performances.
Young people who receive training from specialists
in Tashkent join the Uighur Musical (Comic) Drama
Theater in Kazakhstan and smaller ensembles. In Alma-
Ata Oblast, "Uighur Cultural Days," attended by Uighur,
Kazakhs, and Russians alike, feature musical performances
and staged events. The Uighur Theater in Alma-Ata offers
performances of Western drama translated into Uighur
(including plays by Shakespeare and Moliere), as well as
time-honored Central Asian and Persian classics (the tale
of Laila and Majnun). Weekly Uighur television programs
aired in Alma-Ata include comic vignettes and musical
performances by Uighur pop singers. Such song-and-dance
numbers, which feature bucolic scenes and coy lovers, borrow
heavily from Indian musical cinema, which is popular
in Uzbekistan.
Medicine. Classical medicine was influenced not only
by folk cures, but by Islamic and Greek philosophy and
science. In the seventeenth century, Imaddidin Kashgari
and his disciples advanced surgery, skin and eye treatment,
and medical research.
Death and Afterlife. Traditional Uighur beliefs about
death and afterlife have been influenced to a large extent
by Islam. After a death, Quranic prayers are chanted, and
the body is cleansed and wrapped in white gauze. The
tombs of Islamic holy men are revered as sacred places. Islamic
practices continue to provide a vital link among
members of Uighur communities.
See also Uigur in Part Two, China
Bibliography
Akiner, Shirin (1986). Islamic Peoples of the Soviet Union:
An Historical and Statistical Handbook. 2d ed. London:
KPI.
Bennigsen, Alexandre, and S. Enders Wimbush (1986).
Muslims of the Soviet Empire: A Guide. Bloomington: Indiana
University Press.
Gladney, Dru C. (1990). "The Ethnogenesis of the
Uighur." Central Asian Survey 9(1).
Kolarz, Walter (1952). Russia and Her Colonies. New York:
Praeger.
Rakowska-Harmstone, Theresa (1983). "Islam and Nationalism:
Central Asia and Kazakhstan under Soviet Rule."
Central Asian Survey 20(2).
Rossabi, Morris, ed. (1983). China among Equals. Berkeley
and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Yasinov, D. (1989). 'Osak Wadisida Shadiyana Tantana:
Panfilov Rayonidiki Uighur Madaniyiti Kunliri." Bizning
Watan (Alma-Ata), no. 19:306.
HILDA EITZEN

CONTEMPORARY COLONIALISM:
THE UYGHURS VERSUS CHINA

Although it is officially known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous

Region (XUAR), the Uyghurs and their homeland are autonomous
in name only. Since the occupation of the Uyghur homeland of
East Turkistan in October of 1949 by the People’s Republic of
China, the Uyghurs have been victims of Chinese state repression,
colonial subjugation, discrimination, and systematic ethnic and
cultural genocide; ultimately becoming a nation at risk of being
wiped out. They are comparable to various other nations of the
world facing similar problems such as the Palestinians, Kashmiris,
Kurds, and their well-known Tibetan neighbors. Their homeland
in describing their situation is sometimes referred to as ‘China’s
other Tibet’ or ‘China’s Palestine’. Sadly, the international
community pays little attention to the case of the Uyghurs, while
the world’s governments often disregard them entirely when
dealing with China.
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Due to the lack of media attention and the deliberate distortion of

Uyghur identity, history and the nature of the Uyghur-China
conflict by the Chinese government, many people are given a false
narrative of the realities concerning the Uyghurs; media reports
often inaccurately label them as ‘Chinese Muslims’, when in reality
they have no linguistic nor cultural similarities to the
Chinese. Furthermore, following the aftermath of 9/11, China has
taken advantage of the ‘Global War on Terror’ and the rise of
Islamophobia amongst the international community to push forth
a fallacious narrative that the source of the Uyghur conflict is
‘Islamic terrorism’, while also claiming that the Uyghur homeland
has been a part of China since ancient times. There is very limited
truth in these claims, as it has been well established through
history and facts that the region remained largely independent of
China until more recent times.
Embed from Getty Images

In order to accurately understand the current Uyghur-China

conflict, it is imperative to understand who the Uyghurs are, what
their culture is, along with the historical context regarding the
events leading up to their current struggle.
WHO ARE THE UYGHURS?

Genetic studies show that the Uyghurs are the modern hybrid
descendants of the indigenous Indo-European and Turkic tribes
that inhabited Central Asia. Numbering roughly 25 million
worldwide with over 20 million within their homeland of East
Turkistan, or what is otherwise known as the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China, the Uyghurs are the second
largest ethnic group in Central Asia. According to some Uyghur
activists, the Uyghurs number around 35 million, however official
Chinese statistics put them around 12 million, a far cry from what
the indigenous Uyghurs claim. Analyzing historical data from
Russian, Turkish, Chinese, and Uyghur sources, Turkish historian
Professor Dr. Mehmet Saray expressed in his book Doğu Türkistan
Türkleri Tarihi [The History of Eastern Turkistan’s Turks] that the
Uyghurs numbered roughly 24 million within East Turkistan as of
2010.

Due to the occupation and colonization of their homeland,

hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs have fled their traditional
homeland often seeking refuge and settling in nearby Central
Asian states, the Middle East, Turkey, and more recently in Europe
and North America. Officially, there are over 500,000 Uyghurs in
the independent Central Asian states, however Uyghur activists
and diaspora groups claim there are at least 1 million, with an
estimated 25% of Uzbekistan’s population having close blood ties
to the Uyghurs. According to then Turkish Deputy Prime Minister
Bulent Aric, there were more than 300,000 Uyghurs living in
Turkey in 2010. Additionally, in 2013 the Saudi Labor Ministry
stated there were some 50,000 Turkistanis (Uyghurs) living in the
kingdom. Although there hasn’t been an official census, there is an
estimated to be 50,000 or more Uyghurs living in Europe.
Similarly, estimates put the Uyghur population in North America –
mainly the United States and Canada–at around 20,000.
Furthermore, there are an estimated 100,000 Uyghurs living in
small diaspora communities, refugee camps, and detention
centers across the rest of the world.

The majority of Uyghurs are Muslim and much like their Central
Asian and Turkish brethren they follow the Hanafi school of
thought, one of the oldest and most liberal of the five main school
of thoughts in Sunni Islam. There are also significant adherents of
Sufi Islam, along with small pockets of Uyghur Buddhists,
Christians, and Shamanists across Central Asia. Overall, most
Uyghurs practice a moderate liberal form of Islam far from the
‘religious extremist’ misconception that the Chinese government
claim; though in recent years some Uyghurs have become
radicalized in response to China’s repressive policies of cultural
and ethnic genocide.

Location of East Turkistan

Although much of the aspects of Uyghur language and culture is
moderately Turkic in origin, there are elements of Persian culture
and language that coincide making up the unique hybrid Uyghur
culture. The language of the Uyghurs is also called Uyghur,
deriving from Eastern Turkic or Chagatai Turkic. It is one of the
oldest Turkic languages in use today. The Uyghurs in East
Turkistan use the Arabic script for writing, whereas the majority
of the Uyghurs in Central Asia use the Cyrillic alphabet system of
writing, and Uyghur diaspora communities use both the Arabic
script and Latin script interchangeably. It should also be noted
that the traditional Uyghur script was adopted by Genghis Khan in
the 13th Century and has been used by Mongols since then.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE UYGHURS

The Uyghurs are one of the oldest ethnic groups in Central Asia
with a history going back several thousand years. The
term Uyghur, meaning “united or allied” emerged as political
confederation of the various Turkic and Indo-European tribes that
inhabited Central Asia in the 6th century. The modern Uyghurs
are a hybrid mixture of the Turkic peoples of Central Asia and the
Indo-European tribes of the Tarim Basin. Genetic
research conducted in 2008 revealed that the initial mixing
between Hunnic-Turkic tribes and Indo-European tribes of the
Tarim began between 2140-2920 years ago, repealing the dubious
Chinese claims that the Uyghurs originated from Mongolia in the
8th century.

For millennia the Uyghur homeland of East Turkistan was ruled

by ancient Indo-European tribes, discoveries of ancient Indo-
European mummies prompted Uyghur historian Turghun Almas
to conclude that the Uyghurs have a history of over 6400 years.
This bold statement by Turghun Almas resulted in the banning of
his book Uyghurlar [The Uyghurs] by the Chinese government in
1992 which subsequently placed him under house arrest until his
death in 2001. Uyghur organizations like the World Uyghur
Congress, argue that Uyghur history in East Turkistan goes
beyond 4000 years, challenging China’s conflicting claim that the
Uyghurs migrated from Mongolia in the 8th century.

In around 209 BCE, the Turkic Huns (Xiongnu) would invade the
ancient Uyghur homeland intermixing with the indigenous Indo-
European tribes. In around 110 BCE the Chinese Han Dynasty
would launch a series of invasions into the Tarim Basin to control
the Silk Road; however, it was only in 60 CE that the Han Dynasty
would be able to seize parts of the Tarim Basin setting up a
protectorate known as the Western Regions. With the death of the
Ban Chao, the Chinese general who had conquered much of the
Tarim Basin, in 102 CE the Han Dynasty lost its grip on the region,
restoring independence to the Indo-European and Turkic tribes.

Following the rise of Turks in the 6th century, Central Asia would
be dominated by Indo-European and Turkic tribes. The Uyghurs
would play a crucial role in establishing the Kokturk Khanate
(552-744), the Uyghur Khanate (744-840), the Kara-Khanid
Khanate (840-1212), Gansu Uyghur Kingdom (848-1036), and
Idiqut State (856-1335). Uyghurs would also play a crucial role in
the administration of the Mongol Empire, Ghenghis Khan would
adopt the Uyghur yasa law system and their script to govern his
vast empire. It was through the Kara-Khanids that Islam began to
replace the former Uyghur religions of Buddhism, Manicheanism,
and Tengrism (Shamanism), however it wasn’t until the 16th
century that Islam prevailed as the dominant religion.
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In the 18th century, the Uyghurs would decline politically, socially,

culturally, and economically being weakened by internal power
struggles and the rise of Sufi Khojas. In 1759, the Manchu Qing
dynasty would invade Eastern Turkistan and make it a new
colony, with the Uyghurs rebelling against Qing rule–and in 1863
breaking free and establishing Kasgharia (East Turkistan).
However, caught in the middle of a rivalry between the British and
Russians, in what became known as the ‘Great Game’, the Uyghurs
would be invaded once again by the Qing dynasty and in 1884, the
Uyghur homeland would formally be incorporated into the
Chinese empire as ‘Xinjiang’, or what translates as the ‘New
Territory’ in the Chinese language.

With the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, the Uyghur homeland
was controlled by former Qing officials who governed the region
independently of any state, but heavily under Russian influence.
By the 1920s, nationalism began to take shape amongst the
Uyghurs, with Uyghur political movements being established
leading to an increase in the desire and push for independence. It
was during this period that the term Uyghur was revived to define
the non-nomadic Turkic peoples inhabiting East Turkistan. In
1931 Uyghurs rebelled in Qumul and on November 12, 1933 the
various Uyghur warlords of Khotan, Turpan, Kashgar, Kucha,
Aksu, and Qumul united under one banner and declared
the Turkish Islamic Republic of East Turkistan (TIRET). However,
within several months it was invaded by the Guomindang (GMD).
Due to the lack of international recognition – aside from Turkey –
the TIRET was destroyed by the Chinese GMD forces. Though the
TIRET was short-lived, it did leave a legacy and exactly 11 years
later Uyghurs and Kazakhs would declare the formation of
the second East Turkistan Republic (ETR) on November. 12, 1944.
 Uyghur freedom fighters (Revolutionaries), 1933 – upon
establishing the Turkish Islamic Republic of East Turkistan

Although the ETR received some international recognition, it

became the victim of secret negotiations between the US and the
Soviet Union and was betrayed at the Yalta Conference of 1945.
Stalin would use the KGB to infiltrate the ETR leadership and, in
August 1949, the senior leaders of the ETR including the
President, Defense Minister, and Foreign Secretary were executed
on the orders of Stalin for refusing to sign away the independence
of the Uyghur nation. By September, 1949 Stalin would be
airlifting Mao’s troops into East Turkistan and dismantling the
ETR, leaving the Uyghurs under Chinese Communist occupation.
The ETR was officially dismantled on November 20, 1949 ending
Uyghur independence and officially making their homeland a
Chinese colony, leading to the subjugation of the Uyghur people
that continues to this day.
THE CURRENT SITUATION OF THE UYGHURS

Although Mao Zedong had initially promised the Uyghurs the right
self-determination and a choice for independence or federated
republic status (like that of the Soviet Union), he went back on his
promises and established the so called Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region in 1955. Yet the Chinese government would
gradually launch policies to settle millions of Han Chinese to
“modernize and develop” the Uyghur homeland, significantly
changing the demography of the Uyghur homeland. Furthermore,
in 1958 Mao launched the large-scale collectivization program
which forced the Uyghurs to abandon their indigenous customs
and traditions, forcing them to learn Chinese and embrace Chinese
culture.
Embed from Getty Images

During the Cultural Revolution, hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs

were massacred by the Chinese regime for being “counter
revolutionary and nationalists”. It was during this period that
China began to rewrite the history of the Uyghurs and East
Turkistan, distorting the realities and claiming that “Xinjiang (East
Turkistan), has always been a part of China since ancient times,
and the Uyghurs are part of the larger Chinese family.” Millions of
Uyghurs would be killed by various means, including an
estimated 750,000 who died as a result of 46 nuclear tests in the
Uyghur homeland. Yet over the decades, Uyghurs continued to
resist Chinese domination, with numerous uprisings and
demonstrations.

Following the defeat of the Soviets in Afghanistan in 1989, Uyghur

militants launched an armed uprising on April 5, 1990, which was
brutally crushed. However, with the independence of their Central
Asian brethren in 1991, Uyghurs once again pushed to strive for
theirs. Due to an increase in trade relations with the international
community, China began to assert its economic dominance into
Central Asia and across the globe to crush any sign of Uyghur
political activity. Taking advantage of 9/11, China launched its
own ‘War on Terror’ to crush any and all forms of Uyghur dissent.
Ultimately, China used the pretext of “combatting terrorism, and
extremism” to ban the teaching of the Uyghur language and
restrict religious and cultural practices, while making way for the
influx of Han Chinese settlers.

Over the years China intensified its repressive policies on the

Uyghurs and in 2009 demonstrations erupted all across East
Turkistan to protest the policies and demanding equality. The
protests were brutally crushed and hundreds of Uyghurs were
killed and tens of thousands more were detained as the
international community stood in silence. In 2014 the Chinese
government sentenced Ilham Tohti, a well-known Uyghur
economist professor, to life in prison on “separatism” charges
after he asked the Chinese government to uphold its own
constitution and honor Uyghur autonomous rights.

Now, new settlement projects are being constructed to

accommodate Han Chinese settlers. Restrictions on freedom of
movement have been imposed, and tens of thousands of Uyghurs
are being detained on “terrorism” charges. On July 28, 2014,
thousands of Uyghurs in the city of Yarkent protested against
discrimination, inequality, extrajudicial detentions, and mass
executions. The result was a massacre of over 2,000 Uyghurs, all
whom were labeled as “terrorists”, and again the international
community stood silent. China has barred Uyghurs from obtaining
passports, observing religious practices such as fasting during
Ramadan, attending religious centers, holding large gatherings,
and imposing forced abortion on Uyghur families; turning the
Uyghur homeland into an Orwellian state. Such restrictions have
forced thousands of Uyghurs to take a perilous route and emigrate
out of East Turkistan, leading to a Uyghur refugee crisis largely
unheard of in the media and ignored by the international
community.
Embed from Getty Images
Yet, at the same time it has pushed disaffected Uyghurs into the
arms of rebel groups and terrorist groups fighting in Syria, with
promises of one day assisting the Uyghurs in fighting against the
Chinese occupation. On January 1, 2016 China launched a new
Counter-terrorism law specifically designed to target the Uyghurs
at home and abroad, leaving the Uyghurs extremely vulnerable
amidst international silence. Additionally, China’s continued
assimilationist and colonial policies have radicalized the Uyghurs,
forcing them to turn towards violence as a recourse.

UYGHURS AND THEIR HISTORY, LANGUAGE AND

RELIGION
 UYGHURS
 Websites and Resources
 Early Uyghur History
 Later Uyghur History
 Chinese Take on Uyghur History
 Wang Meng in Xinjiang
 Uyghur Population
 Uyghur Language
 Uyghur Written Language and Names
 Uyghur Religion
 Chinese Take on Uyghur Religion

UYGHURS

Uyghur womenUyghurs are a Turkic-speaking Muslim people who live primarily in the autonomous
region of Xinjiang. Described by some as Muslim Mongolians who look like Italian peasants, they
are generally larger and darker and have more Mediterranean features than Han Chinese. Blue
eyes and light skin are not uncommon among them. Uyghurs mostly follow moderate traditions of
Sunni Islam, and culturally have more in common with similar people across Central Asia than
with Han Chinese.
The Uyghur (pronounced WEE-gur) are also known as the Uygur, Uighur, Uigur, Weigur,Aksulik,
Kashgarlik, and Turfanlik. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in China and the largest
ethnic group in Xinjiang. They have traditionally occupied oasis cities in western China that were
once major caravansaries on the Silk Road trade route. In those days it was said that Uyghur
merchants could count in 50 languages. The story of Xinjiang is primarily the story of the
Uyghurs. (See Xinjiang).
Christopher Bodeen of Associated Press wrote: “The Uyghurs are Central Asian people who are
ethnically, culturally, linguistically and religiously distinct from Han Chinese. They are distantly
related to the people of modern Turkey, where thousands of Chinese Uyghurs live in exile. There
about 10 million Uyghurs in China, mostly in Xinjiang, but also scattered throughout the country,
where they work in factories and restaurants that are known for their distinctive cuisine based
around lamb kebabs and flat bread known as nan. They are generally poorer and less educated
than Han Chinese, a result, Uyghur activists say, of linguistic bias and economic marginalization.
[Source:Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press, May 22, 2014]
Uyghurs are descendants of wolves according to the Uyghur creation myth. Chinese are
descendants of dragons according to their creation myth. For the most part Uyghurs didn't
convert to Islam until the 15th century. For five centuries before that the name “Uyghurs” was
used to describe Buddhist and Nestorian oasis dwellers in Xinjiang. In official Chinese
government propaganda Uyghurs are described as “colorful, quaint folks."
The Uyghur are the main nationality in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Nanjiang, which is
to the south of the Tianshan Mountain, is their main settlement region. "Uyghur" is the name that
they call themselves. It means "union", "alliance" and "providing help". Many Uyghurs live in
villages and concentrated communities of areas such as Karsh, Hetian, Akesu and Ku'erle, south
of Tianshan Mountain in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Others, are scattered
throughout Ili north of Tianshan Mountain, Taoyuan, and, Changde of Hunan Province.
Uyghur population in China: 0.7555 percent of the total population; 10,069,346 in 2010 according
to the 2010 Chinese census; 8,405,416 in 2000 according to the 2000 Chinese census;
7,214,431 in 1990 according to the 1990 Chinese census. [Sources: People's Republic of China
censuses, Wikipedia]
Henryk Szadziewski is the manager of the Uyghur Human Rights Project (www.uhrp.org). He
lived in the People's Republic of China for five years, including a three-year period in Uyghur-
populated regions. Henryk Szadziewski studied modern Chinese and Mongolian at the University
of Leeds, and completed a master's degree at the University of Wales, where he specialized in
Uyghur economic, social and cultural rights

Websites and Resources

Good Websites and Sources on Ughurs and Uyghur Culture: East Turkestan Information
Center uygur.org/english ; Wikipedia article Wikipedia ; Uyghur Culture and History (lots of
links) utoledo.edu ; Uyghur Photo site uyghur.50megs.com ; Turkic People
site ozturkler.com ;Uyghurs tripod.com the_Uyghurs.tripod.com ; otoUyghur
News uyghurnews.com ; Uyghur Photos smugmug.com ;Islam.net Islam.net ; Uyghur Human
Rights Groups ; World Uyghur Congress uyghurcongress.org ; Uyghur American
Association uyghuramerican.org ; Uyghur Human Rights Project uhrp.org ; Uyghur
Language Uyghur Language. Com Uyghurlanguage.com ; Uyghur Written
Language omniglot.com ; Uyghur Culture Crafts China Vista ; Dance China Vista ; Uyghur
Music amc.org.uk ; London Uyghur Ensemble uyghurensemble.co.uk ; Uyghur Food Restaurant
Food meshrep.com ; China Vista China Vista
Good Websites and Sources on Xinjiang and Uyghur Issues: Wikipedia article Wikipedia ;
Blog with stuff on Xinjiang china.notspecial.org ; About Xinjiang (Chinese government
site) aboutxinjiang. ; History and Development of Xinjiang (Chinese government
site) news.xinhuanet.com ; Uyghurs and Xinjiang Council on Foreign Relations ; Muslims in
China: Islam in China islaminchina.wordpress.com ; Claude Pickens
Collection harvard.edu/libraries ; Islam Awareness islamawareness.net ; Wikipedia
article Wikipedia ; Asia Times atimes.com ; Xinjiang History Wikipedia article Wikipedia ; Great
Game Info sras.org ; Great Game in Afghanistan atimes.com . Book on the Great Game: The
Dust of Empire: The Race for Mastery in the Asian Heartland by Karl E. Meyer (Century
Foundation/Public Affairs, 2003). Separatism and Human Rights: Wikipedia article on Terrorism
in China Wikipedia ; All Quiet on the Western Front? silkroadstudies.org Human Rights in
Xinjiang Human Rights Watch article hrw.org ; Human Rights in Xinjiang Human Rights Watch
article hrw.org ; Human Rights in Xinjiang Human Rights Watch article hrw.org ; Uyghur Human
Rights Groups: U.S."based Taklamakan Uyghur Human Rights Association; German-based
East Turkestan Information Center; Germany-based World Uyghur Congress; and Rebiya
Kadeer's Uyghur American Association: World Uyghur Congress uyghurcongress.org ; Uyghur
American Association uyghuramerican.org ; Uyghur Human Rights Project uhrp.org Uyghur and
Xinjiang Experts: Dru Gladney of Pomona College; Nicolas Bequelin of Human Rights Watch;
and James Miflor, a professor at Georgetown University.

Minaret in TurpanLinks in this Website: XINJIANG Factsanddetails.com/China ; XINJIANG

EARLY HISTORY Factsanddetails.com/China ; XINJIANG LATER
HISTORY Factsanddetails.com/China ; XINJIANG AND CHINA Factsanddetails.com/China ;
XINJIANG SEPARATISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS Factsanddetails.com/China ; TERRORISM IN
XINJIANG Factsanddetails.com/China ; Factsanddetails.com/China ; XINJIANG RIOTS IN
2009 Factsanddetails.com/China ; UyghurS Factsanddetails.com/China ; HORSEMEN AND
SMALL MINORITIES IN XINJIANG Factsanddetails.com/China ; XINJIANG,
URUMQI Factsanddetails.com/China ; XINJIANG. KASHGAR Factsanddetails.com/China ;
XINJIANG KARAKORUM HIGHWAY Factsanddetails.com/China
PLACES IN XINJIANG : Xinjiang Tourism Administration, 16 South Hetan Rd, 830002 Urumqi,
Xinjiang China, tel. (0)- 991-282-7912, fax: (0)- 991-282-4449. Web Sites :
Wikipedia Wikipedia Government site Xinjiang.gov ; Photos and Qanats :
Synaptic Synaptic Wikipedia article on qanats Wikipedia ; Turpan : Turpan Tourism Division, 41
Qingnian Rd, 838000 Turpan. Xinjiang China, tel. (0)- 995-523-706, fax: (0)- 995-522-768
; Urumqi : Urumqi Tourism Bureau, 32 Guangming Rd, 830002 Urumqi, Xinjiang China, tel. (0)-
991-283-2212, fax: (0)- 991-281-9357 Web Sites: Travel China Guide Travel China Guide ; China
Map Guide China Map Guide ; Getting There Sites : Urumqi is accessible by air and bus and lies
at the end on the main east-west train line from Beijing. It is connected to Kashgar and other
Xinjiang cities to southwest by a new train that began operating in the early 2000s.Travel China
Guide (click transportation) Travel China Guide Tian Shan : Wikipedia Wikipedia ; Links in this
Website: XINJIANG, URUMQI Factsanddetails.com/China
Kashgar Travel China Guide Travel China Guide ; Lonely Planet Lonely Planet ; China
Vista China Vista ; Getting There: Kashgar is accessible by air and bus and connected to Urumqi
and the rest of China by a new train that began operating in 2004. There are two daily trains
between Kasghar and Urumqi that cover the 1,598 kilometer distance in about 24 hours, There
are also flights on Xinjiang Airlines 757s every evening. Website: CNINFO.net Travel China
Guide (click transportation) Travel China Guide Lonely Planet (click Getting There) Lonely
Planet ; Links in this Website: XINJIANG. KASHGAR Factsanddetails.com/China ; XINJIANG
KARAKORUM HIGHWAY Factsanddetails.com/China

Early Uyghur History

The Uyghur have a long history, its ancestors can be traced back to the "Dingling" that lived a
nomadic life in the wide regions from the Lake Baikal in the east to the Balkashi Lake in the west
in the 3rd century B.C. Over the centuries they have been referred to by different translated
Chinese names such as Tiele, Yuanhe, Weihe, Huihe, Huihu, Uygu, Uyghur and Weiwur.
In the ancient times, the Uyghurs were mostly nomads that herded animals. After the middle
period of the 9th century, they gradually started to become settled farmers, engaging in oasis
farming and raising domestic animals. From that time on they were also known main as skilled
craftsmen and traders. [Source: Liu Jun, Museum of Nationalities, Central University for
Nationalities, kepu.net.cn ~]
The Uyghurs are descendants of nomads who trace their origin back to the Uyghur knanates,
which ruled an area stretching from the Lake Baikal in southern Siberia to the Karakoram more
than 1,000 years ago. According to legend the Uyghurs descended from Wugsi, a heroic figure
who consumed wine and raw meat as an infant and could walk at the age of 40 days. His
grandsons founded 24 clans.
The Uyghurs are regarded as the first Turkic people to settle down, perhaps as early as the A.D.
5th century. In the A.D. 8th century they were under the control of the East Turkic Steppe
Confederation. When that fell part they and the Karluks took control of an area in present day
western Outer Mongolia and helped the Tang defeat a rebellious general.
In A.D. 840 they were driven from Mongolia by the Kyrzyg and dispersed in many directions.
Many settled where the live now in the oasis towns in the Taklamakan Desert, where the Chinese
occasionally had a military presence. Near Turfan and Kucha the Uyghurs established a kingdom
based on agriculture and trade.
The Uyghurs of this period embraced shamanism, Manichaenism. Nestorian Christianity, and
Buddhism. Early Uyghur branches included the Buddhist "Yellow Uyghurs” of Gansu, the
Buddhist Karakhoja Uyghurs of Gaochang (present-day Turpan), and the great Muslim Qarakhan
dynasty that ruled over much of modern-day Kyrgyzstan, eastern Kazakhstan and western China.
Many Uyghurs were Manichaens, followers of the Persian saint Mani, the “ambassador of light,"
who merged Zoroastrian with Christianity. An inscription from one of their ancient cities describes
how Manichaenism transformed “this country of barbarous customs, full of the fumes of blood,
into a land where people live on vegetables; from a land of killing to a land where good deeds are
fostered."
See Xinjiang History factsanddetails.com .
 Uyghur Empires

Later Uyghur History

They Uyghurs had a reputation for fighting among themselves when the Chinese are not around
and were regarded as Silk Road middle men, acting as intermediaries between the Chinese and
the Central Asian powers. The Uyghurs made a smart decision by choosing to be absorbed by
the Mongols rather than fighting against them. In the court of Genghis Khan they acted as
diplomats between the Mongols and the great powers of Central Asia. Marco Polo described
them as a friendly, fun-loving people.
In the imperial Chinese era, some Uyghur were oasis farmers who developed sophisticated
irrigation systems. Some were herders. Many were merchants and traders who worked along the
Silk Road.
Some Uyghurs embraced Islam when it arrived in the region in the 9th century but many didn't
convert until after the Mongols did, much later. Some didn't embrace the religion until the 1450s,
long after they adopted Arabic script for writing the Uyghur language. Apa Hoja, a 17th century
Uyghur ruler, has become a "symbol of Muslim identity tolerated by the Chinese."
Uyghur history has been a series of conquests by and rebellions against the Chinese. Many of
the Uyghurs in Central Asia moved their during a period of Chinese persecution in he 19th
century. They were not unified one leadership until 1884 when the Qing government took control
of Xinjiang.
See Xinjiang History factsanddetails.com .

Chinese Take on Uyghur History

The origin of the ethnic group can be traced back to the Dingling nomads in northern and
northwestern China and in areas south of Lake Baikal and between the Irtish River and Lake
Balkhash in the third century B.C. Some people maintain that the forefathers of the Uyghurs were
related to the Hans. The Dingling were later called the Tiele, Tieli, Chile or Gaoche (high wheel).
The Yuanhe tribe reigned supreme among the Gaoche tribes during the fifth century A.D., and
the Weihe among the Tiele during the seventh century. Several tribes rallied behind the Weihe to
resist Turkic oppression. [Source: China.org china.org *|*]
“These ancient Uyghur people were finally conquered by Turkic Kirghiz in the mid-ninth century.
The majority of the Uyghurs, who were scattered over many areas, moved to the Western Region
under the Anxi Governor's Office, and areas west of Yutian. Some went to the Tufan principality
in western Gansu Province. The Uyghurs who settled in the Western Region lived commingled
with Turkic nomads in areas north of the Tianshan Mountains and western pasturelands as well
as with Hans, who had emigrated there after the Western and Eastern Han dynasties. They
intermarried with people in southern Xinjiang and Tibetan, Qidan (Khitan) and Mongol tribes, and
evolved into the group now known as the Uyghurs. *|*
“The Uyghurs made rapid socio-economic and cultural progress between the ninth and the 12th
centuries. Nomadism gave way to settled farming. Commercial and trade ties with central China
began to thrive better than ever before. Through markets, they exchanged horses, jade,
frankincense and medicines for iron implements, tea, silk and money. With the feudal system
further established, a land and animal owners' class came into being, comprising Uyghur khans
and Bokes (officials) at all levels. After Islam was introduced to Kaxgar in the late 10th century, it
gradually extended its influence to Shache (Yarkant) and Yutian, and later in the 12th century to
Kuya and Yanqi, where it replaced Shamanism, Manichae, Jingism (Nestorianism, introduced to
China during the Tang Dynasty), Ao'ism (Mazdaism) and Buddhism, which had been popular for
hundreds of years. Western Region culture developed quickly, with Uyghur, Han, Sanskrit, Cuili
and Poluomi languages, calendars and painting styles being used. Two major centers of Uyghur
culture and literature -- Turpan in the north and Kaxgar in the south -- came into being. The large
number of government documents, religious books and folk stories of this period are important
works for students of the Uyghur history, language and culture. *|*
“In the early 12th century, part of the Qidan tribe moved westward from north-east China under
the command of Yeludashi. They toppled the Hala Khanate established by the Uyghurs, Geluolu
and other Turkic tribes in the 10th century, and founded the Hala Khanate of Qidan (Black
Qidan), or Western Liao as it is now referred to by historians. The state of Gao Chang became its
vassal state. After the rise of the Mongols, most of Xinjiang became the territory of the Jagatai
Khanate. In the meantime, when many Hans were sent to areas either south or north of the
Tianshan Mountains to open up waste land, many Uyghurs moved to central China. The
forefathers of the Uyghurs and Huis in Changde and Taoyuan counties in Hunan Province today
moved in that exodus. The Uyghurs exercised important influence over politics, economy, culture
and military affairs. Many were appointed officials by the Yuan court and, under the impacts of the
Han culture, some became outstanding politicians, military strategists, writers, historians and
translators. [Source: China.org china.org *|*]
The Uyghur areas from Hami in the east to Hotan in the south were unified into a greater feudal
separatist Kaxgar Khanate after more than two centuries of separatism and feuding from the late
14th century. As the capital was moved to Yarkant, it was also known as the Yarkant Khanate. Its
rulers were still the offspring of Jagatai. During the early Qing period, the Khanate was a tributary
of the imperial court and had commercial ties with central China. After periods of unsteady
relations with the Ming Dynasty, the links between the Uyghurs and ethnic groups in central
China became stronger. Gerdan, chief of Dzungaria in northern Xinjiang, toppled the Yarkant
Khanate in 1678 and ruled the Uyghur area. The Qing army repelled in 1757 (the 22nd year of
the reign of Emperor Qian Long) the separatist rebellion by the Dzungarian nobles instigated by
the Russian Tsar, and in 1759 smashed the "Batu Khanate" founded by Poluonidu and
Huojishan, the Senior and Junior Khawaja, in a separatist attempt. *|*
“Harsh feudal rule and exploitation gave rise to the six-month-long Wushi (Uqturpan) uprising in
1765, the first armed rebellion by the Uyghur people against feudalism. With the aim of
preserving their rule and getting rid of Qing control, Uyghur feudal owners made use of struggles
between religious factions to whip up nationalism and cover up the worsening class
contradictions. Zhangger, grandson of the Senior Khawaja, a representative of those owners,
under the banner of religion and armed with British-supplied weapons, harassed southern
Xinjiang many times from 1820 to 1828, but failed to win military victory." *|*
Wang Meng in Xinjiang

Silk Road caravanWang Meng is one of China's best known writers. “In the fall of 1963, Wang
applied for a transfer to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, an area in the far west
populated mostly by Chinese Muslims," Jianying Zha wrote in The New Yorker. “He was
answering the Party's call for writers to “delve deep into the grass roots," but the transfer would
also remove him from the turbulent political center. That winter, the Wang family packed their few
belongings and boarded a westbound train for the ninety-hour ride. “How long do you think we'll
be there?” Cui asked as the train pulled out of Beijing. “A few years," Wang replied. “At the most,
five years." Their stay on the western frontier lasted sixteen years. [Source: Jianying Zha, The
New Yorker, November 8, 2010]
“Xinjiang suited Wang. He marvelled at the region's beauty: magnificent snow-capped
mountains, rocky deserts, towering poplars, lakes that seemed as blue as the sky. He was
charmed by the Uyghurs’ approach to life---by the way peasant families grew roses even when
they didn't have enough to eat. He relished the flatbread and lamb that dominated local cuisine,
was moved by the melancholy Uyghur songs, and was enchanted by the “symphonic music” of
their language. When he discovered that he was the subject of a fengsha---an official ban on a
person and his work (the term literally means “seal off to kill”)---he put his energies into learning
Uyghur, which was rare for a Han, and won him great affection among the villagers. A daughter
was born; Cui and Wang named her for Yining, the Uyghur town where they lived." [Ibid]
“Wang's stories about Uyghur life, a series of Chekhov-like tales written in simple, realist
language, are among the most moving of his fictional works. Without narrative indulgence, they
show an attentiveness to the details of ordinary life, the moody beauty of nature; the tone is of
gentle comedy and black humor amid disaster. Reading them, you could feel Wang's genuine
respect for a culture and a people." [Ibid]
“In 1966, Mao launched the Cultural Revolution. In Beijing and other big cities, the Red Guards
ransacked homes, burned books, and beat up teachers, sometimes torturing and killing them. In
Yining, Wang burned all his personal correspondence. But geography did help insulate him; the
campaign had lost much of its severity by the time it reached the remote border town, and Wang
was protected by his Uyghur friends. An elderly peasant who sheltered him said, “Don't worry,
Old Wang, any country needs three kinds of men: the king, the courtesan, and the poet. Sooner
or later, you will return to your post as a poet." [Ibid]
Uyghur Population
Uyghur population in China: 0.7555 percent of the total population; 10,069,346 in 2010 according
to the 2010 Chinese census; 8,405,416 in 2000 according to the 2000 Chinese census;
7,214,431 in 1990 according to the 1990 Chinese census. Uyghurs can have more than one
child, and most couples usually have two or three. [Sources: People's Republic of China
censuses, Wikipedia]
About 8.5 million of the 10 million Uyghurs live in Xinjiang. Those that live outside Xinjiang are
mostly male traders that live in Chinese cities. Around 400,000 Uyghur are living outside of
China, mostly in Central Asian states bordering Xinjiang. There are about 300,000 in Kazakhstan,
50,000 in Kyrgyzstan. There are also some on Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey and the West. Many
of the Uyghur in the United States are in the Washington D.C. area and Oklahoma.

School kids in Kusrap

Uyghurs make up 45 percent of the population of Xinjiang compared to 75 percent in 1945.
Although their numbers have been diluted in northern Xinjiang by Han Chinese settlers and are
now outnumbered there the Uyghurs are still the majority in southern Xinjiang. Han Chinese have
grown from 9 percent of the population of Xinjiang in 1945 to 40 percent today.
Uyghurs live mostly to the south of the Tien Sien mountains in the districts of Hotan, Kashgar,
Turfan, Aksu and Korla, where they occupy oasis land on the edge of the Taklamakan Desert and
Tarim Basin. In 1949, Uyghur made up 93 percent of the population of Urumqi. Now they make
up about 50 percent. Forty percent are Han Chinese.
Uyghur Language

Reading a sign in Uyghur Uyghurs speak an Altaic language similar to Uzbek and Turkish. Some
words are the same in Uyghur and in Turkish. “Bir, Iki, Uech, Doert, Besh”, for instance, are one,
two, three, four and five in both Uyghur and Turkish. Most speak Chinese. Some speak it very
well. Some are just minimally conversant. Some speak Arabic and Turkish fluently yet speak only
a little Chinese. Many elderly Uyghurs can't speak Chinese at all. Many Uyghur traders can speak
a half dozen languages, including Uyghur, Chinese, Russian, Uzbek, Kazakh, Kyrgyz and
Turkish.
Uyghurs speak an Altaic language. Mongolian, Kazakh, Manchu, Kyrgyz, Turkish and other
Altaic, Tungusic and Turkic languages are Altaic languages in the Ural-Altaic family of languages.
Some linguists believe they are related. Other believe they share similarities because of the
borrowing of words by traditionally nomadic peoples. Ural-Altaic languages include Finnish,
Korean and Hungarian.
The languages of the Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Mongols and Uyghurs are so similar that they can easily
communicate with each other and often eat and party together when they live near one another.
These languages are difficult to learn and speak. Travel writer Tim Severin wrote they sound “like
two cats coughing and spitting at each other until one finally throws up.." Some of the more
guttural sounds sound like someone is having difficulty breathing.
Flight attendants on flights to Xinjiang speak English but not Uyghur. On trains in Xinjiang only
Chinese is spoken. To get gain entrance into a Chinese university and get a good job, the Muslim
minorities in Xinjiang have to pass Chinese-language examinations. The people of Xinjiang also
resent having Mandarin names attached to their ancient ruins. When Uyghurs do speak Mandarin
they are often mocked for their accents by Han Chinese.

Uyghur Written Language and Names

Uyghurs has traditionally written with Arabic script that appeared in the 13th century and has
been adapted to accommodate Uyghur sounds not found in Arabic. Ancient Uyghur writing,
abandoned long ago, was based on the alphabet of the Sogdians, a Persian people centered
around Samarkand in the A.D. 6th century. This language provided the basis for Mongol script
used from era of Genghis Khan until it was replaced by Russian in the 1940s.
In the early 13th century, under Genghis Khan, the Mongols created a vertical script based on
the Uyghur script, which was also adopted by many Turkic-speaking peoples and is related to the
alphabets of Western Asia. It looks like Arabic written at a slant.
The Uyghur script is related to the alphabets of Western Asia and has been adopted by many
Turkic-speaking peoples. Zhuang, Tibetan, Uyghur and Mongolian are official minority languages
that appear on Chinese banknotes. Many Uyghur can use the Arabic alphabet. Some Uyghur
children learn Arabic script in primary school. Others learn Arabic written in Roman letters. Most
secondary school classes are taught exclusively in Chinese.
The Uyghur language in Pinyin is based upon Arab. After the founding of Communist China, a
new form of characters based on the Latin alphabet was devised but it never really caught on.
Many Uyghurs have only one name. On the name Ilham Tohti, a persecuted Uyghur scholar,
Chinese activist and scholar Wang Lixiong told the New York Review of Books: “ His real name is
just Ilham. For Uyghurs, the second name isn't their family name; it's their father's name. So if
you call him Tohti or Mr. Tohti, you're addressing his father! The meaning of the name Ilham Tohti
is “Tohti's son, Ilham." But if Ilham had a son say named Mehmet, his name would be Mehmet
Ilham, not Mehmet Tohti. [Source: Ian Johnson,New York Review of Books, September 22, 2014]

Uyghur Religion

Uighur Muslim outside

a mosque in KashgarNearly all Uyghurs are Muslims. Some are devout; others are Muslims in name
only. Uyghurs embracing Buddhism are called Yughur, one of the China's officially recognized
nationalities. Muslim Uyghurs have far more affinity for their Central Asian brethren in neighboring
Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan than for the Han majority to the east.
Uyghurs are known for practicing a moderate form Sunni Islam with a mystical Sufi tradition.
Many drink alcohol and have no objections to women working. It is not unusual to see young
Uyghur women in the cities dressed in designer jeans and high heels. Ilham Tohti said,
‘Nowadays, more and more Uyghur youngsters are leaving Islam. They drink alcohols, steal
things and the traditional morals and customs are being destroyed’.
Islam is important to the Uyghur's identity but is not very deep rooted as a religion. Most Uyghur
are Sunni Muslims of the Hanafi school. Some are followers of Sufi sects. The worship of Islamic
saints (mazar) is widely practiced. Many Uyghurs visit the tombs of popular holy men. Uyghur
Sufis chant sacred words. Whirling-dervish-type rituals are performed in front of mosques in
Kashgar.
Uyghurs have traditionally followed a moderate form of Islam but many have begun adopting
practices more commonly seen in Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan, such as full-face veils for women.
Uyghurs have traditionally been wary of Muslim extremist and Islamists. On the Uyghurs, one
Afghan fundamentalist told the New Yorker: “They're the same as Communists."
Corban, Ramadan and Eid are the biggest Uyghur festivals. Many also celebrate the Spring
Festival (Chinese New Year). The traditional festivals of Uyghur people include the Rouzi (Eid),
Gu'erbang and Chuxue Festivals (celebrated at the first fall of snow). Rouzi Festival is also called
Kaizhai. Gu'erbang Festival (Corban) is a traditional festival held 70 days after Rouzi Festival.
[Source: Chinatravel.com chinatravel.com \=/]
Shamanist and animist traditions endure. In some places shaman chant Koranic passages to
heal the sick and people wear amulets with Arabic script to ward off evil spirits. In the old days
there were descriptions of shaman dancing around ropes hung from ceilings, chanting Koranic
verses and beating patients with dead chickens to exorcize evil spirits. Some Uyghurs shave the
heads of the babies, leaving being hair carved into wild designs, a pre-Islamic shamanistic
practice to scare away baby-stealing spirits.
See Xinjiang Religion
 Uyghurs celebrate Muslim holidays and practice ground burials. In Kashgar there are unusual
beehive-shaped tombs, with little windows.

Chinese Take on Uyghur Religion

According to the Chinese government: “Over the centuries, many mosques, mazas (Uyghur
complexes, nobles' tombs), theological seminaries and religious courts were set up in Uyghur
areas. Over the past few hundred years, religion has greatly influenced economic, judicial and
educational affairs and the Uyghur family and matrimonial system. Some of the rich people made
use of religious rules to marry more than one wife, and had the right to divorce them at any time.
The marriage of the ordinary Uyghurs was mostly arranged by the parents. Male chauvinism was
practiced in the family, and Uyghur women, humiliated and with nobody to turn to, often retreated
into prayer. [Source: China.org china.org *|*]
“After 1949, feudal religious privileges were abolished, and religion was taken out of the control
of the reactionary ruling class, and became a matter of individual conscience. As science and
knowledge spread, many of the old feudalistic religious habits lost popularity. People can now
decide for themselves whether the Sawm should be observed during Ramadan, how many
naimazi (services) should be performed in a day and whether women in the street should wear
veils. As these matters do not affect normal religious belief, the Uyghurs are beginning to enjoy a
more genuine religious freedom. The family, marriage and property are under the protection of
the law, and Uyghur women enjoy equality with men. Many are now working alongside men in
modern industries." *|*
Image Sources: Uyghur image website; All Empires com; Silk Road Foundation; Mongabey;
CNTO; Guicida Birmezir
Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times of London, National
Geographic, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, Lonely Planet Guides, Compton's
Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.
© 2008 Jeffrey Hays
Last updated July 2015

A Brief History of the Uighurs

By Ishaan Tharoor Thursday, July 09, 2009

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 WILLIAM VANDIVERT

Uighur dancer performs to music in Siniang, China on January 1, 1943.

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The violence that has claimed at least 156 lives in the western Chinese region of Xinjiang this
week is rooted in long-standing grievances among China's Uighur minority. The Turkic-speaking
Muslim Uighurs were traditionally the dominant ethnic group in the region whose Mandarin
name, Xinjiang, means simply "New Frontier" — perhaps a reflection of the fact that the region
was only brought under Beijing's control in its entirety during the 19th century rein of the Qing
dynasty. And this week they have found themselves in violent confrontation with Han Chinese,
who have become a significant majority in the capital, Urumqi, thanks to Beijing's settlement
policies.

Despite an official ideology that recognized them as equal citizens of the communist state,
Uighurs have always had an uncomfortable relationship with the authorities in Beijing. In 1933,
amid the turbulence of China's civil wars, Uighur leaders in the ancient Silk Road city of Kashgar
declared a short-lived independent Republic of East Turkestan. But Xinjiang was wholly
subsumed into the new state forged by China's victorious Communists after 1949, with Beijing
steadily tightening its grip on the oil rich territory. Its official designation as an "autonomous
region" belies rigid controls from the central government over Xinjiang, and a policy of settling
hundreds of thousands of Han Chinese there that has left the Uighurs comprising a little less than
half of the region's roughly 20 million people.

(See pictures of the race riots in China.)

The Uighurs have deep roots in the region, descending from the ancient Sogdian traders once
observed by Marco Polo. Unlike many of the nomadic tribes of Central Asia, the Uighurs are an
urban people whose identity crystallized in the oasis towns of the Silk Road. A walk through the
bazaars of old Uighur centers such as Kashgar, Khotan or Yarkhand reveals the physical legacy of
a people rooted along the first trans-contintental trade route: an astonishing array of hazel and
even blue eyes, with blonde or brown or black hair — typically tucked beneath headscarves or the
customary Uighur felt cap.

Its cosmopolitan setting also gave the Uighurs' homeland a rich mix of religious and cultural
traditions. Xinjiang is the home to some of China's oldest Buddhist temples and most celebrated
monks, while Islam arrived in the tenth century and became dominant in the subsequent
centuries. Most Uighurs today practice a brand of Islam that is peaceful and tolerant and mixed
with the mystical strains of Sufism. One of their holiest sites is the tomb of an 18th century
concubine who, according to legend, naturally exuded an overwhelming and intoxicating musk.

(Read "Palau: Next Stop After Gitmo?")

The discovery of dozens of Uighurs at guerrilla camps in Afghanistan after the U.S. invasion of
2001 highlighted the fact that some have, in recent years, been lured by a more fundamentalist
form of Islam. Many analysts believe this development has been a reaction to the strict controls
imposed by the communist authorities who have restricted religious freedoms: The numbers of
Uighurs permitted to make the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca has been limited; Uighur government
employees are forbidden from fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan; the political
authorities appoint the Imams at every mosque, and often dictate the sermons preached during
Friday prayers.

Curbs on religious freedom have been accompanied by cultural restrictions. The Uighur language,
written in Arabic script, has been steadily phased out of higher education, having been once
deemed by Xinjiang's Communist leader to be unsuitable for China's "scientific development."
Uighurs in Xinjiang are often denied the right to travel outside of China, or even within it. Those
who do manage to move to China's major cities eke out a desperate living as migrant workers,
often viewed with distrust and suspicion by the larger Chinese population. The immediate cause
of Sunday's protest in Urumqi appears to have been a mass attack on a community of Uighur
laborers in a southern Chinese factory town thousands of miles away from Xinjiang.

Widespread Uighur alienation has prompted some to resort to violence. Following the 9/11
attacks in the U.S., Beijing convinced Washington to list the little-known East Turkestan Islamic
Movement (ETIM) as a terrorist organization. Some Uighurs were captured by coalition forces in
Afghanistan and sent to Guantánamo, but many have subsequently been released. The specter of
Uighur terrorism loomed over Xinjiang after a series of attacks and bombings hit the province
during the build-up to last year's Beijing Olympics. The extent of the ETIM's tactical capabilities
and its connections to other more prominent terrorist outfits remains unclear. Other exiled
Uighur movements are avowedly secular, such as the World Uyghur Congress led by Rebiya
Kadeer, accused by Beijing of fomenting the recent riots.

Beijing casts its own role in Xinjiang as that of a benevolent force for progress, citing the
economic development spurred by its billions of dollars of investment. To be sure, Urumqi is now
a city of skyscrapers, but its population is almost 75% Han Chinese, and the Uighurs claim they're
frozen out of jobs — and see themselves as the victims of China's own westward expansion.

China's approach to the region is captured in a recent plan to bulldoze much of Kashgar's historic
Old City — an atmospheric, millennia-old warren of mosques and elaborate mud-brick houses —
and replace it with a tourist-oriented theme park version, resettling its Uighur population (who
were not consulted) in "modern" housing miles away from the city.

But the events in Urumqi seem to suggest that as long as Uighurs feel helpless in the face of what
they see as encroachment by an often-hostile culture, the potential remains high for new
outbreaks of violence.
See pictures of China after the riot deaths on LIFE.com.

Read TIME's China Blog