Ma zhancang signed a secret agreement with the daotai of kashgar, ma shaowu, and his chinese muslim troops joined the han chinese garrison inside the yamen in kashgar and helped them repulse uighur and kirghiz attacks led by abdullah bughra. It is a large, sparsely populated area comparable in size to iran which takes up about. It is about 2,500 kilometres 1,600 mi from the nearest coastline as urumqi is the closest major city to the eurasian pole of inaccessibility, although karamay and altay, both in xinjiang, are closer. Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders. Although xinjiang was officially given the status of province during this time, it was also a period. If you have any interest in the history of xinjiang and the chinese silk road, this is a gre. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them.
A history of xinjiang james millward columbia university press 2009 pdf. Eurasian crossroads is the first comprehensive history of xinjiang, the vast central eurasian region bordering india, pakistan, afghanistan, tajikistan, kyrg. This paper argues that beijings handling of the xinjiang and uyghur issues at the domestic, regional and international levels is characterised by a number of contradictions. A history of xinjiang james millward besides separatist concerns, xinjiangs energy resources, strategic position, and rapid development have gained it international attention in recent decades. College of asia and the pacific, the australian national university australian national university eurasian crossroads.
Eurasian crossroads a history of xinjiang pdf eurasia. Reviewed by morgan liu published on hsoyuz october, 2008 commissioned by johanna k. Though he focuses on political questions, bovingdon displays a humanists concern for his subjects as individuals and eschews social science jargon for elegantly turned phrases that crystallize the issues in a memorable way. They were renamed xinjiang in 1884, meaning new frontier, when both regions were reconquered by the. Xinjiang library binding read online singing the living tradition reader read online acs i. A brief history of xinjiang the xinjiang uyghur autonomous region encompasses onesixth of the land mass of the peoples republic of china. A jas new author forum volume 77 issue 1 rian thum, justin jacobs, tom cliff, david brophy, kwangmin kim, madlen kobi. In terms of a topic i do not think anyone could have chosen one harder than a history of xinjiang. This paper argues that beijings handling of the xinjiang and uyghur issues at the domestic, regional and international levels is characterised by a number of. A history of xinjiang touches on selective events from the stone age until the 19th century, the middle portion focuses on the struggles between the qing, soviet union, and local leaders. This riveting narrative tracks xinjiang political history through the bolshevik revolution, the warlord years, chinese civil war, and the largescale han immigration in the peoples republic of china, as well as the efforts of the exiled xinjiang government in taiwan after 1949 to claim the loyalty of xinjiang refugees. Read it and you will be as competent as most on the history of xinjiang and the uyghurs.
Dec 05, 2007 usually, when we speak of the history of a place, we are including all those territories that are now within the designated unit, in this case xinjiang. The article will begin by presenting an overview of the 5 james d. Available formats pdf please select a format to send. The peoples republic of china insists on xinjiang, the chinese name the manchu qing dynasty imposed in the mideighteenth century when it. Pdf strangers in their own land download full pdf book. Turkic uighur and kirghiz forces led by the uighur timur beg had been attacking chinese. The city has an administrative area of 10,989 square kilometres 4,243 sq mi and has an average elevation of 800 metres 2,600 ft. But as millward rightly points out, xinjiang has, throughout most of its history, not been governed as a contained unit, or even as multiple units within a specific empire or state. Despite a savage landscape and climate, xinjiang has a rich past. The xinjiang uyghur autonomous region in northwestern china is the largest administrative. A history of xinjiang james millward besides separatist concerns, xinjiang s energy resources, strategic position, and rapid development have gained it international attention in recent decades. The problems of writing a history of chinas arid westernmost and largest province begin with what to what to call it. Forming onesixth of the peoples republic of china prc, xinjiang stands at the crossroads between china, india, the mediterranean, and russia and has, since the bronze age.
China, xinjiang and the internationalisation of the uyghur. Xinjiang only seems to make the news when uyghurhan relations deteriorate to the point of violence, but the region is one of the crossroads of the world, with a fascinating geography and history. But already in 1892, the mission covenant church of sweden started missions in the area around kashgar, and later built mission stations, churches, hospitals and schools in yarkant and yengisar. Troubled today, chinas xinjiang has a long history the. They were renamed xinjiang in 1884, meaning new frontier. It is three times the size of france and larger than california, oregon, washington, nevada. We use cookies to offer you a better experience, personalize content, tailor advertising, provide social media features, and better understand the use of our services.
Apr 10, 2007 eurasian crossroads is the first comprehensive history of xinjiang, the vast central eurasian region bordering india, pakistan, afghanistan, tajikistan, kyrgyzstan, kazakhstan, russia, and mongolia. Uyghur nationalist historians such as turghun almas claim that uyghurs were distinct and independent from chinese for 6000 years, and that all nonuyghur peoples are nonindigenous immigrants to xinjiang. Last but not least, the author would like to thank the very kind and helpful archivists at avp ri, avp rf, rgaspi, rgaye, rgvia, and the russian state library. After xinjiang was converted into a province by the qing, the provincialisation and reconstruction programs initiated by the qing resulted in the chinese government helping uyghurs migrate from southern xinjiang to other areas of the province, like the area between qitai and the capital, which was formerly nearly completely inhabited by han.
The story is awash with conflicts, the ebb and flow of peoples, religions, languages, names, and trade. Forming onesixth of the peoples republic of china prc, xinjiang stands at the crossroads b. In eurasian crossroads millward traces this from prehistory, through struggles between chinese and turks and arabs, islamisation, and incorporation. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. A history of xinjiang for more than half a century. Nov 24, 2006 eurasian crossroads is the first comprehensive history of xinjiang, the vast central eurasian region bordering india, pakistan, afghanistan, tajikistan, kyrgyzstan, kazakhstan, russia, and mongolia. Forming onesixth of the peoples republic of china prc, xinjiang stands at the crossroads between. Xinjiang rtf howto put clutch in a 1997 ford explorer add comment eurasian.
Request pdf xinjiang xinjiang uyghur autonomous region is in the prc. Eurasian crossroads a history of xinjiang pdf eurasian crossroads a history of xinjiang free ebook download as pdf file. Southern xinjiang below the tianshan had military colonies established in it by the han dynasty. The first inhabitants of xinjiang entered from central asia to the west by 1,800 b. They came under chinese rule in the han dynasty as the protectorate of the western regions due to wars between the han dynasty and the xiongnu.
Their descendants, the uighurs, still farm the tranquil oases that ring the dreaded taklamakan, the worlds second largest sand desert, and the kazakh and kirghiz. Several of these alternatives were influenced by securitypolicy considerations of the soviet union or the peoples republic of china. James a millward presents a comprehensive study of the central asian region of xinjiangs history and people from antiquity to the present. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. A history of xinjiang 2007 that the uyghurs originated in the mongolian core lands of the orkhon river valley. Then followed a tremendous influx of han moved to singkiang for political reasons or immigrating for economic opportunity. Return to kashgar the jarring collection of uyghur manuscripts kashgar was a major crossroads for trade and culture along the eurasian silk route for thousands of years, a place where turkic, persian, arab, chinese and other groups interacted. Jul 26, 2010 for anybody who is interested in central asian history, specifically the history of chinas western region of xinjiang, there is no better english source than eurasian crossroads. Little known and explored front turkestan xinjiang, 1918. The peoples republic of china insists on xinjiang, the chinese name the. Millward has already established a reputation for excellence in the field of xinjiang history, especially of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. China, xinjiang and the internationalisation of the uyghur issue.
Islamization and turkification of xinjiang wikipedia. It is one of several uyghur alphabets and has been the official alphabet of the uyghur language since 1982. Xinjiang, the chinese name the manchu qing dynasty imposed in the mid eighteenth. In the 1930s there were several hundreds of christians among this. James a millward presents a comprehensive study of the central asian region of xinjiang s history and people from antiquity to the present. Manchu empire annexed the region to china proper in the second half of the 18. Forming onesixth of the peoples republic of china prc, xinjiang stands at the crossroads between china, india, the mediterranean, and russia and has, since the bronze age, played a pivotal role. Eurasian crossroads a history of xinjiang pdf eurasia china. Currently xinjiang is in area the largest provincelevel unit in china. Millwardeurasian crossroads a history of xinjiangcolumbia university press new york. Last but not least, the author would like to thank the very kind and helpful archivists at avp ri, avp rf, rgaspi, rgaye, rgvia, and. This is the first comprehensive history of the region, tracing it from the earliest times to the present.
James millward, georgetown university, author of eurasian crossroads. Soviet uyghur areas experienced several nonarabic alphabets and the former cis countries, especially kazakhstan, now use primarily a cyrillicbased alphabet, called uyghur siril yeziqi. The history of xinjiang concerns two main geographically, historically, and ethnically distinct regions with different historical names. Forming onesixth of the peoples republic of china prc, xinjiang stands at the crossroads between china, india, the mediterranean, and russia. Eurasian crossroads is the first comprehensive history of xinjiang, the vast central eurasian region bordering india, pakistan, afghanistan, tajikistan, kyrgyzstan, kazakhstan, russia, and mongolia. However, the han dynasty 206 bce220 ce established. Migration to xinjiang is both an ongoing and historical movement of people, often sponsored by various states who controlled the region, including the han dynasty, qing dynasty, republic of china, and peoples republic of china. The historical area of what is modern day xinjiang consisted of the distinct areas of the tarim basin also known as altishahr and dzungaria, and was populated by indoeuropean tocharians and saka peoples, who practiced buddhism. As he notes, the tribes known by the name uyghur were former components of. The lund university library is privileged to hold some 600 handwritten books. Hunter with the china inland mission opened the first mission station for cim in xinjiang. That this is the first book of its kind is testament. A history of xinjiang columbia university press and c.
Whereas the first third of the eurasian crossroads. Search for a economic action and social structure pdf new dominion. Discusses xinjiangs rich environmental, cultural and ethnopolitical. This is the history of xinjiang, the vast central eurasian region bordering india, pakistan, afghanistan, tajikistan, krygyzstan, kazakhstan, russia and mongolia.
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