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101-506: The high salt concentration (87 g/L) of its water prevents plants and fish from living in the actual lake, though many kinds of fish do live in the mouths of its source rivers. In 2007, the lake had a surface area of only 500 km. This Xinjiang location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Xinjiang Xinjiang , officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region ,

202-515: A combination of disease and warfare, and recovery took generations. Han and Hui merchants were initially only allowed to trade in the Tarim Basin; their settlement in the Tarim Basin was banned until the 1830 Muhammad Yusuf Khoja invasion , when the Qing rewarded merchants for fighting off Khoja by allowing them to settle in the basin. The Uyghur Muslim Sayyid and Naqshbandi Sufi rebel of

303-467: A military base in the province and deployed several military and economic advisors. Sheng invited a group of Chinese Communists to Xinjiang (including Mao Zedong's brother, Mao Zemin ), but executed them all in 1943 in fear of a conspiracy. In 1944, President and Premier of China Chiang Kai-shek , informed by the Soviet Union of Shicai's intention to join it, transferred him to Chongqing as

404-653: A result of a long struggle with the Dzungars which began during the 17th century. In 1755, with the help of the Oirat noble Amursana , the Qing attacked Ghulja and captured the Dzungar khan. After Amursana's request to be declared Dzungar khan went unanswered, he led a revolt against the Qing. Qing armies destroyed the remnants of the Dzungar Khanate over the next two years, and many Han Chinese and Hui moved into

505-661: A statement calling for the right of self-determination of all Chinese ethnic groups: " The Kuomintang can state with solemnity that it recognizes the right of self-determination of all national minorities in China and it will organize a free and united Chinese republic. " In 1931, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had issued a constitution for the short-lived Chinese Soviet Republic in Jiangxi which states that Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities, "may either join

606-760: A succession of people and empires have vied for control over all or parts of this territory. The territory came under the rule of the Qing dynasty in the 18th century, which was later replaced by the Republic of China . Since 1949 and the Chinese Civil War , it has been part of the People's Republic of China. In 1954, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) established the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) to strengthen border defense against

707-816: Is "Yarkand" or "Yarkent," which harkens back to the Yarkent Khanate , a powerful Uyghur state in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Kokandi Yaqub Beg invaded Kashgar during the Dungan revolt to establish an independent state after taking advantage of local rebellions. Also, during the Dungan revolt, the Taranchi Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang initially cooperated with the Dungans (Chinese Muslims) when they rose in revolt, but turned on them, because

808-631: Is a political movement that seeks the independence of East Turkestan , a large and sparsely-populated region in northwest China , as a nation state for the Uyghur people . The region is currently administered by the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Within the movement, there is widespread support for the region to be renamed, since "Xinjiang" (meaning "new territory" in Chinese)

909-471: Is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest of the country at the crossroads of Central Asia and East Asia . Being the largest province-level division of China by area and the 8th-largest country subdivision in the world, Xinjiang spans over 1.6 million square kilometres (620,000 sq mi) and has about 25 million inhabitants. Xinjiang borders

1010-510: Is home to most of the Uyghur population, about nine million people, out of a total population of twenty million; fifty-five percent of Xinjiang's Han population, mainly urban, live in the north. This created an economic imbalance, since the northern Junghar basin (Dzungaria) is more developed than the south. Land reform and collectivization occurred in Uyghur agricultural areas at the same general pace as in most of China. Hunger in Xinjiang

1111-528: Is seen by independence activists as a colonial name. "East Turkestan" is the best-known proposed name as it is the historical geographic name of the region and the name of the two independent states that briefly existed in the region in the first half of the 20th century. Large parts of Xinjiang were under intermittent influence of the Chinese, since roughly 2,000 years ago during the Han dynasty . In 101 BC, during

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1212-599: The 9-11 attacks in the United States and the US invasion of Afghanistan , the situation in Xinjiang was quiet from around 1998 to mid-2006. In 2005, Uyghur author Nurmemet Yasin was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for inciting separatism following his publication of an allegorical short story, "The Blue Pigeon". Rebiya Kadeer claimed that Turkey is hampered from interfering with the Uyghurs because it recognizes that

1313-758: The Afaqi suborder, Jahangir Khoja was sliced to death (Lingchi) in 1828 by the Manchus for leading a rebellion against the Qing . According to Robert Montgomery Martin , many Chinese with a variety of occupations were settled in Dzungaria in 1870; in Turkestan (the Tarim Basin), however, only a few Chinese merchants and garrison soldiers were interspersed with the Muslim population. The 1765 Ush rebellion by

1414-494: The Bronze Age linked to the expansion of early Indo-Europeans . These population dynamics gave rise to a heterogeneous demographic makeup. Iron Age samples from Xinjiang show intensified levels of admixture between Steppe pastoralists and northeast Asians, with northern and eastern Xinjiang showing more affinities with northeast Asians, and southern Xinjiang showing more affinity with central Asians. Between 2009 and 2015,

1515-491: The Chinese Tajiks ( Pamiris ), Han Chinese , Hui , Kazakhs , Kyrgyz , Mongols , Russians , Sibe , Tibetans , and Uyghurs . There are more than a dozen autonomous prefectures and counties for minorities in Xinjiang. Older English-language reference works often refer to the area as Chinese Turkestan , Chinese Turkistan, East Turkestan and East Turkistan. With a documented history of at least 2,500 years,

1616-562: The East Turkistan Government-in-Exile , which is based in Washington, D.C., and denounced jihadist groups. The most common name for Xinjiang used by independence advocates is " East Turkestan " (or "Uyghurstan"). There is no consensus among secessionists about whether to use "East Turkestan" or "Uyghurstan"; "East Turkestan" has the advantage of also being the name of two historical political entities in

1717-710: The Ghulja Incident that led to at least 9 deaths. The Ürümqi bus bombings of 25 February 1997, perhaps a response to the crackdown that followed the Ghulja Incident, killed 9 and injured 68. Speaking on separatist violence, Erkin Alptekin, a former East Turkestan National Congress chairman and prominent Uyghur activist , said: "We must emphasize dialog and warn our youth against the use of violence because it delegitimizes our movement". Despite much talk of separatism and terrorism in Xinjiang, especially after

1818-696: The Han dynasty of China (220 BC – AD 206) established a Protectorate of the Western Regions in 60 BC. Historically, various Chinese governments have described invasions of Xinjiang as a sort of " reconquest " of previously lost territories ever since the Han and Tang dynasties. Some Uyghur nationalist historians such as Turghun Almas claim that Uyghurs were distinct and independent from Chinese for 6000 years, and that all other ethnic groups are later immigrants to Xinjiang. Records show that military colonies ( tuntian ) and commanderies ( duhufu ) were set up by

1919-533: The Han dynasty to control Xinjiang, while the Tang dynasty (618–907) also controlled much of Xinjiang until the An Lushan rebellion . Chinese historians refute Uyghur nationalist claims by pointing out the 2000-year history of Han settlement in Xinjiang, documenting the history of Mongol , Kazakh , Uzbek , Manchu , Hui , Xibo indigenes in Xinjiang, and by emphasizing the relatively late "westward migration" of

2020-662: The Huigu (equated with "Uyghur" by the PRC government) people from Mongolia the 9th century. The name "Uyghur" was associated with a Buddhist people in the Tarim Basin in the 9th century, but completely disappeared by the 15th century, until it was revived by the Soviet Union in the 20th century. The government of the People's Republic of China considers all support for the East Turkestan independence movement to fall under

2121-631: The Kokand Khanate ) fled from the khanate in 1865 after losing Tashkent to the Russians . Beg settled in Kashgar, and soon controlled Xinjiang. Although he encouraged trade, built caravansareis , canals and other irrigation systems, his regime was considered harsh. The Chinese took decisive action against Yettishar; an army under General Zuo Zongtang rapidly approached Kashgaria, reconquering it on 16 May 1877. After reconquering Xinjiang in

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2222-483: The Kurdish-Turkish conflict may receive interference from China in retaliation. Several proponents of independence state that the Uyghurs have had a defined history in Xinjiang for "over 4000 years". There are historical arguments for the independence of Xinjiang, such as the argument that the People's Republic of China is a colonial occupier of Xinjiang, rather than it naturally being an integral part of

2323-703: The Protectorate General to Pacify the West ( 安西都護府 ) or Anxi Protectorate, in 640 to control the region. During the Anshi Rebellion , which nearly destroyed the Tang dynasty, Tibet invaded the Tang on a broad front from Xinjiang to Yunnan . It occupied the Tang capital of Chang'an in 763 for 16 days, and controlled southern Xinjiang by the end of the century. The Uyghur Khaganate took control of Northern Xinjiang, much of Central Asia and Mongolia at

2424-585: The Republic of China government under Chiang Kai-shek . Kadeer and her family were close friends with White Russian exiles living in Xinjiang and Kadeer recalled that many Uyghurs thought Russian culture was "more advanced" than that of the Uyghurs and they "respected" the Russians a lot. Many of the Turkic peoples of the Ili region of Xinjiang had close cultural, political, and economic ties with Russia and then

2525-559: The "infidel Kalmuks" (Dzungars) built Buddhist monuments in their region. The Turkic Muslims of the Turfan and Kumul oases then submitted to the Qing dynasty and asked China to free them from the Dzungars; the Qing accepted their rulers as vassals. They warred against the Dzungars for decades before defeating them; Qing Manchu Bannermen then conducted the Dzungar genocide , nearly eradicating them and depopulating Dzungaria. The Qing freed

2626-504: The (constitutional) mandate to provide employment and the facilitation of employment as the most fundamental project for ensuring and improving people's wellbeing. While the earliest ROC constitutional documents during the Beiyang era already claim Xinjiang as part of China, Chinese political leaders also acknowledged the principle of self-determination . For example, at a party conference in 1924, Kuomintang leader Sun Yat-sen issued

2727-669: The 13th century, although it was ruled by foreign overlords. The Kara-Khanids converted to Islam. The Uyghur state in Eastern Xinjiang, initially Manichean , later converted to Buddhism . Remnants of the Liao dynasty from Manchuria entered Xinjiang in 1132, fleeing rebellion by the neighboring Jurchens . They established a new empire, the Qara Khitai (Western Liao), which ruled the Kara-Khanid and Uyghur-held parts of

2828-630: The 1860s, Xinjiang had been under Qing rule for a century. The region was captured in 1759 from the Dzungar Khanate , whose population (the Oirats ) became the targets of genocide. Xinjiang was primarily semi-arid or desert and unattractive to non-trading Han settlers, and others (including the Uyghurs) settled there. The Dungan Revolt by the Muslim Hui and other Muslim ethnic groups

2929-710: The 2nd century BC and 2nd century AD, the Han Empire established the Protectorate of the Western Regions or Xiyu Protectorate ( 西域都護府 ) in an effort to secure the profitable routes of the Silk Road . The Western Regions during the Tang era were known as Qixi ( 磧西 ). Qi refers to the Gobi Desert while Xi refers to the west. The Tang Empire had established the Protectorate General to Pacify

3030-563: The Afaqi Khoja leader Burhan-ud-din and his brother, Khoja Jihan, from Dzungar imprisonment and appointed them to rule the Tarim Basin as Qing vassals. The Khoja brothers reneged on the agreement, declaring themselves independent leaders of the Tarim Basin. The Qing and the Turfan leader Emin Khoja crushed their revolt, and by 1759 China controlled Dzungaria and the Tarim Basin. The Manchu Qing dynasty gained control of eastern Xinjiang as

3131-610: The Afaqi and the Afaq Khoja invited the 5th Dalai Lama (the leader of the Tibetans ) to intervene on his behalf in 1677. The Dalai Lama then called on his Dzungar Buddhist followers in the Dzungar Khanate to act on the invitation. The Dzungar Khanate conquered the Tarim Basin in 1680, setting up the Afaqi Khoja as their puppet ruler. After converting to Islam, the descendants of the previously- Buddhist Uyghurs in Turfan believed that

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3232-501: The Dungans, mindful of their Chinese heritage, attempted to subject the entire region to their rule. The Taranchi massacred the Dungans at Kuldja and drove the rest through the Talk pass into the Ili valley. After the collapse of the Qing dynasty , the region became largely free of the control of the government of Republic of China (ROC) . An early attempt at East Turkestan independence was

3333-670: The First East Turkestan Republic following Chinese (ROC) victories at the Battle of Kashgar (1933) and Battle of Kashgar (1934) . During the later years of China under the ROC, which was engaged against the Chinese Communists in the context of the Chinese Civil War , the Soviet Union under leader Joseph Stalin invaded Xinjiang and assisted a local rebellion at Ili (Yining City) . The rebellion led to

3434-480: The Han dynasty the far eastern parts of the region was settled by the Chinese military garrisons, and outposts such as canton points were established, where each point became the initial distribution area for the Han military garrisons after entering the region. After the establishment of the Protectorate of the Western Regions in 60 BCE, Han settlers entered the Tarim Basin . The Tang dynasty also influenced

3535-615: The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry the following year. During the Ili Rebellion , the Soviet Union backed Uyghur separatists to form the Second East Turkestan Republic (ETR) in the Ili region while most of Xinjiang remained under Kuomintang control. The People's Liberation Army entered Xinjiang in 1949 , when Kuomintang commander Tao Zhiyue and government chairman Burhan Shahidi surrendered

3636-440: The PRC was established in 1949, and since then, Xinjiang has remained part of China. Historically, the region had various independent states, mostly nomadic hordes, prior to the 1750s. Xinjiang has been a hotbed of ethnic and religious conflict throughout much of the period that it has been governed by successive Chinese regimes. The Chinese government considers all support for the East Turkestan independence movement to fall under

3737-490: The Soviet Union and promote the local economy by settling soldiers into the region. In 1955, Xinjiang was administratively changed from a province into an autonomous region . In recent decades, abundant oil and mineral reserves have been found in Xinjiang and it is currently China's largest natural-gas-producing region. From the 1990s to the 2010s, the East Turkestan independence movement , separatist conflict and

3838-484: The Soviet Union. Many of them were educated in the Soviet Union and a community of Russian settlers lived in the region. As a result, many of the Turkic rebels fled to the Soviet Union and obtained Soviet assistance in creating the Sinkiang Turkic People's Liberation Committee (STPNLC) in 1943 to revolt against Kuomintang rule during the Ili Rebellion . The pro-Soviet Uyghur who later became leader of

3939-493: The Tang dynasty, a series of expeditions were conducted against the Western Turkic Khaganate and their vassals: the oasis states of southern Xinjiang. Campaigns against the oasis states began under Emperor Taizong with the annexation of Gaochang in 640. The nearby kingdom of Karasahr was captured by the Tang in 644 and the kingdom of Kucha was conquered in 649 . The Tang Dynasty then established

4040-444: The Tarim Basin for the next century. Although Khitan and Chinese were the primary administrative languages, Persian and Uyghur were also used. Present-day Xinjiang consisted of the Tarim Basin and Dzungaria and was originally inhabited by Indo-European Tocharians and Iranian Sakas who practiced Buddhism and Zoroastrianism . The Turfan and Tarim Basins were inhabited by speakers of Tocharian languages, with Caucasian mummies found in

4141-609: The Tarim Basin were originally ruled by the Chagatai Khanate and the nomadic Buddhist Oirat Mongols in Dzungaria ruled the Dzungar Khanate. The Naqshbandi Sufi Khojas , descendants of Muhammad , had replaced the Chagatayid Khans as rulers of the Tarim Basin during the early 17th century. There was a struggle between two Khoja factions: the Afaqi (White Mountain) and the Ishaqi (Black Mountain). The Ishaqi defeated

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4242-406: The Tianshan Mountains and the Tarim Basin south of the Tianshan Mountains, before Qing China unified them into one political entity called Xinjiang Province in 1884. At the time of the Qing conquest in 1759, Dzungaria was inhabited by steppe dwelling, nomadic Tibetan Buddhist Dzungar people, while the Tarim Basin was inhabited by sedentary, oasis dwelling, Turkic-speaking Muslim farmers, now known as

4343-403: The Tocharian language had high amounts of influence from Paleosiberian languages , such as Uralic and Yeniseian languages . Yuezhi culture is documented in the region. The first known reference to the Yuezhi was in 645 BC by the Chinese chancellor Guan Zhong in his work, Guanzi ( 管子 , Guanzi Essays: 73: 78: 80: 81). He described the Yúshì , 禺氏 (or Niúshì , 牛氏 ), as a people from

4444-407: The Turpan-Urumchi region offered its allegiance to the Mongols in 1209, contributing taxes and troops to the Mongol imperial effort. In return, the Uyghur rulers retained control of their kingdom; Genghis Khan's Mongol Empire conquered the Qara Khitai in 1218. Xinjiang was a stronghold of Ögedei Khan and later came under the control of his descendant, Kaidu . This branch of the Mongol family kept

4545-419: The Union of Chinese Soviets or secede from it." In 2022 a number of Taiwanese NGOs came out in support of Uyghur self determination. In the 1980s and 1990s, numerous Uyghur organisations representing the Uyghur movement in exile formed around the world but were disorganised and disunited. Some Uyghur organizations use more moderate methods of human rights advocacy to influence the Chinese government within

4646-407: The Uyghur Second East Turkestan Republic in the Ili Rebellion against the Republic of China . According to her autobiography, Dragon Fighter: One Woman's Epic Struggle for Peace with China , Rebiya Kadeer 's father served with pro-Soviet Uyghur rebels under the Second East Turkestan Republic in the Ili Rebellion (Three Province Rebellion) in 1944–1946, using Soviet assistance and aid to fight

4747-527: The Uyghurs against the Manchu began after Uyghur women were raped by the servants and son of Manchu official Su-cheng. It was said that "Ush Muslims had long wanted to sleep on [Sucheng and son's] hides and eat their flesh" because of the months-long abuse. The Manchu emperor ordered the massacre of the Uyghur rebel town; Qing forces enslaved the Uyghur children and women, and killed the Uyghur men. Sexual abuse of Uyghur women by Manchu soldiers and officials triggered deep Uyghur hostility against Manchu rule. By

4848-450: The Uyghurs, who were governed separately until 1884. The Qing dynasty was well aware of the differences between the former Buddhist Mongol area to the north of the Tian Shan and the Turkic Muslim area south of the Tian Shan and ruled them in separate administrative units at first. However, Qing people began to think of both areas as part of one distinct region called Xinjiang. The very concept of Xinjiang as one distinct geographic identity

4949-559: The West or Anxi Protectorate ( 安西都護府 ) in 640 to control the region. During the Qing dynasty , the northern part of Xinjiang, Dzungaria was known as Zhunbu ( 準部 , " Dzungar region") and the Southern Tarim Basin was known as Huijiang ( 回疆 , "Muslim Frontier"). Both regions merged after Qing dynasty suppressed the Revolt of the Altishahr Khojas in 1759 and became the region of "Xiyu Xinjiang" ( 西域新疆 , literally "Western Regions' New Frontier"), later simplified as "Xinjiang" ( 新疆 ; formerly romanized as "Sinkiang"). The official name

5050-410: The Western Regions until Chinese influence was lost in the 8th century, and direct control of the region would not resume until the Qing dynasty a thousand years later. In the 18th century, Uyghurs rebelled against the ruling Dzungar Khanate . The Manchu Qing dynasty took control of the region in 1756 during the Dzungar–Qing Wars and established Xinjiang as an administrative region in 1759. Xinjiang

5151-619: The Western Tarim Basin such as Loulan , the Xiaohe Tomb complex and Qäwrighul . These mummies have been previously suggested to have been Tocharian or Indo-European speakers, but recent evidence suggest that the earliest mummies belonged to a distinct population unrelated to Indo-European pastoralists and spoke an unknown language, probably a language isolate . Although many of the Tarim mummies were classified as Caucasoid by anthropologists, Tarim Basin sites also contain both "Caucasoid" and "Mongoloid" remains, indicating contact between newly arrived western nomads and agricultural communities in

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5252-478: The Xiongnu and Han China in which China eventually prevailed. During the 100s BCE, the Silk Road brought increasing Chinese economic and cultural influence to the region. In 60 BCE, Han China established the Protectorate of the Western Regions ( 西域都護府 ) at Wulei ( 烏壘 , near modern Luntai ), to oversee the region as far west as the Pamir Mountains . The protectorate was seized during the civil war against Wang Mang (r. AD 9–23), returning to Han control in 91 due to

5353-404: The Yuan dynasty at bay until their rule ended. During the Mongol Empire era the Yuan dynasty vied with the Chagatai Khanate for rule of the region and the latter controlled most of it. After the Chagatai Khanate divided into smaller khanates during the mid-14th century, the politically-fractured region was ruled by a number of Persianized Mongol Khans, including those from Moghulistan (with

5454-500: The army of the First East Turkestan Republic in the 1934 Battle of Kashgar , ending the republic after Chinese Muslims executed its two emirs: Abdullah Bughra and Nur Ahmad Jan Bughra . The Soviet Union invaded the province ; it was brought under the control of northeast Han warlord Sheng Shicai after the 1937 Xinjiang War . Sheng ruled Xinjiang for the next decade with support from the Soviet Union , many of whose ethnic and security policies he instituted. The Soviet Union maintained

5555-456: The assistance of local Dughlat emirs), Uigurstan (later Turpan) and Kashgaria. These leaders warred with each other and the Timurids of Transoxiana to the west and the Oirats to the east: the successor Chagatai regime based in Mongolia and China. During the 17th century, the Dzungars established an empire over much of the region. The Mongolian Dzungars were the collective identity of several Oirat tribes which formed and maintained, one of

5656-470: The central government denied the name Xinjiang was colonialist and denied that the central government could be colonialists both because they were communists and because China was a victim of colonialism. However, due to the Uyghur complaints, the administrative region would be named "Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region". Xinjiang consists of two main geographically, historically and ethnically distinct regions with different historical names, Dzungaria north of

5757-427: The countries of Afghanistan , India , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Mongolia , Pakistan , Russia , and Tajikistan . The rugged Karakoram , Kunlun and Tian Shan mountain ranges occupy much of Xinjiang's borders, as well as its western and southern regions. The Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract regions are claimed by India but administered by China. Xinjiang also borders the Tibet Autonomous Region and

5858-532: The country's territory. Xinjiang borders the Tibet Autonomous Region and India 's Leh district in Ladakh to the south, Qinghai and Gansu provinces to the east, Mongolia ( Bayan-Ölgii , Govi-Altai and Khovd Provinces ) to the east, Russia 's Altai Republic to the north and Kazakhstan ( Almaty and East Kazakhstan Regions ), Kyrgyzstan ( Issyk-Kul , Naryn and Osh Regions ), Tajikistan 's Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region , Afghanistan 's Badakhshan Province and Pakistan 's Gilgit-Baltistan to

5959-432: The definitions of " terrorism , extremism , and separatism " (a.k.a. the " Three Evils "). The East Turkestan independence movement is supported by both militant Islamic extremist groups which have been designated terrorist organizations by several countries and the United Nations , such as the Turkistan Islamic Party , as well as certain advocacy groups, such as the East Turkistan National Awakening Movement and

6060-448: The definitions of " terrorism , extremism , and separatism ". In a 2014 speech, CCP general secretary Xi Jinping argued that the dissolution of the Soviet Union demonstrated that economic development alone would not prevent separatism in Xinjiang. He elaborated “In recent years, Xinjiang has grown very quickly and the standard of living has consistently risen, but even so, ethnic separatism and terrorist violence have still been on

6161-471: The early 1990s, a total of 19 billion yuan had been spent in Xinjiang on large- and medium-sized industrial projects, with an emphasis on developing modern transportation, communications infrastructure, and support for the oil and gas industries. A brisk cross-border shuttle trade by Uyghurs further developed following the adoption of the Soviet Union's perestroika . East Turkestan independence movement The East Turkestan independence movement

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6262-421: The east. Mummies have been found in various locations in the Western Tarim Basin such as Loulan , the Xiaohe Tomb complex and Qäwrighul . Nomadic tribes such as the Yuezhi , Saka and Wusun were probably part of the migration of Indo-European speakers who had settled in Tarim Basin of Xinjiang long before the Xiongnu and Han Chinese. By the time the Han dynasty under Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BC) wrested

6363-401: The efforts of general Ban Chao . The Western Jin dynasty succumbed to successive waves of invasions by nomads from the north at the beginning of the 4th century. The short-lived kingdoms that ruled northwestern China one after the other, including Former Liang , Former Qin , Later Liang and Western Liáng , all attempted to maintain the protectorate, with varying degrees of success. After

6464-421: The establishment of the Second East Turkistan Republic (1944–1949), which existed in three northern districts ( Ili , Tarbaghatai , Altai ) of Xinjiang with secret aid from the Soviet Union . After emerging victorious at the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the People's Liberation Army annexed Xinjiang from the ROC and the Second East Turkestan Republic . Since the Chinese economic reform from

6565-423: The establishment of the short-lived " First East Turkestan Republic " (aka "Turkish Islamic Republic of East Turkestan"), which lasted between 1933 and 1934. This republic was formed following a rebellion in Kashgar against the ROC, which had been in the process of asserting control over Kashgar after two decades of Warlordism in the ROC. The Chinese Hui Muslim 36th Division (National Revolutionary Army) suppressed

6666-431: The final reunification of Northern China under the Northern Wei empire, its protectorate controlled what is now the southeastern region of Xinjiang. Local states such as Shule, Yutian , Guizi and Qiemo controlled the western region, while the central region around Turpan was controlled by Gaochang , remnants of a state ( Northern Liang ) that once ruled part of what is now Gansu province in northwestern China. During

6767-429: The historical Uyghur name for the southern half of the region referring to "the six cities" of the Tarim Basin , as well as Khotan, Khotay, Chinese Tartary , High Tartary, East Chagatay (it was the eastern part of the Chagatai Khanate ), Moghulistan ("land of the Mongols"), Kashgaria, Little Bokhara, Serindia (due to Indian cultural influence) and, in Chinese, Xiyu ( 西域 ), meaning " Western Regions ". Between

6868-502: The influence of radical Islam have resulted in unrest in the region with occasional terrorist attacks and clashes between separatist and government forces. These conflicts prompted the Chinese government to commit a series of ongoing human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in the province including, according to some, genocide. The general region of Xinjiang has been known by many different names throughout time. These names include Altishahr ,

6969-495: The international community. Other Uyghur organizations advocate for more radical forms of ideological and armed struggle in their push for independence. Most militant organizations have been labeled terrorist organizations by the PRC, and some other governments as well. Historically, organizations which have supported the East Turkestan independence movement include: Opposition includes China , Iran , Palestinian Authority , Turkey among others. The Soviet Union supported

7070-404: The last nomadic empires . The Dzungar Khanate covered Dzungaria, extending from the western Great Wall of China to present-day Eastern Kazakhstan and from present-day Northern Kyrgyzstan to Southern Siberia . Most of the region was renamed "Xinjiang" by the Chinese after the fall of the Dzungar Empire, which existed from the early 17th to the mid-18th century. The sedentary Turkic Muslims of

7171-402: The late 1870s from Yaqub Beg, the Qing dynasty established Xinjiang ("new frontier") as a province in 1884  – making it part of China, and dropping the old names of Zhunbu ( 準部 , Dzungar Region) and Huijiang (Muslimland). After Xinjiang became a Chinese province, the Qing government encouraged the Uyghurs to migrate from southern Xinjiang to other areas of the province (such as

7272-555: The late 1970s exacerbated uneven regional development, while Uyghurs have migrated to urbanizing Xinjiang cities, some Hans have also migrated to Xinjiang for independent economic advancement. Increased ethnic contact and labor competition coincided with Uyghur separatist terrorism from the 1990s, such as the 1997 Ürümqi bus bombings . A police roundup of suspected separatists during Ramadan resulted in large demonstrations that turned violent in February 1997 in an episode known as

7373-455: The late 1970s has exacerbated uneven regional development, more Uyghurs have migrated to Xinjiang's cities and some Han have migrated to Xinjiang for economic advancement. Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping made a nine-day visit to Xinjiang in 1981 and described the region as "unsteady". The Deng era reforms encouraged China's ethnic minorities, including Uyghurs, to establish small private companies for commodity transit, retail, and restaurants. By

7474-460: The late 19th century, it was still being proposed by some people that two separate regions be created out of Xinjiang, the area north of the Tianshan and the area south of the Tianshan, while it was being argued over whether to turn Xinjiang into a province. Xinjiang is a large, sparsely populated area, spanning over 1.6 million km (comparable in size to Iran ), which takes up about one sixth of

7575-709: The mid-first millennium BC, the Yuezhi engaged in the jade trade, of which the major consumers were the rulers of agricultural China." Crossed by the Northern Silk Road , the Tarim and Dzungaria regions were known as the Western Regions. At the beginning of the Han dynasty the region was ruled by the Xiongnu, a powerful nomadic people. During the 2nd century BC, the Han dynasty prepared for war against Xiongnu when Emperor Wu of Han dispatched Zhang Qian to explore

7676-541: The mysterious kingdoms to the west and form an alliance with the Yuezhi against the Xiongnu. As a result of the war, the Chinese controlled the strategic region from the Ordos and Gansu corridor to Lop Nor . They separated the Xiongnu from the Qiang people on the south and gained direct access to the Western Regions. Han China sent Zhang Qian as an envoy to the states of the region, beginning several decades of struggle between

7777-452: The name colonialist in nature since it meant "new territory". Saifuddin Azizi , the first chairman of Xinjiang, registered his strong objections to the proposed name with Mao Zedong , arguing that "autonomy is not given to mountains and rivers. It is given to particular nationalities." Some Uyghur Communists proposed the name " Tian Shan Uyghur Autonomous Region" instead. The Han Communists in

7878-526: The north-west who supplied jade to the Chinese from the nearby mountains (also known as Yushi) in Gansu. The longtime jade supply from the Tarim Basin is well-documented archaeologically: "It is well known that ancient Chinese rulers had a strong attachment to jade. All of the jade items excavated from the tomb of Fuhao of the Shang dynasty , more than 750 pieces, were from Khotan in modern Xinjiang. As early as

7979-403: The pacified areas. The native Dzungar Oirat Mongols suffered greatly from the brutal campaigns and a simultaneous smallpox epidemic. Writer Wei Yuan described the resulting desolation in present-day northern Xinjiang as "an empty plain for several thousand li , with no Oirat yurt except those surrendered." It has been estimated that 80 percent of the 600,000 (or more) Dzungars died from

8080-748: The province and acceded in name to the Republic of China in March of that year. Balancing mixed ethnic constituencies, Yang controlled Xinjiang until his 1928 assassination after the Northern Expedition of the Kuomintang . The Kumul Rebellion and others broke out throughout Xinjiang during the early 1930s against Jin Shuren , Yang's successor, involving Uyghurs, other Turkic groups and Hui (Muslim) Chinese. Jin enlisted White Russians to crush

8181-465: The province to them. Five ETR leaders who were to negotiate with the Chinese about ETR sovereignty died in an airplane crash that year in the outskirts of Kabansk in the Russian SFSR . The PRC continued the system of settler colonialism and forced assimilation which had defined previous Chinese expansionism in Xinjiang. The PRC autonomous region was established on 1 October 1955, replacing

8282-473: The province; that year (the first modern census in China was taken in 1953), Uyghurs were 73 percent of Xinjiang's total population of 5.11 million. Although Xinjiang has been designated a "Uygur Autonomous Region" since 1954, more than 50 percent of its area is designated autonomous areas for 13 native non-Uyghur groups. Modern Uyghurs developed ethnogenesis in 1955, when the PRC recognized formerly separately self-identified oasis peoples. Southern Xinjiang

8383-492: The provinces of Gansu and Qinghai . The most well-known route of the historic Silk Road ran through the territory from the east to its northwestern border. Xinjiang is divided into the Dzungarian Basin ( Dzungaria ) in the north and the Tarim Basin in the south by a mountain range and only about 9.7 percent of Xinjiang's land area is fit for human habitation. It is home to a number of ethnic groups, including

8484-444: The region between Qitai and the capital, largely inhabited by Han Chinese, and Ürümqi, Tacheng (Tabarghatai), Yili, Jinghe, Kur Kara Usu, Ruoqiang, Lop Nor and the lower Tarim River. In 1912, the Qing dynasty was replaced by the Republic of China . The ROC continued to treat the Qing territory as its own, including Xinjiang. Yuan Dahua, the last Qing governor of Xinjiang, fled. One of his subordinates, Yang Zengxin , took control of

8585-422: The region, while Uyghurstan appeals to modern ideas of ethnic self-determination . Uyghurstan is also a difference in emphasis in that it excludes more peoples in Xinjiang than just the Han , but the "East Turkestan" movement is still a Uyghur phenomenon. The name "East Turkestan" is not currently used in an official sense by most sovereign states and intergovernmental organizations. Another proposed alternative

8686-697: The region. The area became Islamified during the 10th century with the conversion of the Kara-Khanid Khanate , who occupied Kashgar. During the mid-10th century, the Saka Buddhist Kingdom of Khotan was attacked by the Turkic Muslim Karakhanid ruler Musa; the Karakhanid leader Yusuf Qadir Khan conquered Khotan around 1006. After Genghis Khan unified Mongolia and began his advance west the Uyghur state in

8787-573: The remains of 92 individuals in the Xiaohe Cemetery were analyzed for Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA markers. Genetic analyses of the mummies showed that the paternal lineages of the Xiaohe people were of almost all European origin, while the maternal lineages of the early population were diverse, featuring both East Eurasian and West Eurasian lineages, as well as a smaller number of Indian / South Asian lineages. lineages. Over time,

8888-596: The revolt and the Second East Turkestan Republic , Ehmetjan Qasim , was Soviet educated and described as "Stalin's man". The Soviet Union incited separatist activities in Xinjiang through propaganda, encouraging Kazakhs to flee to the Soviet Union and attacking China. China responded by reinforcing the Xinjiang-Soviet border area specifically with Han Bingtuan militia and farmers. The Soviet Union supported Uyghur nationalist propaganda and Uyghur separatist movements against China. The Soviet historians claimed that

8989-513: The revolts. In the Kashgar region on 12 November 1933, the short-lived First East Turkestan Republic was self-proclaimed after debate about whether it should be called "East Turkestan" or "Uyghuristan". The region claimed by the ETR encompassed the Kashgar , Khotan and Aksu Prefectures in southwestern Xinjiang. The Chinese Muslim Kuomintang 36th Division (National Revolutionary Army) defeated

9090-494: The rise. This goes to show that economic development does not automatically bring lasting order and security.” In 2020, the Chinese government published a White Paper on Employment and Labor Rights in Xinjiang, which had been circulated via Xinhua, the Global Times and other public news channels. In this paper, the Chinese Communist Party and government maintain the view that its policies in Xinjiang are directed to realize

9191-791: The same time. As Tibet and the Uyghur Khaganate declined in the mid-9th century, the Kara-Khanid Khanate (a confederation of Turkic tribes including the Karluks , Chigils and Yaghmas) controlled Western Xinjiang during the 10th and 11th centuries. After the Uyghur Khaganate in Mongolia was destroyed by the Kirghiz in 840, branches of the Uyghurs established themselves in Qocha (Karakhoja) and Beshbalik (near present-day Turfan and Ürümqi). The Uyghur state remained in eastern Xinjiang until

9292-614: The sovereign state which traditionally includes Xinjiang. Evidence for this argument usually consists of claims that the PRC is not the legitimate successor state to either the ROC (now based in Taiwan ) or the previous imperial dynasty of China, which is the Qing dynasty , or that previous regimes were also illegitimate. The Government of China is strongly opposed to the idea of Xinjiang (East Turkestan) independence and its supporters are subject to harsh criminal penalties. China officially claims that Xinjiang has been part of China since

9393-503: The west Eurasian maternal lineages were gradually replaced by east Eurasian maternal lineages. Outmarriage to women from Siberian communities, led to the loss of the original diversity of mtDNA lineages observed in the earlier Xiaohe population. The Tarim population was therefore always notably diverse, reflecting a complex history of admixture between people of Ancient North Eurasian , South Asian and Northeast Asian descent. The Tarim mummies have been found in various locations in

9494-691: The west. The east-west chain of the Tian Shan separate Dzungaria in the north from the Tarim Basin in the south. Dzungaria is a dry steppe and the Tarim Basin contains the massive Taklamakan Desert , surrounded by oases. In the east is the Turpan Depression . In the west, the Tian Shan split, forming the Ili River valley. The earliest inhabitants of the region encompassing modern day Xinjiang were genetically of Ancient North Eurasian and Northeast Asian origin, with later geneflow from during

9595-748: The western Tarim Basin away from its previous overlords (the Xiongnu), it was inhabited by various peoples who included the Indo-European -speaking Tocharians in Turfan and Kucha , the Saka peoples centered in the Shule Kingdom and the Kingdom of Khotan , the various Tibeto-Burmese groups (especially people related to the Qiang ) as well as the Han Chinese people. Some linguists posit that

9696-406: Was created by the Qing. During the Qing rule, no sense of "regional identity" was held by ordinary Xinjiang people; rather, Xinjiang's distinct identity was given to the region by the Qing, since it had distinct geography, history and culture, while at the same time it was created by the Chinese, multicultural, settled by Han and Hui and separated from Central Asia for over a century and a half. In

9797-584: Was fought in China's Shaanxi , Ningxia and Gansu provinces and in Xinjiang from 1862 to 1877. The conflict led to a reported 20.77 million deaths due to migration and war, with many refugees dying of starvation. Thousands of Muslim refugees from Shaanxi fled to Gansu; some formed battalions in eastern Gansu, intending to reconquer their lands in Shaanxi. While the Hui rebels were preparing to attack Gansu and Shaanxi, Yaqub Beg (an Uzbek or Tajik commander of

9898-687: Was given during the reign of the Guangxu Emperor in 1878. It can be translated as "new frontier" or "new territory". In fact, the term "Xinjiang" was used in many other places conquered, but never were ruled by Chinese empires directly until the gradual Gaitu Guiliu administrative reform, including regions in Southern China. For instance, present-day Jinchuan County in Sichuan was then known as "Jinchuan Xinjiang", Zhaotong in Yunnan

9999-474: Was named directly as "Xinjiang", Qiandongnan region, Anshun and Zhenning were named as "Liangyou Xinjiang" etc. In 1955, Xinjiang Province was renamed "Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region". The name that was originally proposed was simply "Xinjiang Autonomous Region" because that was the name for the imperial territory. This proposal was not well-received by Uyghurs in the Communist Party, who found

10100-560: Was not as great as elsewhere in China during the Great Leap Forward and a million Han Chinese fleeing famine resettled in Xinjiang. In 1980, China allowed the United States to establish electronic listening stations in Xinjiang so the United States could monitor Soviet rocket launches in central Asia in exchange for the United States authorizing the sale of dual-use civilian and military technology and nonlethal military equipment to China. The Chinese economic reform since

10201-635: Was subsequently inherited by the Republic of China (ROC), which succeeded the Qing dynasty after the 1911 Revolution , and then by the PRC, which mostly succeeded the ROC after the Chinese Communist Revolution (1949), although Taiwan has remained under ROC rule until the present day. Throughout Qing and ROC rule, there were several periods of brief de facto independence for either the entire region of Xinjiang or parts of it, as well as foreign occupation and warlord governance. The PRC incorporation of Xinjiang occurred soon after

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