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Brief History of the Uyghurs |
The addition of Pinyin spellings has been included for
standardization.
Uyghur is also spelled : UIGHUR, UYGUR, UIGUR, UIGHUIR,
UIGUIR, WEIWUER
Introduction
The Uygurs are the native people of East Turkestan, also
known as Shinkiang or Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The latest Chinese census gives the present population
of the Uyghurs estimate according to Chinese official
statment 8,345,622 million. But the Uyghurs estimate
themselves more than twenty millions. There are also
500,000 Uygurs in West Turkestan mostly known as
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and
Tajikistan . Almost 75,000 Uygurs have their homes in
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Europe and
the United States.
The Chinese sources indicate that the Uygurs are the
direct descendants of the Huns.
The name "Uyghur" is mentioned in the chronicles of the
Han Dynasty (206 B.C. - 220 A.D.), Wei Dynasty (265-289
A.D.), Tang Dynasty (618-906 A.D.), and Sung Dynasty
(906-960).
Ancient Greek, Iranian, and Chinese sources placed
Uygurs with their tribes, and sub-tribes in the vast
area between the west banks of the Yellow River in the
east, Eastern Turkestan in the west, and in the
Mongolian steppe in the northeast as early as 300 B.C..
Early History
After 210 B.C., the Uygurs played important roles in the
Hun (220 B.C. - 386 A.D.), Tabgach (Toba) (386-554
A.D.), and Kok Turk (552-744 A.D.) empires which were
established in Central Asia.
In 670, 688, 692 A.D., the Uygurs, the Kok Turk and the
Shato joined the Tibetan Armies in their military
expeditions in capturing the Chinese invasion
strongholds in north and northeast Central Asia.
After the fall of the Kok-Turk Empire in Central Asia,
the Uygurs established their first true state in 744,
with the city of Karabalgasun, on the banks of the
Orkhun River, as its capital.
The founder of this Uygur state was Kutluk Bilge Kul
Khagan (King or Ruler). In 747, he was succeeded by his
son Moyunchur, apowerful leader who subdued other Turkic
clans, consolidated the monarchy, and extended his rule
in the north to Lake Baikal, in the east to Gansu and in
the southwest to India.
It so happened that just as the Uygurs became united and
strong, the Chinese Tang Dynasty under Hsuan-tsung (Xuanzong)(712-756
A.D.) was undergoing a sharp decline. In 751, a Chinese
army was disastrously defeated at the battle of Talas
River by the Arabs, Tibetans, and the Uygurs. In the
same year, a Chinese invasion of the Nan-chao (Nanzhao)
to the southeast was thwarted with appalling losses to
the Chinese; and a Chinese force under An Lu Shan was
defeated by the Khitan (Qidan) in the northeast. These
disasters were but the prelude to a much more fearful
catastrophe - the rebellion of the former trusted
minister An Lu Shan which broke out in 755 A.D.
It was under these circumstances that the Uygurs were
invited by Su-tsung (Suzong), the Hsuan-tsung's (Xuanzong)
successor, to send armies to help the Chinese. In this
event, the Uygur forces played a key role in the
recapture of both Chang-An (Chang'an) and Lo-yang
(Luoyang) in 757. The Uygurs did not hesitate to exploit
the Tang Dynastic debt owed them, by acts of appalling
pillage. The Chinese emperor agreed to pay 20,000 rolls
of silk as a tribute annually to the Uygurs and granted
the Uygur Khagan one of his daughters in marriage. She
was the first of three princesses of the Chinese
imperial family to become a Uygur khatun (wife) in the
period 744-840 A.D.
Moyunchur Khagan died in 759 and was succeeded by his
son Bugu Khagan. During his reign, the Uygurs reached
the apex of their power. They began with China, which
engaged in forced trade of Uygur horses for Chinese silk
- an exchange which was noted frequently in Chinese
sources before 829.
In 762 Bugu Khagan sent to the Middle Kingdom where he
helped the Tang Dynasty in the final battles against the
rebellion which had racked it for so long.
In 779, Bugu Khagan was killed by his first cousin and
chief minister Baga Tarkan. Bugu Khagan's Sogdian allies
and advisors had wanted him to take advantage of the
death in 779 of Emperor Tai-tsung (Taizong) and the
state mourning involved in it, to undertake an invasion
of China. Bugu Khagan agreed to do this. His first
cousin Baga Tarkan opposed the plan; and when he saw the
tide turning against him, murdered Bugu Khagan and set
himself on the throne. Baga Tarkan, believed at this
stage China could have been conquered by the Uygurs. But
he did not believe that Uygurs would be able to preserve
their cultural identity if they once conquered China, a
vast and populous country even then.
After the death of Baga Tarkan in 789 and specially
after that of his successor, Kulug Bilge Khagan in 790,
Uygur power and prestige declined.
In 795, the rule of the Uygur state passed to another
clan. Under this new clan the Uygurs became more and
more steeped in religion, which softened them and
planted seeds of advancedculture which characterized the
Uygurs of later ages.
The most important ruler of this clan was Kutluk Bilge
Khagan, whose successful military exploits, both before
and during his reign, are reported in the Karabalgasun
inscriptions. He did not succeed , however, in restoring
the Uygur empire to its former power.
With Kutluk Bilge Khagan's death in 805, the forces of
disintegration of the Uygur state gathered momentum. War
broke out abroad with the powerful Kyrgyz neighbors to
the north; while at home, court intrigue eroded the
power of the royal family; rebellions broke out, and, to
add to everything, a bad season and severe winter in 839
killed much of the livestock upon which the Uygur
economy was so dependent. In 840, the Kyrgyz, invited by
a rebel chief, attacked the tottering state, killed the
Khagan, and took the capital.
This first part of Uygur political history shows the
Uygurs as the protectors of the Chinese empire for
almost a century. On the other hand, the relationship
was not really a friendly one. There was abiding
resentment on the Chinese side. The reason was that the
Middle Kingdom was obliged to be protected by a
"barbarian" people. The Uygurs, for their part, never
gave the Chinese the respect which the latter would have
liked.
After the fall of the first Uygur empire, a group of
Uygurs emigrated to the west banks of the Yellow River
in Kansu (Gansu); a second group emigrated via Yetti Su
to the Southern part of Khan Tengri or Tianshan in
Eastern Turkestan; the third and the largest group
emigrated to the northern part of Khan Tengri where
their ancestors are still living.
The Kanchou (Ganzhou) Uyghur Kingdom
The Kanchou (Ganzhou) Uyghur Kingdom, which was
established in today's Kansu province of China, in 850,
never became a major power, but the Chinese had great
respect for it as seen from the Chinese court praise
Kanchou (Ganzhou) Uyghur King when an Uyghur and a
Tibetan ambassador visited the Chinese capital in 911.
Nevertheless, this kingdom was absorbed in 1228 by the
Tankuts who established a state in the area known as
Western Hsia.
Several thousand of these Uyghurs still live in the
Kansu (Gansu) area under the name yellow Uyghurs or
Yugurs, preserving their old Uyghur mother tongue and
their ancient Yellow sect of Lamaist Buddhism.
The Karakhoja Uyghur Kingdom
The Uyghurs living in the northern part of Khan Tengri (Tianshan
Mountains) in East Turkestan established the Karakhoja
Uyghur Kingdom (Qocho) near the present day city of
Turfan (Turpan), in 846. The Chinese recognized this
kingdom and sent Wang Yen (Yan) De in 981 to Karakhoja
as their ambassador. Wang Yen (Yan) De stayed in
Karakhoja for three years.
The Karakhanid Uyghur Kingdom
The Uyghurs living in the southern part of Khan Tengri,
established the Karakhanid Uyghur Kingdom in 840 with
the support of other Turkic clans like the Karluks,
Turgish and the Basmils, with Kashgar as its capital.
In 934, during the rule of Satuk Bughra Khan, the
Karakhanids embraced Islam 19 . Thus, in the territory
of East Turkestan two Uyghur kingdoms were set up: the
Karakhanid, who were Muslims, and the Karakhojas, who
were Buddhists.
In 1397 this Islamic and Buddhist Uyghur Kingdoms merged
into one state and maintained their independence until
1759.
Manchu Invasion
The Manchus who set up a huge empire in China, invaded
the Uyghur Kingdom of East Turkestan in 1759 and
dominated it until 1862. During this period the Uyghurs
revolted 42 times against the Manchu rule with the
purpose of regaining their independence. In the last
revolt of 1863, the Uyghurs were successful in expelling
the Manchus from their motherland, and founded an
independent kingdom in 1864. The kingdom was recognized
by the Ottoman Empire, Tsarist Russia, and Great
Britain. But for fear of Tsarist expansion into Eastern
Turkestan, Great Britain persuaded the Manchu court to
conquer East Turkestan. The money for the Manchu
invasion was granted by the British Banks.
Large forces under the overall command of General Zho
Zhung Tang (Tso Tsung-t'ang / Zui Zongtang), attacked
East Turkestan in 1876. After this invasion, East
Turkestan was given the name Xinjiang which means "new
territory" or "New Dominion" and it was annexed into the
territory of the Manchu empire on November 18,1884.
In 1911, the Nationalist Chinese, overthrew Manchu rule
and established a republic.
The Uyghurs, who also wanted to free themselves from
foreign domination, staged several uprisings against the
nationalist Chinese rule during this period. Twice, in
1933 and 1944, the Uyghurs were successful in setting up
an independent East Turkestan Republic. But these
independent republics were overthrown by the military
intervention and political intrigues of the Soviet
Union. It was in fact the Soviet Union that proved
deterrent to the Uyghur independence movement during
this period.
In 1949 Nationalist Chinese were defeated by the Chinese
Communists. After that, Uyghurs fell under Chinese
Communist rule.
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Uyghur Civilization
At the end of the 19th and the first few decades of the
20th century, scientific and archaeological expeditions
to the region along the Silk Road in East Turkestan led
to the discovery of numerous Uyghur cave temples,
monastery ruins, wall paintings, statues, frescoes,
valuable manuscripts, documents and books. Members of
the expedition from Great Britain, Sweden, Russia,
Germany, France, Japan, and the United States were
amazed by thetreasure they found there, and soon
detailed reports captured the attention on an interested
public around the world. The relics of these rich Uyghur
cultural remnants brought back by Sven Hedin of Sweden,
Aurel Stein of Great Britain, Gruen Wedel and Albert von
Lecoq from Germany, Paul Pelliot of France, Langdon
Warner of the United States, and Count Ottani from Japan
can be seen in the Museums of Berlin, London, Paris,
Tokyo, Leningrad and even in the Museum of Central Asian
Antiquities in New Delhi. The manuscripts, documents and
the books discovered in Eastern Turkestan proved that
the Uyghurs had a very high degree of civilization. |
Uyghur Script
Throughout the centuries, the Uyghurs used three kinds
of scripts. When they were confederated with the Kok
Turks in the 6th and 7th centuries, they used the Orkhun
script, which was actually a Kok Turk invention. Later,
the Uyghurs dropped this script and adopted their own
script which became known as the Uyghur script. This
script was used for almost 800 years not only by the
Uyghurs, but also by other Turkic peoples, the Mongols,
and by the Manchus in the early stage of their rule in
China. As the Mongols did not have their own written
language, the Uyghur script was adopted by Chengiz(Genghis)
Khan's Empire, for all sorts of correspondence. Guyuk
Khan's (1246-1248) letter to the Pope of that time was
written in Uyghur script. The Uyghurs were also
instrumental in shaping Mongol administration, which was
formidable by any standards. They manned Mongol
chanceries and, probably because of their knowledge of
languages, were often charged with visiting foreigners.
Both Plano Carpini and Rubruck mention them. The Uyghurs
also emerged as teachers of the royal family, governors
in China, ambassadors in Rome, today's Istanbul, and
Bagdat, scholars in Tebriz and officers in the army.
After embracing Islam, the Uyghurs adopted the Arabic
script, but common usage of the Arabic script came only
in the 11th century. |
Uyghur Literature
The first Uyghur literary works were mostly translations
of Buddhist and Manicheist religious books. Besides,
during the expeditions some narrative, poetic, and epic
works were also discovered. Some of these books have
been translated into German, English, Russian, and
Turkish. After embracing Islam, Uygurs continued to
preserve their culture dominance in Central Asia.
In this period hundreds of Uyghur scholars, well known
to the world, emerged. Hundreds of valuable books were
written. One hundred and thirty of these important works
were discovered later. Among these works Uygur scholar
Yusuf Has Hajip's book Kutatku Bilik , Mahmud Kashgari's
Divani Lugatit Turk , Ahmet Yukneki's Atabetul Hakayik ,
are very famous.
Yusuf Has Hajip's Kutatku Bilik , was written in
1069-1070. It is a unique example of a work that
explains social, cultural, and political lives of the
Uygurs during this period. Mahmud Kashgari's Divani
Lugatit Turk , which was also written in this age, bears
knowledge as to the dialects of various Turkic people
living at that time. It also gives information about the
dialectical differences, their social upbringings, their
customs,as well as the regions they inhabited. the
author of this encyclopedic dictionary wandered amidst
all of the Turkic peoples before he compiled his work,
studied all the data and thus provided a sound academic
basis. Divani Lugatit Turk , is one of the main source
for Turkic Studies today.
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Religion
Prior to Islam, like most of the Turkic peoples in
Central Asia, the Uyghurs believed in religions like
Shamanism, Manicheism and Buddhism. Buddhism entered
East Turkestan at the beginning of our era. It quickly
spread among Turkic peoples, but it was the Uyghurs who
founded Buddhism in Central Asia. The ruins of the
famous monasteries known as Ming Oy or Thousand Buddhas
built by the Uyghurs can still be seen in the cities of
Kucha, Turfan(Turpan), and Tunhuang(Dunhuang), where
Kanchou (Ganzhou) Uyghurs or the Yellow Uyghurs still
live.
The Uyghur king Kul Bilge Khagan (678-712) ordered a
Budddist monastery to be built in the city of Bay in
East Turkestan. In the city of Kucha, there were more
than 50 Buddhist temples, libraries and welfare programs
for the support of the poor. In the city of Hoten, there
were 14 large monasteries without counting the smaller
ones.
When Uyghur king Bugu Khagan traveled to China in 762,
he met some Manicheist priests. They succeeded in
converting him to their religion and four of these
priests returned with him to Karabalgasun. Shortly
after, Bugu Khagan imposed Manicheism as the state
religion. This was a political step rather than a
religious one. He hoped that by adopting this
characteristically Sogdian religion to direct the future
of his people away from the cultural influence of the
Chinese who were also Buddhists.
The Uyghurs embraced Islam in 934, during the reign of
Satuk Bughra Khan. He was the first Turkic ruler who
embraced Islam in Central Asia. At this time, instead of
temples, mosques were built. Almost 300 mosques were
built only in the city of Kashgar. Among them, most
famous are the Azna Mosque, built in the 12th century,
Idgah (Id Kah) Mosque built in the 15h century, and
Appak Khoja Mosque, built in the 18th century. In the
city of Kashgar alone there were 18 big Madrasas (mosque
schools), and up to two-thousand students enrolled in
these schools in any given year. these schools were one
of the important facilities not only for teaching the
Uygur children reading, writing, and subjects Islamic in
nature, but also such familiar subjects as mantik
(logic), arithmatik (arithmetic), hendese (geometry),
hai'a (ethics), astronomiye (astronomy), tibb
(medicine), and falaha (agriculture). The Mesudi Library
built in the 15th century, had a collection of almost
200,000 books. |
Uyghur Economy
The Uyghurs adopted a sedentary life style earlier that
the other Turkic peoples. Thus, the Uyghurs knew how to
cultivate land as early as 2nd century A.D. The Uyghurs
were engaged in a much more advanced agriculture by the
7th century. They raised wheat, maize, corn millet,
potatoes, sesame, sugarbeet, peanuts,peaches, grapes,
melons and cotton. The fields were irrigated with water
brought from far distances by the "kariz" (water canals)
built by the Uyghurs. These "kariz" are still in use
today around the city of Turfan(Turpan) today.
Cotton was one of the principle local products of
commercial value. Cotton and products manufactured from
cotton contributed to the prosperity of the region.
Another product of commercial value was carpets. The
cities of Hoten, Kashgar, and Turfan(Turpan) were carpet
manufacturing centers. |
Uyghur Medicine
The Uyghurs had an extensive knowledge of medicine and
medical practice. Sung (Song) Dynasty (906-960) sources
indicate that an Uyghur physician, Nanto, traveled to
China, and brought with him many kinds of medicine not
known to the Chinese.
There are 103 different herbs for use in Uyghur medicine
recorded in a medical compendium completed by Li Shizen
(1518-1593), a chinese medical authority. The Tartar
scholar Rashit Rahmeti Arat has written two valuable
books in German
entitled Zur Heilkunde der Uighuren (Medical Practices
of the Uygurs) , in 1930 and 1932, relying on Uyghur
documents discovered in East Turkestan. In his book,
Arat gives important information on Uyghur medicine and
medical treatment.
Among other documents he studied he found a very
important sketch of a man with an explanation of
acupuncture. Relying on this document, some western
scholars claim that acupuncture was not a Chinese, but a
Central Asian invention and the Uyghurs perfected the
method.
Traditional Uyghur medicine, which can be traced back
for more than 2,700 years through written records, is
still very popular in East Turkestan today. |
Architecture, Art, Music and Printing
In the fields such as architecture, art, music and
printing the Uyghurs were also advanced.
Scholars, archaeologists and Chinese envoys who traveled
through East Turkestan have often expressed their high
estimation of the level of the Uyghur civilization.
For instance, Wang Yen(Yan) De, who served as Chinese
ambassador to the Karakhoja Uyghur Kingdom between the
years 981-984, wrote the following in his memoirs: "I
was impressed with the extensive civilization I have
found in the Uyghur Kingdom. The beauty of the temples,
monasteries, wall paintings, statues, towers, gardens,
housings and the palaces built throughout the kingdom
cannot be described. The Uyghurs are very skilled in
handicrafts made from gold and silver, vases and
potteries. Some say that God has infused this talent
into these people only."
Albert Gruenwedel:
"Turfan(Turpan) is without doubt a forgotten Asian city
ofextraordinary interest. The size of it is remarkable:
the inner, holy city, consisting only of temples and
palace, measures 7,400 feet at the widest point of the
still extant walls. Hundreds of terraced temples and
grandiose vaulted edifices cover an extensive area of
lane."
Fredinnad de Sassure:
"Those who preserved the language and written culture of
Central Asia were the Uyghurs."
Albert von Lecoq:
"The Uyghur language and script contributed to the
enrichment of civilizations of the other peoples in
Central Asia. Compared to the Europeans of that time,
the Uyghurs were far more advanced. Documents discovered
in East Turkestan prove that an Uyghur farmer could
write down a contract, using legal terminology. How many
European farmers could have done that at that period ?
This shows the extent of Uyghur civilization of that
time."
Lazlo Rasonyi:
"The Uyghurs knew how to print books centuries before
Guetenberg invented his press."
Wolfram Eberhard:
"In Middle Ages, the Chinese poetry, literature,
theater, music and painting were greatly influenced by
the Uyghurs."
Russian scholar Pantusov writes that the Uyghurs
manufactured their own musical instruments; they had 62
different kinds of musical instruments and in every
Uygur home there used to be an instrument called a "dutar".
This Uyghur power, prestige and civilization which
dominated Central Asia for more than a thousand years
went into a steep decline after the Manchu invasion of
East Turkestan, and during the rule of the Nationalist
and specially during the rule of the Communist Chinese. |
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