THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC of EASTERN TURKESTAN and the FORMATION of MODERN UYGHUR IDENTITY in XINJIANG by JOY R. LEE B.S., United
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THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF EASTERN TURKESTAN AND THE FORMATION OF MODERN UYGHUR IDENTITY IN XINJIANG by JOY R. LEE B.S., United States Air Force Academy, 2005 A THESIS submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF ARTS Department of History College of Arts and Sciences KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY Manhattan, Kansas 2006 Approved by: Major Professor David A. Graff Form Approved Report Documentation Page OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to a penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number. 1. REPORT DATE 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED 13 SEP 2006 N/A - 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER The Islamic Republic Of Eastern Turkestan And The Formation Of 5b. GRANT NUMBER Modern Uyghur Identity In Xinjiang 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 5e. TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER Kansas State University Manhattan, Kansas 9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S ACRONYM(S) AFIT/CIA 11. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S REPORT NUMBER(S) 12. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Approved for public release, distribution unlimited 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT 15. SUBJECT TERMS 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF 18. NUMBER 19a. NAME OF ABSTRACT OF PAGES RESPONSIBLE PERSON a. REPORT b. ABSTRACT c. THIS PAGE UU 98 unclassified unclassified unclassified Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98) Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18 DISCLAIMER The views expressed in this study are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Air Force, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. ABSTRACT Lasting from 1933-1934, the Turkic-Islamic Republic of Eastern Turkestan (TIRET) was the culmination of various rebellions in Xinjiang, China. Founders of this republic, influenced by Pan-Islamism and Pan-Turkism used it to promote a Turkic- Muslim identity independent from Chinese and Soviet control and unique to the sedentary, oasis-dwellers of Xinjiang. The qualities of this political identity were formalized and given the label Uyghur in 1934. The significance of the TIRET, despite its troubled and short existence, was that its message transcended localized identities to create a Uyghur political consciousness. Though Uyghur identity has continued to shift and adapt since then, the TIRET remains the starting point from which Uyghurs today trace their present relationship and contention with the Chinese state. This study examines the military and political actions surrounding the formation and dissolution of the TIRET in the early 1930s, the republic’s ideological origins in Pan- Islamism and Pan-Turkism, and finally the social and political conditions in Xinjiang that facilitated the creation of Uyghur identity as a result of rebellions from 1931 to 1934. I argue that modern Uyghur identity emerged from the events surrounding the TIRET was a combination of a nascent Uyghur nationalism combined with interests of the Chinese Nationalist to create ethnic categories for the people of Xinjiang. My purpose is to show that the formation of Uyghur identity in Xinjiang was a result of the same process that led to the creation of Turkic Muslim ethnic nationalities in the Soviet Union. In this respect, I will show how ideologies of Pan-Islam, Pan-Turkism and the reforms carried out through the Jadid movement supported identity formation and affected Central Asia including Xinjiang. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................ v INTRODUCTION – Conceptualizing Ethnic Identity ....................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1 - Perceiving Identity in Conflict, 1931-1934................................................ 8 CHAPTER 2 - Elements of Uyghur Identity .................................................................... 41 CHAPTER 3 - Forging Uyghur Identity........................................................................... 55 CONCLUSION – Institutionalizing Uyghur Identity....................................................... 75 Selected Bibliography....................................................................................................... 82 Appendix A - Xinjiang and Surrounding Areas ............................................................... 90 Appendix B - Petition of Khoja Niaz to the British Government..................................... 91 Appendix C - “Awaken” by Abdukhaliq (“Uyghur”)....................................................... 93 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion of this study would not have been possible without the dedication of many people who offered their time and effort along the way. Foremost deserving of recognition is Dr. David Graff, major professor for this project, who has guided my work through its entirety and whose patience and understanding seem to be limitless. I am also indebted to the other members of my committee, Dr. Michael Ramsay and Dr. Brent Maner, for their time spent reading drafts and enthusiastically providing feedback and criticism. My entire committee deserves my deepest appreciation for all they did to challenge, develop and focus my ideas and writing throughout this work. In the research phase, I must thank the patient and helpful staffs at the National Central Library, Center for Chinese Studies, the library and archives at the Academia Sinica, Institute of Modern History and the Academia Historica in Taiwan. I would especially like to thank Dr. Chen Yung-fa and Dr. Chang Jui-te at the Academia Sinica, Institute of Modern History for their guidance and assistance that helped streamline my research given the short amount of time I had to look for materials in Taiwan. As always, the support and encouragement of my family have been invaluable. Special acknowledgement should go to my father whose boundless interest in my research yielded hours of conversation on any topic I ever wanted an added insight or opinion. v INTRODUCTION – Conceptualizing Ethnic Identity Currently, the Uyghurs make up the majority of the population in Xinjiang. With their own set of ethnic characteristics including language, culture, religion and territory, they Uyghurs are one of fifty-six ethnic nationalities in the Peoples’ Republic of China. Unlike other ethnicities that live in Xinjiang such as Kyrgyz, Kazaks and Mongols who have a majority of their populations elsewhere, 99.8% of the Uyghurs live in Xinjiang. From this basis, Uyghur separatists today use issues of the Chinese government’s oppression of their religion, language and culture to justify the right for their people to have an independent Eastern Turkestan. Throughout the history of the People’s Republic of China, Uyghur separatism has been related to the PRC’s policies toward allowing ethnic minorities to practice religion and other elements of their culture. Since 1949, the PRC’s policies towards developing regions, such as Xinjiang, that have a high percentage of minority populations have increasingly become interconnected with China’s general economic and political ambitions. June Dreyer’s China’s Forty Millions1 and Colin Mackerras’s Ethnic Minorities and Globlaisation2 are two studies that discuss how major events in PRC history have affected the Chinese government’s treatment of culture among ethnic minorities. Particularly concerning the relationship of Uyghur identity and the Chinese state, Gardner Bovingdon’s Autonomy in Xinjiang3 traces Uyghur identity along a trajectory that faces increasingly hostile policies of the PRC government. The purpose of the following discussion on the formation of Uyghur identity is to provide a starting point for when and how the Uyghur ethnicity became part of China. This study also suggests that treatment of the Uyghurs by the PRC has been shaped not 1 June Dreyer, China’s Forty Millions: Minority Nationalities an National Integration in the People’s Republic of China, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1976). 2 Colin Mackerras, China’s Ethnic Minorities and Globalisation, (London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003). 3 Gardner Bovingdon, “Autonomy in Xinjiang: Han Nationalist Imperatives and Uyghur Discontent.” (Washington: East West Center Policy Studies, 2004). 1 only by conditions during the Qing administration of the Xinjiang region from the mid- eighteenth century through the early twentieth century, but also by the definition of Turkic-Muslim nationalities in the Soviet Union during the 1920s which Chinese authorities mimicked during the 1930s through the 1950s. Therefore, it is the principal objective of this study to examine why rebellions in Xinjiang from 1931 to 1934 led to the formation of Uyghur identity thereafter. The existing body of historical