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The Uyghurs and China by George Koo

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The Uyghurs and China by George Koo FEATURE The Uyghurs and China By George Koo r. Kasim Tuman, a council member of willing to adopt certain cultural values and the Uyghur Association of America, practices, that culture will fade away was one of the speakers at a seminar M Cultures can also disappear on the point on “Etnicity and Identity in Xinjiang” held at of the sword. Genghis Khan so thoroughly Stanford. My wife and I have been to Xinjiang, in decimated the Tangut kingdom (Xixia in particular to Kashgar where Mr. Tuman came Chinese), another contributor to the Uyghur gene from, and naturally we were interested in what he pool, that there is no trace of the Tangut culture had to say. remain. The meaning of their writing is lost as is I was struck by some of Mr. Tuman’s their historical records. The propagation of Islam statements. Since the forum did not offer an was also accomplished by military conquest as opportunity for a real dialogue and discussion, I the religion spread from the Middle East thought I would offer some counterpoints and westward to Spain and eastward to the Indonesian observations in response to what I heard. archipelago imposing the Islamic religion on the local people and replacing the previous ways of Tuman said: The Uyghurs are not worship. interested in mixing with the Chinese for fear of losing their cultural identity. They fear being But use of force has not been how the assimilated by the Chinese culture. Chinese culture has proliferated. Non-Chinese people adopted certain aspects of the Chinese My response would have been: Cultures culture that they found more appealing than their are not static but dynamic and are subject to own. One can see evidence of the influence of influences and stimulus especially from other Chinese culture in South Asia, Southeast Asia as neighboring cultures. Cultures that do not evolve well as Korea and Japan. These people were not and remain static become endangered and face forced to adopt Chinese manners and practices; extinction with time. The Xianbeis, one of many they willingly did so. forefathers of the Uyghurs, used to rule northern China, known in Chinese history as the Northern In an attempt to distinguish the Chinese Wei Dynasty (5th century, AD). They admired culture from the Uyghur, Mr. Tuman said that it the Han Chinese culture so much that they is very much in the Chinese culture for the young adopted Chinese customs, language and many people to study hard and strive to attend the best social and political practices. Indeed the Xianbeis school and best university and to work hard and did get assimilated and their own culture became make a lot of money. This is not part of the lost to history. But I do not see anything unnatural Uyghur culture, he said, as the Uyghurs like to about this outcome. If people no longer accept or take life as it comes. He used a map from Wikipedia as a platform for his talk. I noticed traditions. Of course, if the minority wish to from the same Wiki article, one of the succeed in a Chinese dominated economy, that characteristics attributed ancestors of Uyghurs person must also learn Chinese and understand was “they showed greed without restraint, for how to operate in a Chinese society. This is no they often made their living by looting.” Perhaps different from an ethnic minority living in given that heritage, it is understandable why Mr. America. That person can no more succeed in the Tuman made that U.S. if the person is distinction between the unable or unwilling to Uyghur and the Chinese communicate in English. culture. Mr. Tumen seemed to The map from believe that in a Wikipedia showed a democracy like the U.S., Uyghur Khaganate that at the Uyghur culture can one moment in history thrive. Apparently he has spread from western part not been in America long of today’s Manchuria enough to understand westward to nearly the what happened to the Caspian Sea. Mr. Tuman many different forms of seemed to imply that the native American cultures Uyghur people has had a that have been obliterated long continuous history by actual acts of since as early as 4th genocide. century AD. But a close reading Mr. Tumen also stated that there of the Wiki article would reveal the Uyghur state, when it are 20 million Uyghurs living that there was no such continuity existed at all, ebbed and outside China, implying that they but the Uyghur state, when it were originally from China. This existed at all, ebbed and flowed flowed with time. With implication is most misleading. with time. With mostly nomads mostly nomads as Uyghurs are not just native to the as ancestors, it is understandable ancestors, it is Xinjiang Automomous Region that continuity would have been understandable that but also in nearby Central Asian difficult and any sort of ethnic continuity would have countries. If there is a Uyghur purity and identity even more been difficult and any sort diaspora of 20 million, somebody improbable. of ethnic purity and needs to clarify as to what On the one hand, Mr. identity even more portion have their roots in China Tumen assured the audience that improbable. and what portion from outside of the Uyghur culture is quite China. distinct and unique and no way When we visited Xinjiang, we learned a related to the Chinese culture. On the other, he little about the colorful Uyghur dress, beautifully said that he has learned the value of cultural crafted music instruments to accompany the diversity since he came to the United States nine Uyghur music and dance, Uyghur food and how years ago. I believe China also recognized the Uyghur kids are raised. We were not there long value of diversity. Beijing government’s policy is enough to detect any racial tension or alienation. to allow the fifty plus ethnic minorities to teach After visiting many parts of China with their own language alongside putonghua in their autonomous regions belonging to various ethnic schools and to enjoy certain levels of local minorities, we did get the impression that the autonomy in maintaining their daily lives and Chinese government is trying hard to be a nation for all ethnicities. ### George Koo came to the U.S. as a child from China, grew up in Seattle and educated at MIT, Stevens Institute and Santa Clara University. Dr. Koo has recently retired from Deloitte & Touche where he advised clients on their China strategies and business operations. He continues as a special advisor to the Chinese Services Group at Deloitte. Dr. Koo is a frequent speaker in various public forums on China and U.S. China bilateral relations. He writes for Pacific News Service (New America Media) on issues relating to Chinese Americans and to U.S.-China relations. He is a member of Committee of 100 and Pacific Council for International Policy. .
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