Uighurs - A People or Muslim Chinese?

[Isra'il Yahya]

I am challenging Spark to a formal debate regarding the Uighur people, Uighurstan/Xinjiang province, and the nature of relations between the Uighur people and the CPC.

[Kriger]

Well, I for one would like to learn more about the Uighur people. Seems like I recall that they lived at one time in the Tarim Basin of the Takla Makan desert of Tibet. Weren't the mummies found there determined to be Uighur?

Excuse my ignorance, but what is the CPC?

[Isra'il Yahya]

Well, I for one would like to learn more about the Uighur people. Seems like I recall that they lived at one time in the Tarim Basin of the Takla Makan desert of Tibet. Weren't the mummies found there determined to be Uighur?

The mummy topic is an interesting one. Personally, I'm not sure what they were determined to be, but there is a history of that area being a crossroads for a considerable period of time. Uighurstan is part of the Silk Road.

Excuse my ignorance, but what is the CPC?

Communist Party of China, CCP is also used.

[Isra'il Yahya]

Spark, I am still waiting for you to engage this topic and the myriad of issues within. The discussion can wait until summer or spring break if need be, but do not forget.

[Rakhmetov]

I don't think anyone has argued that the Uighurs in Xinjiang are not distinct from the Han Chinese. Maybe you're confusing the Uighurs with Han Chinese Muslims called the Hui. The Hui are identical in all respects to the Han Chinese except for their Islamic faith.

[Isra'il Yahya]

I don't think anyone has argued that the Uighurs in Xinjiang are not distinct from the Han Chinese. Maybe you're confusing the Uighurs with Han Chinese Muslims called the Hui. The Hui are identical in all respects to the Han Chinese except for their Islamic faith.

This is mainly a response to "there is no Uighur people." A quote of your's from the shoutbox.

[Rakhmetov]

To summarize, since the Han Dynasty established the Western Regions Frontier Command in Xinjiang in 60 B.C., the Chinese central government of all historical periods exercised military and administrative jurisdiction over Xinjiang. At times, central rule over Xinjiang was strong or weak, depending on the stability of the period.

The Han were one of the earliest peoples to settle in Xinjiang. The ethnic origins of the residents of Xinjiang began to be clearly recorded in the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.). In 121 B.C., a Han army defeated the Xiongnu(Turki) troops stationed along the Gansu Corridor. In 101 B.C., the Han empire started to station troops to open up land for cultivation.

The government of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) appointed a Governor of the Western Regions to continue to exercise military and political administration over all parts of the western territory. The Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) set up Shanshan and Yanqi garrison commands to strengthen its administration of the Western Regions. During the Sui and Tang dynasties (581-907), the central government strengthened its rule over Xinjiang.

Starting in 840, large numbers of Uighurs started pouring into Xinjiang. When the Uighur Khanate collapsed in 840, most of the Uighurs moved westeward from the Selenga, and Tura river basins. In 1124, Yollig Taxinof the Liao Dynasty (916-1125), led his people (Khitans) westward and conquered Xinjiang, where he established the kingdom of Western Liao. In the early 13th century, the Mongols conquered Xinjiang. The Uighurs further assimilated a portion of the Khitans and Mongolians.

From the 1760s on, the government of the Qing Dynasty sent Manchu troops to Xinjiang, and they added to the ethnic mix in Xinjiang. By the end of the 19th century, Xinjiang had 13 ethnic groups, namely, Uygurs, Kazaks, Hans, and Huis. Following the Opium War of 1840, Xinjiang was subject to aggression from Tsarist Russia and other powers. After the Republic of China was founded, it constantly strengthened the defense of Xinjiang. Xinjiang was peacefully liberated on September 25, 1949.

[Mikemikev]

Recommend reading "Mapping Genetic Diversity in Asia" for some genetic data. PM me for a copy if you need to.

[Anarch]

I was always under the impression they were Asiatic Muslim Turks.

[Gregz]

I was always under the impression they were Asiatic Muslim Turks.

Uyghurs weren't always a Turkic/Siberian vassel and at one time they had a opulent, Hunnic Buddhist empire of their own. The Uyghurs largerly gave rise to the Hunnic peoples and that is why the Turks venerate them. Turkic isn't to be confused with the Mongols, either even if many Mongol tribes are "Turkic".