Xinjiang - Qarshi alimiz, huān yíng!

It's approximately 6,426 miles (10,341 kilometres) from Milwaukee in Wisconsin to Urumqi in Xinjiang, the next place on my learning journey!  Xinjiang is nestled around the Tian Shan mountains, with the Central Asian republics of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to the west, Russia and Mongolia to the north, Pakistan, India and Tibet to the south and the Chinese provinces of Qinghai and Gansu to the east.  It's right in the heart of the Eurasian land mass and, geopolitically, has been very much at the centre of human history, whether as an Empire in its own right, conquering neighbours far and wide, or as a buffer zone between China and the rest of Eurasia. 

Xinjiang has a fascinating history, but you'd hardly know it, so low was the region's profile in terms of world affairs in the 20th century.  Whilst Tibet has ranked high in terms of Western causes célèbres, the situation in Xinjiang has languished in obscurity - only the protests of March 2008 and even worse violence in Urumqi in July 2009 brought Xinjiang to the world's attention. 

What's in a name?

It's pretty indicative of the complex political nature of Xinjiang that the hardest part in beginning this blog post was finding an acceptable name for this part of the world.  The choice is between the Chinese name for it's western part, Xinjiang (or more accurately, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) and the Uyghur name Uyghuristan (which hints at the idea of an independent republic, like the other 'stans' in Central Asia).  


Taklamakan Desert by Kiwi Mikex

Is it Xinjiang then?

My main reason for using Xinjiang wasn't a political one, but because it starts with the letter X and, therefore, fits quite nicely into my alphabetic approach to learning about the world!  I must admit, I don't, personally, like the term Xinjiang, which translates roughly as 'new territory' and smacks of 19th century colonialism, the period when this term was first used by the Chinese.  Previously, the Chinese called this region Xiyu meaning 'western region' which is only marginally better!  Some people might object to using a Chinese name at all, considering the legacy of colonialism in this part of Asia, however, I think the situation in Xinjiang is slightly different than in Tibet, the main reason being that more than 40% of Xinjiang's current population is Han Chinese (compared to 6% of Tibet's population).  Like it or not, Han Chinese people are a significant part of modern Uyghuristan and will also help shape the region's future. 

What about East Turkestan?

Many Uyghurs might also use the name East Turkestan, which causes a lot of offence in China, as it's associated with Islamic militant groups.  I'm not too fond of this term either, as it also sounds colonial (from the West and Russia this time) and is a bit old-fashioned in a 21st century where West Turkestan has ceased to exist.  It also suggests that the population of the region is exclusively Turk but, apart from the Han Chinese, Xinjiang is also home to non-Turkic peoples, such as Hui, Tajiks, Russians and Mongols.  It's true that the name Uyghuristan is even more exclusive, as it doesn't even include other Turkic peoples, like the Kazakhs or Kyrgyz, but we already have Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan etc., so it would be good to recognise the cultural importance of the Uyghurs in this region.  What's more, the term Uyghur is believed to have originated as an inclusive term for the various tribes who've inhabited this region since time immemorial.  

Historical names



Sheep at Kashgar Market by Kiwi Mikex

The region also has some historical names which have dropped out of use, some of them (like High Tartary) sound impossibly romantic to my 21st century ears!  To kick off my research into the region, I'm reading a fascinating book called Wild West China: the Taming of Xinjiang by Christian Tyler. He lists some of the region's other names, such as East Chagatay, Mugholistan, Chinese Turkestan (could be an interesting compromise?), Kashgaria, Altishahr, Little Bokhara and Serindia.  Wikipedia.org also refers to the name Qurighar which it says is the preferred name Uyghurs give to their homeland. 

Uyghur or Uighur?

My next issue was to decide on which spelling I should use, Uyghur or Uighur?  It's interesting that a search on the BBC's website suggests that there is no such country as Uyghuristan or East Turkestan, only Xinjiang.  Tibet, on the other hand, does exist, but I think this is in keeping with the fact that most Western readers would recognise the name Tibet, but probably not the official Chinese name for Tibet, which is Xizang.  The BBC does refer to the Uyghur people, but they use the Uighur spelling which, I guess, is also easier for an Anglophone readership. 

Old man in Khotan by Kiwi Mikex

I've plumped for the other option, for precisely the opposite reason, ie. it's difficult to spell/pronounce and therefore more exotic!  As a linguist, I also like the fact that Uyghur preserves vowel-harmony, which is important in Turkic languages.  I also believe the way that we pronounce this word in English (ie. wee-gur) isn't entirely accurate.  I first learnt about Uyghur people through Russian language sources and the way Russians and Uzbeks pronounce this word is with a slightly more complicated vowel sound at the beginning, which I feel is reflected better in the Uy- spelling. 

Beyond the politics

I think there is always a peaceful solution to situations like the one in Xinjiang.  Unfortunately, it's not always the time for peace and I'm not sure how ready this part of the world is for what the future has in store for it.  Anyway, now that I've explained my choices and made my political excuses, I'm hoping I'll be able to move beyond the politics to explore the music, history, culture and food of this little-known part of the world.  I'm sure I will have other opportunities, in future blogs, to delve more closely into Han Chinese, Kazakh, Hui (etc) cultures, so a lot of what I'll be blogging about, this time round, will involve Uyghur music, food and culture.  Nevertheless, I'll try to keep an eye on the region's whole population, present and past, to fairly represent the contribution each has made to Xinjiang, as it is today. 

Image credits:

The stunning photos that I have added to this blogpost are by flickuser Kiwi Mikex aka Mike Locke from Nelson, New Zealand.  He doesn't seem to have a website, but you can see more of Mike's photos at http://www.flickr.com/people/mikex/ - there really are some amazing images there.  Thanks Mike for sharing these with us, using the Creative Commons License. 

Mongolia - Hail to the Jewel in the Lotus

Mongolia is a country I've been fascinated by for a very long time. When I was a teenager, I was obsessed with learning languages, attempting Greek, Danish, Breton . . the more obscure the better. I think attempting to learn Mongolian in my first year of college was about as obscure as it got (and I'm pretty sure I didn't get past the first unit in the book).

Apart from this first foray into Mongolian culture, I might have ended up living in Mongolia. After my two years with the Soros Foundation in Uzbekistan, I had the option of doing a year in Mongolia, but chose the easier option and ended up in Thailand instead.

I'm sure that Mongolia and Thailand are worlds apart, but one thing they have in common is that they are both Buddhist nations. From my preliminary reading about Mongolia, one thing that has really struck me as a national 'psyche crisis' was the loss of religion. (I'm not sure what else to call it - in Kiribati it was the rising sea levels, Jamaica was a strong awareness of the past, Lesotho the tragically high levels of HIV infection).

My first experiences with Buddhism were in Thailand, a country that takes religion very seriously. Thailand follows the Theravada form of Buddhism prevalent in South Asia and this was the form of Buddhism that I became most familiar with. Despite not being religious myself, I used to love visiting the temples and sitting in contemplation of the Buddhist statues and the smells of incense. The temples were always open on all sides and sanctuaries of cool stone and shade in the sweltering heat of Bangkok.

Mongolia follows the Mahayana (the Great Wheel) form of Buddhism, due to its close links with Tibet. Even the meaning seems to be different from Theravada Buddhism, the turning of the great wheel of time suggesting something more forceful than the languid contemplation of the steamy tropics. My partner is from a Western Mongolian tribe called the Kalmyks and I have visited their 'Khurul' or temple and begun to understand the differences in the Mahayana tradition with its prayer flags, monks wrapped up in robes, enclosed temples and more than a hint of shamanism in the background.

Mongolia and Tibet share a lot of traditions and, although seemingly quite distant from each other, are culturally close, no doubt helped by the continuum of Tibetan people through the Chinese province of Qinghai, reaching towards the Mongolian border.

In fact, the 'Dalai' bit of 'Dalai Lama' is from the Mongolian word for 'ocean' - a common theme in Mongolia, Chingis Khan is also thought to mean 'Great Oceanic Khan' - I guess the Ocean was the edge of the Earth for a medieval Mongolian. Mongolians used to make once in a life-time trips to the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, the fourth Dalai Lama was Mongolian and, when the British (no blog would be complete without them) invaded Tibet in 1903, the Dalai Lama fled to Mongolia for safety.

By all accounts the Chinese were relieved when the Mongolians finally adopted Buddhism, as it chilled them out and stopped them constantly invading China! When the Soviets came to power in the 1920's, an estimated 1/3 of the adult male population in the capital Ulaan Baator were monks. With such large numbers and incredible influence, the revolution didn't dare tackle Buddhism straight away but waited until the 1930's under the Stalinist Choibalsan (a former Buddhist monk!) to purge the Buddhist population, murdering an estimated 17,000 lamas and religious leaders. It would seem that having 1/3 of your male population remaining celibate, and contemplative, flew in the face of Soviet policies of increasing the number of workers available for five-year plans and the exploration of Siberia's wealth of natural resources.

Reading about Mongolia, it's this great loss of the 1930's that strikes me most. I guess every country has its 'psyche crisis' (the Irish equivalent would be the Great Famine), when the very essence of the nation is challenged and changed irrevocably.

Image Credits:

The image of the Mongolian flag is from the website www.33ff.com/flags.

The two photographic images were both taken by me. The first one is Buddha and the Wheel of Law, which I took in Thailand. The second one is the biggest Buddhist statue in Europe, which is in the Great Khurul (Temple) in Elista, Kalmykia.