Brief History of the Uyghurs

8/7/2019 Brief History of the Uyghurs

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Brief History of the Uyghurs

The addition of Pinyin spellings has been includedfor standardization.

Uygur 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 Uyghursestimate 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.


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The Chinese sources indicate that the Uygurs are

the direct descendants of the Huns.

The name "Uyghur" is mentioned in thechronicles 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 YellowRiver 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 theirmilitary expeditions in capturing the Chinese

invasion strongholds in north and northeast

Central Asia.


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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 Gansuand 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 ofTalas 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.


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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 forcesplayed 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.


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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 EmperorTai-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.


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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; whileat 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.


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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 ofKhan 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.


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The Karakhoja Uyghur Kingdom

The Uyghurs living in the northern part of KhanTengri (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 UyghurKingdom 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 kingdomswere set up: the Karakhanid, who were Muslims,

and the Karakhojas, who were Buddhists.


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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 theManchu 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, TsaristRussia, 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


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Dominion" and it was annexed into the territory

of the Manchu empire on November 18,1884.

In 1911, the Nationalist Chinese, overthrewManchu 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 EastTurkestan 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.

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


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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 booksdiscovered in Eastern Turkestan proved that the

Uyghurs had a very high degree of civilization.

Uyghur Script

Throughout the centuries, the Uyghurs used threekinds 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


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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, theMongols, 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 Uyghursalso 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


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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 alsodiscovered. 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, wellknown 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


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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 soundacademic basis. Divani Lugatit Turk , is one of the

main source for Turkic Studies today.

Religion

Prior to Islam, like most of the Turkic peoples inCentral 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 ofthe 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


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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. Thiswas 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 thereign 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-


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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 subjectsIslamic 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 Uyghursknew 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" (watercanals) built by the Uyghurs. These "kariz" are

still in use today around the city of

Turfan(Turpan) today.


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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


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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 oftenexpressed their high estimation of the level of the

Uyghur civilization.


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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 withthe 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 itis 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:


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"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 aninstrument called a "dutar".

This Uyghur power, prestige and civilization

which dominated Central Asia for more than a


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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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