2024/06/21 by Jun Sugawara · 1 voice
Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #China's Ethnic Minorities and Relations #Linguistics and Cultural Studies #Eurasian Exchange Networks
paper · doi:10.1215/00219118-11163009
Research on the modern history of Xinjiang has undergone a steady expansion in recent years. Owing to the sustained contributions of researchers ever since the publication in 1986 of Andrew Forbes's seminal work Warlords and Muslims in Chinese Central Asia, we now possess a comprehensive account of the history of Xinjiang, spanning from Emperor Qianlong's 1759 conquest to “Xinjiang's Peaceful Liberation” in 1949.1 Given these developments, the long-anticipated English translation of The Tarikh-i Ḥamidi will further enhance our understanding of Xinjiang and Uyghur's past.Written in Chaghatay-Turkic by Musa Sayrami (1836–1917) between 1903 and 1908, the book starts with the Noah legend and ends in the late nineteenth century. It therefore offers a primary account of Sayrami's own lived experience—specifically during the “tumultuous thirteen years” (1864–77) of rebellion that engulfed the region—providing a significant contribution to our understanding of the complex social and political situation of the time. Translator Eric Schluessel is an emerging scholar who has authored several studies of the history of Xinjiang as well as an introductory book on Chaghatay.2The Tarikh-i Ḥamidi contains four sections: “a prolegomenon (muqaddima), two epics (dastan), and an epilogue (khatima)” (xxiii). The prolegomenon (9–88) comprises six chapters, commencing with accounts of the Genesis following Noah, the global conquest of Chinggis Khan, the emergence and evolution of the Turkic-Islamic sphere in Central Asia, the launch of the Qing's imperial administration over the oasis region within the Tarim Basin (Huijiang), and the economic failings that ensued. The two “epics” are histories contemporary with the author. “The First Epic” (89–181) focuses on the Xinjiang Muslim Rebellion of 1864, with particular attention paid to the Kucha Khoja regime, in which Sayrami was himself directly involved. It provides an account of Kucha Khoja's military campaign, which extended to the border with the Khotan region in the west and to the Hami region in the east. “The Second Epic” (183–371), which overlaps chronologically with the previous section, commences with Ya‘qub Beg's arrival in Kashgar and depicts his conquest. It offers a comprehensive account of Ya‘qub Beg's approach to removing local powerholders and securing his own regime, as well as his diplomatic connections with the Ottoman Empire, his confrontation with the Dungans in Urumqi, and the diverse religious, social, and economic policies he executed during his rule. The story concludes with Ya‘qub Beg's unexpected death and the collapse of his government. The epilogue (373–406) provides an ethnographic account of the major sacred sites (mazars) and the eight oasis cities of “Moghulistan” that are centered in Southern Xinjiang.As scholars have long pointed out, the remarkable aspect of Sayrami's work lies in its objective and rational depiction of historical occurrences, as well as its critical approach toward historical sources, which are fundamental elements of contemporary historical research. Sayrami's writings are based on his direct participation in the events and on his fieldworks conducted over the following years. This makes it a highly valuable primary source for historians. He also quotes “reliable” accounts from different historical periods and remote locations beyond his own, including the works of Nuruddin ‘Abdurrahman Jami, Mirkhwand, Sufi Allahyar, Mirza Ḥaydar, Niyaz Muḥammad, and Muḥammad Ḥakīm Khān. Furthermore, he cites the Chinese historical record from Gāngjiàn yìzhī lù (a simplified version of Sima Guang's Zizhi Tongjian) through the work of Qurban ‘Ali Khalidi (1846–1913). These references not only improve the reliability of the accounts but also showcase Sayrami's advanced scholarship and shed light on the intellectual atmosphere in Xinjiang's Muslim society at that time.Moreover, scholars have noted that one of the defining characteristics of Sayrami is his neutrality in taking a particular perspective. Sayrami's work was not sponsored by a ruler or state and was written free from the modern notion of an “ethnic identity.” The Tarikh-i Ḥamidi instead concentrates on history as subject to “God's will,” highlighting the innocent masses in particular.3 Hori Sunao has argued that Musa Sayrami “was living in the selectivity and arbitrariness of identity.”4 Schluessel describes this as “an alternative perspective that in many ways cuts against nationalism and disrupts the simple political binaries of our present world” (xvii). This author's attitude provides an excellent and suggestive perspective that dispels the simplistic political dichotomy mentioned above, giving this book a truly contemporary value.Schluessel produced this translation utilizing the eight extant texts, comprising both manuscripts and published volumes, of Tarikh-i Amniyya (an early version of this work published in Kazan in 1904) and Tarikh-i Ḥamidi, in addition to multiple fragmentary manuscripts that were previously unrecognized as belonging to this corpus. One of them, the Beijing manuscript, serves as the primary basis for the translation. Readers can see traces of the translator's elaborate comparative study of multiple texts throughout this book.In conclusion, I would like to highlight two aspects that I found unsatisfactory about this book. First, the index consists solely of names of people and places and is absent a terminology index. Second, there has been considerable bibliographical research on Tarikh-i Amniyya (particularly notable in the former Soviet Union and Japan), which is not sufficiently reflected in this book.5 Nonetheless, this book is praiseworthy as it has been meticulously translated by an ideal translator with sound academic knowledge and linguistic proficiency. Schleussel successfully conveys the voice of an honest historian who resided in the hinterland of Asia at the beginning of the last century. It is my hope that this book disseminates the history of “the Land of Moghulistan and Seven Cities” among the academic community and beyond.