Xinjiang and the Expansion of Chinese Communist Power

Xinjiang, China's far northwestern province where the majority of the population are Muslim Uyghurs, was for most of its history contested territory. On the Silk Road, a region of overlapping cultures, the province was virtually independent until the late nineteenth century, nominally part of the Qing Empire, with considerable interest taken in it by the British and the Russians as part of their Great Game rivalry in Asia. Ruled by warlords in the early twentieth century, it was occupied in 1949-50 by the People's Liberation Army, since when attempts have been made to integrate the province more fully into China. This book outlines the history of Xinjiang. It focuses on the key city of Kashgar, the symbolic heart of Uighur society, drawing on a large body of records in which ordinary people provided information on the period around the communist takeover. These records provide an exceptionally rich source, showing how ordinary Uyghurs lived their everyday lives before 1949 and how those lives were affected by the arrival of the Chinese Communist Party and its army. Subjects covered by the book include Eastern Turkestan independence, regional politics, local government, the military, taxation, education and the press.

Michael Dillon is a frequent commentator on Chinese affairs for the BBC and other broadcasters. He was formerly Director of the Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Durham, UK, where he taught Chinese and Chinese History. His previous publications include China: A Historical and Cultural Dictionary, Contemporary China - An Introduction, China's Muslim Hui Community: Migration, Settlement and Sects and Xinjiang: China's Muslim Far Northwest (all published by Routledge and RoutledgeCurzon). He has visited Xinjiang and carried out fieldwork throughout the region since 1991.

Preface 1. Silk Road City in the Land of Mountain and Desert 2. Kashgar and the Chinese Republic 1911-1949 3. Kashgar and the Eastern Turkestan Islamic Republic 1933-4 4. The view from Chinibagh 1: Britain's Consulate-General in Kashgar and Xinjiang under Governor Jin Shuren 5. The view from Chinibagh 2: The Consulate-General and the 1933-4 Revolt in Southern Xinjiang 6. Communist Activists in the Kashgar Region during the 1930s and 1940s 7. Border Security and the Battle against the British and Smugglers: Hu Dong in Tashkurgan 8. Tax and Currency Reform in Kashgar 9. Education and Running a County: Li Yunyang in Kashgar and Maralbashi (Bachu) 10. Educating Girls and Working with Women: Wu Naijun in Kashgar and Maralbashi 11. Kashgar Newspaperman: Wang Mo and Xinjiang Daily 12. Honest and Public-Spirited Official: Xu Liang 13. Political Commissar on the Frontier: Zhou Chunlin 14. Abudukerimhan Mehsum 15. Entry of the PLA into Kashgar and the 'Peaceful Liberation' of Xinjiang 16. Liberating Khotan: Bai Chushi in Southern Xinjiang 17. Colonising Kashgar in the Name of the People