Chinese Festivals of Chinese Calendar

Chinese Festivals

There are several festivals in Chinese Calendar include Chinese Lunar New Year Festival, Lantern Festival, Sweeping Tombs Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Chinese Lover Day Festival, Hungry Ghost Festival, Moon Cake Festival, Double Ninth Festival and Winter Solstice Festival.

Chinese Calendar is a Luna-Solar Calendar which calculated by rotation of moon and sun in a year. The system was introduce in ancient days since sky observation by ancient astrologers of Shang Dynasty but improved since western method was introduced by Xu Guangqi, an astronomer and scientist in Ming Dynasty era, the calendar by Xu Guangqi was rebuilt and revised by Jesuit Missioner Johann Adam Schall von Bell and Jesuit Missioner Ferdinand Verbest in Qing Dynasty era and still remain in use until now.

Chinese Lunar New Year

Chinese New Year is the longest and most important festivity in the Chinese calendar. The origin of Chinese New Year is itself centuries old and gains significance because of several myths and traditions. Chinese New Year is celebrated in China and in countries and territories with significant Chinese populations, including Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Mauritius, Philippines, and also in China towns elsewhere. Chinese New Year is considered a major holiday for the Chinese and has had influence on the lunar new year celebrations of its geographic neighbors.

Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the Chinese new year vary widely. People will pour out their money to buy presents, decoration, material, food, and clothing. It is also traditional for every family to thoroughly cleanse the house, in order to sweep away any ill-fortune and to make way for good incoming luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red colour paper-cuts and couplets with popular themes of "good fortune" or "happiness", "wealth", and "longevity." 

On the Eve of Chinese New Year, supper is a feast with families. Food will include such items as pigs, ducks, chicken and sweet delicacies. The family will end the night with firecrackers. Early the next morning, children will greet their parents by wishing them a healthy and happy new year, and receive money in red paper envelopes. The Chinese New Year tradition is to reconcile, forget all grudges and sincerely wish peace and happiness for everyone.

Mythology

According to tales and legends, the beginning of Chinese New Year started with the fight against a mythical beast called the Nian (Chinese: 年; pinyin: Nián). 

Nian would come on the first day of New Year to eat livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year. It was believed that after the Nian ate the food they prepared, it wouldn’t attack any more people. One time, people saw that the Nian was scared away by a little child wearing red. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the color red. Hence, every time when the New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again. 

Spring New Year Lantern Festival

(also known as the Yuanxiao Festival in Taiwan or Shangyuan Festival in China; Chap Goh Meh Festival in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore; Yuen Siu Festival in Hong Kong, and "Tết Thượng Nguyên" or "Tết Nguyên Tiêu" in Vietnam; corresponding Japanese event Koshōgatsu)

The Lantern Festival is a festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunisolar year in the lunar calendar, the last day of the lunisolar lunar New Year celebration. 

During the Lantern Festival, children go out at night to temples carrying paper lanterns and solve riddles on the lanterns (simplified Chinese: 猜灯谜; traditional Chinese: 猜燈謎; pinyin: cāidēngmí). 

It officially ends the Chinese New Year celebrations.

In ancient times, the lanterns were fairly simple, and only the emperor and noblemen had large ornate ones; in modern times, lanterns have been being embellished with many complex designs.

archieve:  wikipedia

Nasi Goreng or Fried Rice

History of Nasi Goreng

According to historical records it already existed since 4000 BC. Fried rice and then spread to Southeast Asia brought by nomads Sino-resident foreigners settled there and created a local typical fried rice which is based on the difference in the spices and how to fry. Fried rice actually comes from several properties in culture Chinese, who does not like cold food tasting and also remove the remaining food a few days earlier. 
 
There are various types of fried rice recipes but the main element is rice, cooking oil, sweet soy sauce. In addition, many other extra that can be entered, ranging from vegetables, meat, until the chili, sauces, crackers and fried eggs. 

Crackers and fried rice with egg commonly found in Indonesia. Fried rice in Indonesia and in other countries can have their own variations depending on the areas of origin and ingredients or materials used. This variation is usually influenced by food ingredients commonly used by local communities and the influence of herb seasoning from neighboring countries, foreign ethnic or cultural influences innate.


Variations of Nasi Goreng

Several variations of the famous fried rice Indonesias include the following:

*  Salted fish fried rice:  using salted fish, one of the variations that are known in Indonesia. 

*  Java Fried Rice:  fried rice is usually flavored with chili grind that makes it spicy. 
*  Goat Meat Fried Rice:  using goat meat that has a distinctive aroma. 

*  Special Fried Rice:  comes with a fried egg on top.  
*  Chicken Meat Fried Rice:  includes a piece of fried chicken.  
*  Ikan Bilis Fried Rice:  popular in Flores, with  ikan bilis contains small, dried anchovies. 
*  Prawn Fried Rice:  is served with prawns. 
*  Squid Fried Rice:  is served with squid.


Another fried rice that could be found as Indonesian Dishes:

*  Pattaya Fried Rice (Thai):  Fried rice is wrapped with omelet.

*  White Fried Rice: Fried rice is to use soy sauce as a marinade so the color is whitish. 

*  Fukien fried rice (or Fujian):  comes from the Canton area, usually served with sauce on top. 

*  Singapore Fried Rice: a cuisine from the Canton area with yellow curry seasoning.  

* Fried Rice Yangchow (or Yangzhou) also called special fried rice: although it is called "Yangzhou", it is actually not coming from the Yangzhou area. Regular served with shrimp and roast beef. Other special fried rice which is famous for fried rice with egg. 

 *  Yuanyang Fried Rice: Fried rice served with two sauces. White sauce first and the second is red. Sometimes the sauce was served in the emblem or symbol of Yin Yang Taichi.  

* Fried Rice Arabian Black Seed (not from the Arabs):  it is a lot of Indonesian special creations using native spices Arabs as part of the main ingredients. Generally using goat meat and use a lot of cumin and herb / efficacious for a good plant health. 

* Ashita Japanese Fried Rice (not from Japan): an unique creation of Indonesian Dishes. It is called as Japanese fried rice or Ashita for it is wearing Ashitaba that originating from Japan. Ashitaba is the kind of medical herb vegetables are very popular in Japan. The use of these materials causes a unique look fried green leaf. Additional mixtures usually bacon, pickled pineapple, chips and fried egg belinjo. 

archieve 1, 2

Journey To The West

One of popular Chinese Legend novel story is "Journey To The West". It is said, that a buddhist monk, named Tripitaka, has inspired to go to the west to fetch of Buddhism Holy Scriptures. It is also said that Tripitaka had brotherhood with the Chinese Emperor, for that he had travel pass to go to the west for the scriptures.


The Emperor gave him also a horse and troops to be his companions to the west. But in the way, they were attacked by demi-devils who devoured all his companion. Tripitaka was saved and he continued his journey alone. This was his first difficulty to hold. for his journey. Tripitaka then was get helped by his three disciples. These three were not human being but the demi-gods in forms of monkey, pig and human. These demi-gods would help Tripitaka for the scriptures. It is said, the dragon king of the east sea then took a form as a white horse for Tripitaka rode for the journey to the west. In his journey, Tripitaka had to face many difficulties to reach India. But step by step, he had successfully been in India. Unfortunately, after Tripitaka got the scriptures and crossed the river, the winds blew up their boat and sank it with the scripture drowned into the river. Luckily they had been helped by the giant demi-god turtle. The story was ended with the narrated that they had found the Buddha, although they found no scriptures at all.

This story is founded on the condition and situation of Ming Dynasty.

This epic story is a captivating read, with the pilgrims getting into trouble in the most unexpected places, fighting through not only outright confrontation and abduction but also lies and disguises while using trickery of their own. Sun Wu Kong the Monkey King is especially good at this, having mastered the way of transforming himself into anything he likes, including a fly, tree, or a beautiful girl. Xi You Ji spans over a huge area, taking readers for a wild ride to the Heavens, volcanoes, seas, wide rivers, mountain peaks, demon-filled caves, right down to the pits of Hell. The plot is imaginative and full of conflict, either with external enemies or between the pilgrims themselves. The characters are well developed, with distinct, three-dimensional personalities. Well, most of them, at least. There are also underlying spiritual and religious themes. This masterpiece is frequently underestimated as it also portrays a realistic view of the political and social scenarios during the Ming Dynasty. In short, Xi You Ji is definitely worth your time. Grab the chance to experience one of the greatest classics of ancient China!

journey to the west

History of Xuan Zhang (Tripitaka)

The year was 600. The place was Chen He (Old River) Village of Henan (South of the River). In northern China, where the climate was cold and dry, Chen Yi was born. No one even suspected at the time that the youngest boy of this respected family would one day grow up to be the famous scholar and pilgrim, Xuan Zang. The Chen family consisted of a long line of government officials and scholars of Confucianism. Chen Yi was also expected to follow in his ancestors' footsteps. Fortunately for all Buddhists, his father, Chen Hui, was also extremely interested in Buddhism, and studied both of these religions at home. Naturally, this was a major influence on the little Chen Yi, and when his second elder brother became a Buddhist monk at Jing Tu (Holy Land) Monastery, he also went there to practice and study Buddhism. In the same year, when he was merely six, he became a novice monk. Usually, only boys who are at least 7 years old are allowed be ordained as novice monks. However, he passed the rigorous tests, and therefore was ordained into the Buddhist order as an exception, taking on the name of 'Xuan Zang'.

From then on, he studied with his elder brother at Jing Tu Monastery. He studied both Theravada (Lesser Vehicle) and Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) Buddhism, showing a preference for the latter. 'Greater Vehicle' refers to teachings that can 'ferry' all beings towards salvation, as opposed to the 'Lesser Vehicle' teachings that focus on personal awakening or enlightenment. From an early age, Xuan Zang's extraordinary intelligence stood out. By listening to a lecture on a scripture one single time and studying it by himself another time, he could memorize an entire scripture. This was amazing considering that each scripture consists of millions of words. His fellow monks hailed him as a genius. When his father died in 611, he and his brother continued studying at Jing Tu monastery, until political unrest forced him to flee to the city of Changan (Eternal Peace - now known as Xi An). After that, he went to Chengdu of Sichuan (Four Rivers) for further studying, growing in knowledge and reputation. At age 20, Xuan Zang was fully ordained as a Buddhist monk. The more Xuan Zang studied, the more he was dissatisfied with the quality of the Buddhist texts available. There were many different interpretations of a single scripture, most contradicting each other. There was no one single standard version of the scriptures. This was because the translations of the Buddhist scriptures of that period were mostly done by foreign monks, from India and elsewhere. Language barriers hindered accurate translation, compounded by the fact that each translator had different understandings of the original scriptures themselves, which were inherently hard to understand. Different branches of Buddhism also complicated the process of interpretation. The followers of each branch had different views of the teachings, which were frequently disputed by members of different sects. All these led Xuan Zang to a conclusion: In order to gain true understanding, he would have to go to the West to get the original holy scriptures. As fate would have it, a disciple of Abbot Silabhadra (the president and highest ranking monk of Nalanda University) arrived in Changan by sea. When he knew that Xuan Zang was planning a pilgrimage to India, he told Xuan Zang: "To really understand the true meanings of the holy texts, you must go to Nalanda University and study under the Abbot Silabhadra." Therefore, Xuan Zang fixed his goal as Nalanda University in India - the real life equivalent of the fictional Thundersound Monastery of the Western Heavens in the novel Journey to the West.

Pilgrimage

In 629, Xuan Zang was about 28 years old. It was three years after the Emperor Tang Zhen Guan ascended to the throne. The Gokturks (Eastern Turks) were constantly attacking at the western borders, therefore the government had closed down the roads to the west, prohibiting everyone except merchants and foreigners from traveling in that direction. It was at this time of unrest that Xuan Zang and some other monks with the same goal applied for passports (known as 'guo shuo' at the time) to journey to India. The government refused to grant their request. The other monks gave up. Xuan Zang, determined to make the journey, sneaked out of Chang An. Along the way, he was stopped at Liang Zhou as he didn't have a passport. A renown Buddhist abbot helped him to slip out. He rode by night and hid by day, eventually reaching Gua Zhou. However, a government document ordering his capture arrived at the same time. Luckily, the officials there were devout Buddhists and suspended the document, letting him go. Xuan Zang had now successfully evaded capture by the government. However, the real dangers still lay before him. Unlike in the fictional Journey to the West, the threats came not from demons, waiting to kill him and eat his flesh. The dangers the real life Xuan Zang faced were more mundane, but equally life-threatening. And as Xuan Zang left the safety of the Yu Men Guan (Gates of Jade), he stepped right into the first danger - the vast, dry Gobi Desert, with its extreme temperatures, both the scorching heat of the day and the freezing cold of the night deadly to travelers. The extreme temperatures together with the lack of water, food, and shelter made the desert a death trap for travelers of that century. Death lay along the road to the west, literally. As Xuan Zang rode his horse into the desert, a lonely, desolate figure in the shifting sands, he saw human bones, evidently the remains of travelers that, like him, had the courage to take on the challenge of the dangerous Gobi Desert without permission from the government. Unlike him, they had lost. Some of them, Xuan Zang knew, were pilgrims to the west like him.

As if the natural dangers weren't enough, there were five sentry towers in the Gobi Desert. The sentries were ordered to shoot and kill all travelers without a passport. When Xuan Zang sneaked past them, he was almost shot to death by arrows. In his efforts to evade them, he got lost and wandered for days in the Gobi Desert without water or food. He was close to death when his mount, a horse who had often traversed the desert, brought him to an oasis, which saved his life. In the 'Biography of Master Tripitaka of the Great Ci'en Monastery of the Great Tang Dynasty' by his disciples, it is recorded that on the fifth night, when Xuan Zang lay in the sand, unable to go any further, a mysterious man with the height of a giant came to him in his dreams and commanded him to get up and move! After Xuan Zang got to his feet and wandered aimlessly for some distance, his horse got excited and rushed in a certain direction, leading him to an oasis, thus saving his life. The formation of the character Sha Wu Jing (Friar Sand) was modeled after this man of Xuan Zang's dream.

After escaping certain death, Xuan Zang plodded on resolutely to Kumul, an oasis city, and followed the Chu River valley into Central Asia. He arrived at Turfan, known then as Gao Chang (Height of Prosperity) Country. The king of Turfan was a devout Buddhist who sent four novice monks and twenty five other people to journey with him, in addition to giving him letters of introduction and supplies. After they left Turfan, they had to cross a mountain of ice, the Victory Peak, also known as Mount Ling. While traversing the mountain which was covered with glaciers, one third of Xuan Zang's entourage died. The luckier ones suffered quick deaths when they were hit by great chunks of ice, broken off the glaciers by the wind. Others were buried alive by avalanches. Some, while traveling on the dangerous mountain paths, lost their footing and fell to their deaths. Others froze to death. Some fell through cracks in the glaciers, finding their resting places in coffins of ice. Yet Xuan Zang's determination to reach India did not diminish in the least. He continued to cross the Tian Shan (Celestial Mountains), and finally reached what is now known as Kyrgyzstan through the Bedal Pass.

Xuan Zang's journey to the west continued, passing various countries, visiting sites of Buddhism along the way. He arrived at the Nava Vihara (New Monastery), where he acquired the Mahavibhasa text, and studied Theravada Buddhism with the master Prajnakara. However, he was a devout advocate of Mahayana Buddhism, which preached that monks should not merely strive for personal enlightenment, as advocated by the Theravada sect, but instead, should be compassionate and help all beings to achieve salvation. His motive for studying the Theravada scriptures was not because he revered them, instead, he studied them so that he could attack the weaknesses in the Theravada teachings. After leaving, he traveled through other places until finally, he reached India through the Khyber Pass.

It took three years for Xuan Zang to reach India. For the most part, he journeyed alone. It was a miracle that he survived the deserts, the mountains of snow, the desolate plains, the heat, the sandstorms... Getting to India alive and in one piece was a great accomplishment in of itself. 

more ....

Wayang

One of Chinese cultures adapted to Indonesian cultures is Wayang. The others are Javanese Batik and Barong  Balinese Dance. Also the Chinese improved for the Indonesian culinary such as Lumpia of Semarang, Noodle, Meat Balls and Tofu.

Wayang was modified from Chinese puppets. The simiralities between these cultures can be seen from these pictures below:

Wayang Golek from west Java has cultural influenced and was modified from Chinese hand puppets while Wayang Kulit from central Java also influenced and was modified from Chinese leather puppets.

The Han (漢) Tribal Group Diversity

In addition to a diversity of spoken language, there are also regional differences in culture among Han Chinese. For example, China's cuisine varies from Sichuan's famously spicy food to Guangdong's Dim Sum and fresh seafood. However, ethnic unity still exists between these two groups because of common cultural, behavioural, linguistic, and religious practices.


According to recent scientific studies, there are slight genetic differences throughout China. Due to several waves of immigration from Northern China to Southern China in China's history, there are strong genetic similarities in the Y chromosome between Southern and Northern Chinese males. However, the mitochondrial DNA of Han Chinese increases in diversity as one looks from Northern to Southern China, which suggests that many male migrants from northern China married with women from local peoples after arriving in Guangdong, Fujian, and other regions of Southern China. As this mixing process continued and more Han people migrated south, the people in Southern China became Sinicized and identified themselves as Han.


Historical documentation indicates that the Han were descended from the ancient Huaxia tribes of northern China. During the past two millennia, the Han culture (that is, the language and its associated culture) extended into southern China, a region originally inhabited by the southern natives, including those speaking Dai, Austro-Asiatic and Hmong-Mien languages. As Huaxia culture spread from its heartland in the Yellow River basin, it absorbed many distinct ethnic groups which then came to be identified as Han Chinese, as these groups adopted Han language (or variations of it) and customs.


For example, during the Shang Dynasty, people of the Wu area, in the Yangtze River Delta, were considered a "barbarian" tribe. They spoke a distinct language that was almost certainly non-Chinese, and were described as being scantily dressed and tattooed. By the Tang Dynasty, however, this area had become part of the Han Chinese heartland, and is today the most densely populated and strongest performing economic region in China, the site of China's largest city Shanghai. The people in the Wu area today speak the Wu dialects, which are part of the Chinese language family but are mutually unintelligible with other Chinese languages/dialects, and do not see themselves as a separate ethnic group. The Wu area is one example of many involving the absorption of different cultural groups in contributing toward the diversity of culture and language throughout the Han Chinese ethnic group.

document:  taiwan dna

The Land of The Panda

Pandas live mainly bamboo forests high in the mountains of western China. Most of the wild population being distributed between the Qinling and Minshan Mountains.

© Nigel Allan / WWF

Pandas live in around 20 isolated habitats in Gansu, Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces, China.

 

A shrinking refuge

The giant panda was once widespread throughout southern and eastern China, as well as neighbouring Myanmar (Burma) and northern Vietnam. Due to expanding human populations and development, the species is now restricted to only 20 or so isolated patches of mountain forest in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. The panda's habitat surrounds the great Sichuan Plain. To the north are the Qinling Mountains and to the west are the Minshan, Qionglai, Liangshan, Daxiangling, and Xiaoxiangling Mountains.

WWF's panda conservation work to date has focussed on the Minshan and Qinling Mountains.

Increasing protected areas
The provincial governments of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu, working closely with WWF, have been creating new nature reserves and extending existing reserves.

• How we can strengthen protected areas in the panda habitat
• View Interactive Map to explore the panda's habitat
  
• Download Google Earth file
  

 

Minshan Mountains

The Minshan Mountains flank the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, the highest and biggest plateau in the world. These mountains form a natural barrier between the densely populated southern and eastern provinces of China and the great wilderness of the Tibetan Plateau to the west. WWF has identified the Minshan Mountain range in Sichuan and Gansu provinces as a particularly important landscape for biodiversity: Its magnificent forests are home to a stunning array of wildlife besides the giant panda, such as dwarf blue sheep and beautiful multi-coloured pheasants.There are around 720 pandas in the Minshan Mountains, 45% of the total wild population. PingWu county, in the Minshan Mountain area, has the highest density of pandas in the wild.

Qinling sub-species

Scientists recently discovered that the pandas in the Qinling Mountains are actually a different subspecies from other giant panda. Read more.

Qinling Mountains

The Qinling Mountains, in the Shaanxi Province, forms a natural barrier between northern and southern China and protects the south from the cold northern weather and warm rains on the southern slopes support a rich variety of plants and animals. It is an important watershed for China as a drop of rain in the Qinling Mountains, could end up in one of country's two great rivers, the Yangtze or the Yellow. There are around 200-300 hundred pandas in the Qinling Mountains, 20% of the total wild population. The region is also home to a number of other endangered species, including the golden monkey, takin and crested ibis.

China Ethnic Groups

China is a large country noted for its dense population and vast territory. There are 55 minority ethnic groups in addition to the Han who represent 92% of the population. The defining elements of an ethnic group are language, homeland, and social values. 53 minority ethnic groups use spoken languages of their own; 23 minority ethnic groups have their own written languages. Equality, unity and common prosperity are the fundamental objectives of the government in handling the relations between minority ethnic groups. China exercises a policy of regional autonomy for various minority ethnic groups, allowing minority group people living in compact communities to establish self-government and direct their own affairs.

1. The Achang ethnic group has a population of 33,936 (in 2000), gathering mainly in Longchuan, Lianghe, Luxi and Ruili counties in Dehong Dai-Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in south-western Yunnan Province.
2. The Bai ethnic group has a population of around 2 million, 90 percent of which live in the Bai Autonomous County west of Yunnan Province.
   
3. The Blang people, with a population of about 91,882 (in 2000), live mainly in the Mt. Blang, Xiding, Bada and Daluo areas of Menghai County in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in south-western Yunnan Province. 
   
4. The Bonan ethnic group is one of China's smallest ethnic groups. With a population of about 16,000, they mainly cluster in the area around Mt. Jishishan and Linxia County, southwest of Gansu Province. 
5. The Bouyei (also Buyi) people, with a population of 2,971,460 (in 2000), are mainly scattered in the Bouyei and Miao autonomous prefectures in south Guizhou and Anshun.
6.  The Dongxiang ethnic group, numbering about 380,000 in total, can be found mainly in Dongxiang Autonomous County of Gansu province with the remainder scattered in Qinghai, Ningxia and Xinjiang provinces. 
7.  The Dulong (also known as Drung) ethnic group is one of the smallest ethnic groups in China. With a total population of about 5,816, the Dulongs mainly live in the Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County in north-western Yunnan Province. 
8.  The Ewenki ethnic group has a population of 30,505 (in the year 2000) that is sparsely distributed across seven banners (counties) in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and in Nahe County in Heilongjiang Province. 
9.  The Gelao people refer to themselves as "Ling" or "Jin". Their ancestors can be traced back to the Liao people who lived in Guizhou Province about 2000 years ago. 
10.  The Hani  ethnic group, with a population of 1,424,990, is one of the many unique tribes in Yunnan Province. 
11.  With a population of 4,640, the Hezhen people mainly live in the Tongjiang, Fuyuan and Raohe counties by the rivers of Songhua, Heilongjiang and Wusuli in China's northeastern Heilongjiang Province. 
12.  The Hui ethnic group, with a total population of about 643,238 is one of China's largest ethnic groups. The largest residential area is the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. 
13.  The Jingpo ethnic group has a population of about 132,000 (in 2000) people. They are concentrated in the Dehong Dai-Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province in southeastern China. 
14.  The Jino ethnic group, with a total population of 20,899 (in 2000), resides primarily in Jinghong County of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province.
15.  With a population of 1,250,458, the Kazak ethnic group is distributed mainly in the Xinjiang Ili Kazak autonomous prefecture, Mori and Barkol Kazak autonomous counties. 
16. The Kirgiz ethnic group, with a total population of 160,823, is scattered throughout the southwest of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region. 
17. The Lahu trace their ancestry back to the ancient Qiang people, who immigrated to present day northern Yunnan from northwestern China early in the third century AD. 
18. The Li ethnic group, with a population of 1,247,814, mainly reside in Hainan Province, China's second largest island after Taiwan. 
19. The Lisu, with a population of 634,912, mainly live in concentrated communities in Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province.
20.  The Manchu, with a population of 10,682,263 (in 2000), are mainly distributed in Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, of which Liaoning has the most Manchus. 
21.  The Miao ethnic group has a population of 8,940,116, mainly scattered in Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangxi, Hubei and Hainan provinces. 
22.  Reputed as "pearl in the grassland", the Mongolian have kept their nomadic living style for hundreds of years. "Mongolian" originally was the name of one of the Mongolian tribes. 
23.  Naxi (also spelled Nakhi or Nahi) mainly live in concentrated communities in the Naxi Autonomous County of Lijing in Yunnan Province. 
24.  The Nu is an ancient tribe that originally lived on the banks of the Nu and Lancang Rivers.
25.  The Oroqen ethnic group is one of the ancient ethnic groups in north China. Oroqen, means "people living on the mountain" or "people using reindeer". 
26.  The name Ozbek first originated from the Ozbek Khan, one of the local rulers under the Mongol Empire in the 14th century. 
27.  The ancestors of Pumi were a nomadic tribe living in the southern part of Gansu Province and the eastern part of Qinghai Province.
28.  The Qiang ethnic group is one of the oldest tribes in China. They mostly inhabit hilly to mountainous areas of the Maowen County in the Aba_Tibetan Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in western Sichuan Province. 
29.  The Russian  in China are the offspring of immigrants from Tsarist Russia. Many of their ancestors migrated to border cities in China's northwest at the end of the 19th century.
30.  The ancestors of the Salar people were the Samarkand people who migrated from central Asia to China during the Yuan Dynasty (1271AD-1368AD). 
31.  Early in the Tang Dynasty, people of She nationality began to settle in the joint area of Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi provinces. 
32.  The Tajik  language belongs to the Iranian Austronesian, Indo-European languages Phylum. Most of the people in China speak the Sekule language whereas a few of them speak the Waihan language. 
33.  The Tatar, historically named the "Dadan", are descended from a branch of a Mongolian tribe, who used to inhabit the region near the Volga River.  
34.  Tibetan is an old nationality in China who is mainly distributed in the "Tibet Autonomous Region", Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces.
35.  The Tu call themselves "Mongguer", "Chahan Mongguer", and other names. There are different versions regarding the origin of the Tus, but most people believe that the Tus evolved from the Tuguhun people in ancient times. 
36.  The Tujia  people called themselves "Bizika", which means "native dwellers". Although their name suggests that they are natives, their exact origin is still uncertain. 
37.  The Uigur have lived at the foot of Mt. Tianshan for several centuries. They used to colonize in the north and northwest region of China before migrating to the Western Regions (present Xinjiang). 
38.  The Wa people have a unique spoken language, which belongs to the Austroasiatic family. 
39.  Originating from different geographical and historical backgrounds, the Xibe people in the northeast and northwest have developed vastly.
40.  The Yao ethnic group consists of hundreds of smaller ethnic subgroups. It is estimated that are about 300 Yao subgroups living in China, with differing traditional costumes and dialects. 
41.  The ancestors of the Yi  ethnic group can be traced back to the Qiang people living in northwest China. They later migrated south and joined the local southwest aboriginal and created a new group. 
42.  The Yugur originated from the Huihe people who were nomads around the Erhui River during the Tang Dynasty. 
43.  The ancestors of the Zhuang were a branch of the ancient "Baiyue" people, who lived in south China. 
    

 

Han Ethnic Group

Han ethnic group makes up 92 percent of the total population. According to the 1995 sample survey of 1 percent of China's population, there were 1.09932 billion Han people (an increase of 56.84 million since the Fourth National Population Census of 1990), accounting for 91.96 percent of China's total population. Han people are found in all parts of the country, but mainly in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River (Huanghe), Yangtze River (Changjiang), Pearl River (Zhujiang) and the Northeast Plain.

The Han people has its own spoken and written language, known as the Chinese language, which is commonly used throughout China and is the working language of the United Nations. The Hui and Manchu minority ethnic groups also use the Han (Chinese) language.

Document: China Tour 360

Bao Qing Tian (Judge Bao)

Bao Zheng (999–1062), was a much-praised official who served during the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song China. Bao is culturally a well-respected figure in Chinese history, and is today invoked as the symbol of justice in China. After passing the imperial examination in 1027, Bao deferred embarking on his official career for a decade in order to care for his elderly parents and faithfully observe proper mourning rites after their deaths. From 1037 until his death in 1062, Bao successively held several offices at court and in provincial locations. In his lifetime, Bao was renowned for his filial piety, his stern demeanor, and his intolerance of injustice and corruption. Due to his fame and the strength of his reputation, Bao's name became synonymous with the idealized "pure official" and quickly became a popular subject of early vernacular drama and literature. Bao was also associated with the Buddhist god Yama and the "Infernal Bureaucracy" of the Eastern Marchmount, on account of his supposed ability to judge affairs in the afterlife as well as he judged them in the realm of the living. The fictionalized Bao Zheng was known variously as "Lord Bao" or "Judge Bao" (Chinese: Bao Gong), Rescriptor-in-waiting Bao (Chinese: Bao Daizhi), Bao of the Dragon Image (Chinese: Bao Longtu), and "Blue-Sky Bao"/"Unclouded-Sky Bao" (Chinese: Bao Qingtian). From the middle of the Song Dynasty to the present day, the character of Judge Bao has appeared in a variety of different literary and dramatic genres, and has enjoyed a sustained popularity by audiences of all ages.

Bao's Legendary Allies

• In most of the stories, Bao is always accompanied by his trusted bodyguard Zhan Zhao, a man with superhuman strength and unmatched skills in the martial arts. In some legends, he is seen as a companion and equal to Bao, as he represents the Wu (martial) aspect while Bao represents the Wen (civil) aspect, which is considered the two features of a perfect and complete person.
• Besides Zhan Zhao, Bao is often accompanied by his adviser or personal secretary, known in the stories as Gongsun Ce. Gongsun like Zhan Zhao is often portrayed as loyal and devoted to Bao's causes, in contrast to the advisers to the magistrate portrayed in most stories as usually conniving and unscrupulous characters who are masterminds of corrupt activities in the yamen. While Zhan Zhao serves as Bao's enforcer, Gongsun is often portrayed as the intelligent and merciful advisor who helps Bao by offering him advice. The relationship between Bao and the characters of Zhan Zhao and Gongsun is very similar to that between Liu Bei and Guan Yu, Zhuge Liang, and Zhao Yun in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
• Other than Zhan Zhao and Gongsun, Bao is often seen with his four enforcers (includes Wang Chao, Ma Han, Zhang Long, and Zhao Hu) who are usually under the orders of Zhan Zhao, and when a hearing is in session, two of them are always on Bao's right and two of them are always on his left. Like Zhan Zhao and Gongsun, the enforcers are presented as righteous and incorruptible. This type of portrayal is often done on purpose to show the contrast of Bao's court which is from top to bottom morally upright and impartial, while corrupt officials tend to employ and associate with morally flawed characters.

Bao Qingtian was born into a scholar family in Hefei, Anhui province, where the Memorial Temple of Lord Bao is still located near the city center. It was built in 1066 close to his tomb. At the age of 29, he passed the highest-level imperial exams and became qualified as a Jinshi. He was a magistrate in Bian (Kaifeng), the capital of the Song dynasty.

He is famous for his uncompromising stance against corruption among the government officials at the time. He upheld justice and refused to yield to higher powers including the "royal father-in-law", who was also appointed as the Grand Tutor and was known as Grand Tutor Pang (Chinese: Pang taishi). He treated Bao as an enemy. Although Grand Tutor Pang is often depicted in myth as an archetypical villain (arrogant, selfish, and cruel), the historical reasons for his bitter rivalry with Bao remains unclear.

Bao had conflicts with other powerful members of the imperial court as well, including the Prime Minister, Song Yang. He had 30 high officials demoted or dismissed for corruption, bribery, or dereliction of duty. He also had Zhang Yaozhuo, uncle of the high-ranked imperial concubine impeached 6 times. In addition, as the imperial censor, he avoided punishment despite having many other contemporary imperial censors punished for minor statements.

Tomb of Bao Zheng, entrance to burial chamber

 Bao Zheng also managed to remain in favor by cultivating a long standing friendship with one of Emperor Renzong's uncles, the Eighth Imperial Prince (Chinese: Ba Wang Ye). His burial site in Hefei contains his tomb along with the tombs of family members and a memorial temple.

In opera or drama, he is often portrayed with a black face and a white crescent shaped birthmark on his forehead. In most dramatization of his stories, he used a set of guillotines, given to him by the emperor, to execute criminals. The one decorated with a dog's head was used on commoners. The one decorated with a tiger's head was used on government officials. The one decorated with a dragon's head was used on royal personages. He was granted a golden rod by the previous emperor which he was authorized to chastise the current emperor with. He was also granted a precious sword from the previous emperor (Chinese: shang fang bao jian) as a license to execute any royals before reporting to the emperor to get approval first (from where arose the idiom "execute first, report later"). In these works he was often helped by 12 deputies and detectives, collectively known as  seven "knights"(Xia) and five "honorable men"(Yi). His name became synonymous with justice, with the clear blue sky (qing tian) became a popular metaphor to justice in the Chinese-speaking world. Due to his strong sense of justice, he is very popular in China, especially among the peasants and the poor. He became the subject of literature and modern Chinese TV series in which his adventures and cases are featured.

There are many legends and stories about Bao and his wit as both a detective and judge. Some famous examples include:

• The story about Bao executing Chen Shimei, who abandoned his previous wife (and later tried to have her killed) in order to marry royalty.

• The story of a plot to discredit a concubine by swapping her son (the new born crown prince) with a civet, in which Bao disguised as Yan Luo to try Guo Huai. Guo supported Bao in front of the Emperor early in his career, making the case personally difficult for the judge. The perpetrator confessed when he thought he was in hell.

History and Development of Xinjiang

Since ancient times, Xinjiang has been inhabited by many ethnic groups believing in a number of religions. Since the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-24 A.D.), it has been an inseparable part of the unitary multi-ethnic Chinese nation. 

In the more than 50 years since the People’s Republic of China was founded, the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, with concerted and pioneering efforts, have jointly written brilliant pages in the annals of its development, construction and frontier defense, causing earth-shaking changes in the social outlook of the region. There are 47 ethnic groups in Xinjiang, mainly the Uygur, Han, Kazak, Hui, Mongolian, Kirgiz, Xibe, Tajik, Ozbek, Manchu, Daur, Tatar and Russian. It is one of China’s five autonomous regions for ethnic minorities. In ancient history, many tribes and ethnic groups lived 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.), the main ones being the Sai (Sak), Rouzhi (or Yueh-chih), Wusun (Usun), Qiang, Xiongnu (Hun) and Han.  

The Sai as a nomadic tribe used to roam about the area from the Ili and Chuhe river basins in the east to the Sir (Syrdarya) River valley in the west. Under pressure from the Rouzhi, they moved westward — some to the north bank of the Sir River, while others southward to scatter in the areas of the Pamirs.  

The Rouzhi roamed the vast region between the Gansu Corridor and the Tarim Basin during the Warring States Period (475 B.C.-221 B.C.) and flourished during the Qin (221B.C.-206 B.C.) and Han dynasties. Attacked by the Xiongnu around 176 B.C., they were forced to move to the Ili River basin, from which they dislodged the Sai. The Wusun first lived in the Gansu Corridor. In the late Qin and early Han period, attacked by the Rouzhi they yielded their allegiance to the Xiongnu. Supported by the Xiongnu, the Wusun attacked the Rouzhi, and drove them out of the Ili River basin. The Qiang originally lived along the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River. During the Spring and Autumn (770 B.C.-476 B.C.) and Warring States periods, some of the Qiang migrated westward across the Gansu Corridor and the Qilian-Kunlun mountain ranges, leaving their footprints in Xinjiang. The Xiongnu entered Xinjiang mainly around 176 B.C. The Han was one of the earliest peoples to settle in Xinjiang.In 101 B.C., the Han empire began to station garrison troops to open up wasteland for cultivation of farm crops in Luntai (Bügür), Quli and some other places. Later, it sent troops to all other parts of Xinjiang for the same purpose. All the garrison reclamation points became the early settlements of the Han people after they entered Xinjiang. Since the Western Regions Frontier Command was established in 60 B.C., the inflow of the Han people to Xinjiang, including officials, soldiers and merchants, had never stopped. 

The period of the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties (220 A.D.-589 A.D.) was a period of the large-scale merging of ethnic groups in China, witnessing frequent ethnic migration across the land of China, and the entry into Xinjiang by many ancient ethnic groups, such as the Rouran (Jorjan), Gaoche, Yeda and Tuyuhun. The Rouran were descendants of the Donghu, an ancient people rising on the northern grasslands in the early fifth century. After establishing a powerful regime on the Mongolian grasslands in 402 A.D., they struggled with the Northern Wei (386-534) for domination of the Western Regions. The nomadic Gaoche, also called the Tolos or Teli, first appeared around Lake Baikal and the basins of the Orkhon and Tura rivers. In 487, Avochilo, chief of the Puwurgur tribe of the Gaoche, and his brother Qunqi led more than 100,000 families to migrate westward, and founded the state of Gaoche to the northwest of Anterior Cheshi (the ancient city of Jiaohe near modern Turpan). The Yeda, rising in the region north of the Great Wall, moved eastward to the Tarim Basin, attacked the Rouzhi in the south and set up a state in the late fifth century. They crossed the Pamirs, and once controlled part of southern Xinjiang. The Tuyuhun, originating from the ancient Xianbei people, moved westward from Liaodong (the region east of the Liaohe River in northeast China) in the early fourth century, and set up their own regime after conquering the ancient Di and Qiang peoples in the region of southern Gansu, Sichuan and Qinghai.  In the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties, the ancient Turk and Tubo peoples exerted important influences on the course of Xinjiang’s history. The Turks were ancient nomads active on the northwestern and northern grasslands of China from the sixth to the eighth centuries. Tümaen, a Turki leader, defeated the Rouran in 552, and set up a state centered in Mobei (the area north of the vast deserts on the Mongolian Plateau). The Turki realm later split into the eastern and western sides which fought ceaselessly in their scramble for the khanate. In the middle of the eighth century, both the Eastern and Western Turki khanates disappeared, their descendants being assimilated by other ethnic groups. The Tubo were the ancestors of the Tibetans, rising to notice on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the late sixth century. After occupying Qinghai, they began to vie with the Tang Dynasty for control of the Western Regions. In 755, An Lushan and Shi Siming raised a rebellion in the Central Plains, and Tang troops stationed in the Western Regions were withdrawn to battle the rebels, whereupon the Tubo took the opportunity to occupy southern Xinjiang and part of northern Xinjiang. In 840, large numbers of Uighurs (an ancient name for modern Uygurs) entered Xinjiang. The Uighur, originally called Ouigour, sprang from the ancient tribe Teli. They were first active in the Selenga and Orkhon river basins, and later moved to the north of the Tura River. In 744, the Uighur founded a khanate in Mobei, and later dispatched troops twice to help the Tang central authorities to quell the An Lushan-Shi Siming Rebellion. The Uighur Khanate collapsed in 840 because of natural disasters, internal strife and attacks by the ancient Jiegasi tribe. Consequently, most of the Uighur migrated westward. One of their sub-groups moved to the modern Jimsar and Turpan regions, where they founded the Gaochang Uighur Kingdom. Another sub-group moved to the Central Asian grasslands, scattered in areas from Central Asia to Kashi, and joined the Karluk and Yagma peoples in founding the Karahan Kingdom. After that, the Tarim Basin and its surrounding areas were under the rule of the Gaochang Uighur Kingdom and the Karahan Kingdom. The local residents were merged with the Uighurs that had moved west, thus laying the foundation for the subsequent formation of the Uygur ethnic group. In 1124, Yollig Taxin, a member of the ruling house of the Liao Dynasty (916-1125), led his people, the Khitan tribe, westward and conquered Xinjiang, where he established the kingdom of Western Liao. In the early 13th century, Genghis Khan led an expeditionary army to Xinjiang, where he granted the territories he had conquered to his children and grandchildren. The Uighurs further assimilated a portion of the Khitans and Mongolians. Oyrat was the general name used for the Mongolians in Moxi (the area west of the vast deserts on the Mongolian Plateau) in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The Oyrat first lived in scattered areas along the upper reaches of the Yenisaey River, gradually spreading to the middle reaches of the Ertix and Ili river basins. The early 17th century saw the rise among them of the Junggar, Dorbüt, Huxut and Turgut tribes. In the 1670s, the Junggar occupied the Ili River basin, becoming leader of the four tribes, and put southern Xinjiang under their control. From the 1760s on, the government of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) sent Manchu, Xibe and Suolun (Daur) troops from northeast China to Xinjiang in order to strengthen the frontier defense of the region, and they added to the ethnic mix in Xinjiang. Afterwards, Russians and Tatars migrated into Xinjiang. By the end of the 19th century, Xinjiang had 13 ethnic groups, namely, Uygur, Han, Kazak, Mongolian, Hui, Kirgiz, Manchu, Xibe, Tajik, Daur, Ozbek, Tatar and Russian. The Uygurs formed the majority, as they do today. 

As the main passageway and hub for economic and cultural exchanges between the East and the West in ancient times, Xinjiang has always been a region where a number of religions exist side by side. Before Islam was introduced into Xinjiang, there had already been believers in Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Manichaeism and Nestorianism. These religious faiths had spread to Xinjiang along the Silk Road and thrived together with the local primitive religions. After the introduction of Islam, the coexistence of diverse religions continued to be the order of the day in Xinjiang, to be joined later by Protestantism and Catholicism. 

In 60 B.C. (the second year of the Shenjue reign period of Emperor Xuandi of the Han Dynasty), the Western Regions Frontier Command was established. At about the same time, an internal disturbance occurred among the Xiongnu ruling clique, and Xian Shan, Prince Rizhu of the Xiongnu stationed in the Western Regions, led a cavalry of several ten thousand strong to pledge allegiance to the Han imperial court. The Western Han court appointed Zheng Ji as the Frontier Commander of the Western Regions, with his headquarters in Urli (in modern Luntai County), to administer over the whole region. The local chieftains and principal officials in all parts of the Western Regions all accepted official seals from the Western Han court. The establishment of the Western Regions Frontier Command indicated that the Western Han had begun to exercise state sovereignty over the Western Regions, and that Xinjiang had become a component part of the unitary multi-ethnic Chinese nation.

The government of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) appointed first a Frontier Commander, and then a Governor, of the Western Regions to continue to exercise military and political administration over all parts of the western territory both north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. In 221, the kingdom of Wei (220-265) of the Three Kingdoms Period (220-265, the other two kingdoms being Shu and Wu) inherited the Han practice, stationing a garrison commander at Gaochang (Turpan) to rule the Western Regions. Later, it also appointed a governor to administer affairs concerning the ethnic groups in the Western Regions. In the last years of the Western Jin Dynasty (265-316), Zhang Jun, founder of the Former Liang Regime (301-376), sent an expedition to the Western Regions, occupied the Gaochang area and established Gaochang Prefecture. 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, the central government strengthened its rule over Xinjiang. In the last years of the sixth century, the Sui Dynasty (581-618) unified the Central Plains.

When Emperor Yangdi (r. 604-618) ascended the throne, one of his first acts was to send Pei Ju, Vice-Minister of Personnel, to Zhangye and Wuwei to supervise trade with the Western Regions and investigate local conditions. 

In 608, troops of the Sui Dynasty occupied Yiwu (Aratürük), built a city wall there, and established the three prefectures of Shanshan (modern Ruoqiang, or Qarkilik), Qiemo (southwest of modern Qiemo) and Yiwu (within the territory of modern Hami).  In the early seventh century, the Tang Dynasty replaced the Sui. In 630, Yiwu, together with the seven cities under its jurisdiction, changed its allegiance from the Western Turks to the Tang Dynasty, which established Western Yizhou Prefecture (later Yizhou Prefecture).  In 640, Tang troops crushed a rebellion staged by the Qu ruling house (501-640) of the Gaochang Kingdom in collusion with the Turks, and established a Xizhou Prefecture in Gaochang and a Tingzhou (Bexibalik) Prefecture in Kaganbu (modern Jimsar). In the same year, the Tang court set up the Anxi Frontier Command in Gaochang. This was the first high-ranking military and administrative organ established by the Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions.Later, it was moved to Kuche, and its name was changed to the Grand Anxi Frontier Command. After defeating the Western Turks, the Tang Dynasty unified all parts of the Western Regions, and in 702 established the Beiting Frontier Command in Tingzhou (later upgraded to Grand Beiting Frontier Command) to take charge of military and administrative affairs in the north of the Tianshan Mountains and the east of Xinjiang, while the Grand Anxi Frontier Command supervised military and administrative affairs in the vast areas south of the Tianshan Mountains and west of the Congling Mountain Range. 

Emperor Xuanzong (r. 712-756) of the Tang Dynasty established a Qixi Military Governorship to supervise both frontier commands. Qixi was one of the eight major military governorships at that time in the country. The Tang central government instituted a system of separate administrations for the Han and the people of the other ethnic groups in the Western Regions. That is, it adopted the same administrative system of prefecture, sub-prefecture, county, township and li (neighborhood or village) as in the inland areas in Yizhou, Xizhou and Tingzhou, where most Han were concentrated. In addition, the equal-field system (the farmland system of the Tang Dynasty) and taxation system of payment in kind and labor were adopted, as well as the system of prefectural military commands. In the areas inhabited by other ethnic groups, the Tang rulers governed through the traditional chiefs and headmen, who were granted civil and military titles but allowed to manage local affairs according to their own customs. At the same time, the central government stationed garrisons in Qiuci, Yutian, Shule and Suiye (or Suyab, formerly Yanqi), which were known as the “four garrison commands of Anxi.”

Internal strife in the Central Plains during the Five Dynasties period, and the Song, Liao and Jin dynasties distracted the attention of rulers of the Central Plains from the Western Regions, resulting in several local regimes existing side by side in the Western Regions. The local governments of Gaochang, Karahan and Yutian exercised a great degree of autonomy, but they all maintained close ties with the ruling dynasties in the Central Plains. The Gaochang and Karahan were local regimes established by the Uighurs, who had moved west to the Western Regions together with other Turki-speaking tribes after the Mobei Uighur Khanate collapsed in 840. The Gaochang had the Turpan area as its center while the Karahan controlled the vast areas south of the Tianshan Mountains and Hezhong (Samarkand) in Central Asia. The Uighur local regimes had very close relations with the ruling dynasties in the Central Plains. The ruler of the Karahan Kingdom called himself the “Peach Stone Khan,” meaning “Chinese Khan,” to indicate that he was a Chinese subject. In 1009, after occupying Yutian, Karahan sent envoys with tribute to the emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). In 1063, the Northern Song conferred upon the ruler of Karahan the title of “King of Sworn Allegiance.” In the third year after the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Gaochang Uighurs sent 42 envoys bearing tribute to the Northern Song court.

Yutian was the habitat of the Sai people. In recognition of its maintaining close ties with the Central Plains, the Tang Dynasty conferred an official title on the ruling clan of Yutian, which then changed its surname from Yuchi to Li, the surname of the Tang ruling house. In 938, Emperor Gaozu of the Later Jin Dynasty sent Zhang Kuangye and Gao Juhui to Yutian as envoys to confer on Li Shengtian, Yutian’s ruler, the title of “King of the Great Treasure Yutian State.” In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, envoys and monks from Yutian brought tribute to the Song Dynasty court from time to time. The founder of the Yuan Dynasty, Genghis Khan, completed the political unification of the regions north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. He first set up military and administrative organs like “Dargaq” (a Mongolian official title, meaning “garrison officer”) and “Bexibalik Secretariat” to take charge of the military and administrative affairs of the Western Regions. After the Yuan Dynasty was proclaimed, while giving attention to socio-economic development in the Western Regions, it appointed a judicial commissioner in the Turpan region. Later, a treasury and printing house for banknotes were established there, together with a Bexibalik Command to administer the Turpan area, which was garrisoned by soldiers of the vanquished Southern Song Dynasty army, who were also there to open up wasteland. At the same time, the Yuan court sent soldiers to Hotan and Qiemo for garrison and reclamation duties, set up a foundry in Bexibalik to make farm tools, and instituted a land tax system in the Uighur areas.

In 1406, the Ming Dynasty set up a Hami Garrison Command, and appointed the heads of the leading families in Hami as officials to manage local military and administrative affairs, so as to keep the trade routes to the West open and bring the other areas of the Western Regions under its control.The Qing government consolidated unified jurisdiction over the Western Regions. In 1757, the Qing imperial court crushed the long-standing Junggar separatist regime in the Northwest. Two years later, it quelled a rebellion launched by the Islamic Aktaglik Sect leaders Burhanidin and Hojajahan, thus consolidating its military and administrative jurisdiction over all parts of the Western Regions.

The post of Ili General was established in 1762 to exercise unified military and administrative jurisdiction over the regions both south and north of the Tianshan Mountains, with the headquarters in Huiyuan (in modern Huocheng County) and staffed with officials like supervisors, consultants, superintendents and commissioners. In accordance with the principle of “doing what is appropriate in the light of local conditions” and “exercising administration according to local customs,” the Qing government adopted the system of prefectures and counties in the region north of the Tianshan Mountains inhabited by people of the Han and Hui ethnic groups, and maintained the local “Baeg system” (a Turki term for local officials) for the Uygurs in the Ili region and the region south of the Tianshan Mountains. Even in the latter region, however, the central government reserved the power to make official appointments and removals with the strict separation of religion from politics. It adopted the system of “Jasak” (a Mongolian term for governor) by conferring the hereditary titles of princes and dukes on Mongolians and the Uygurs in the Hami and Turpan regions. It also recruited officials from other ethnic groups besides the Manchus.  In economic affairs, the Qing promoted the simultaneous development of farming and livestock breeding, with the emphasis on farming. It also reduced taxes and fixed quotas for financial subsidies. Xinjiang witnessed steady social and economic development under the Qing Dynasty. Following the Opium War of 1840, Xinjiang was subject to aggression from Tsarist Russia and other powers. In 1875, Zuo Zongtang, governor-general of Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, was appointed imperial commissioner to supervise the affairs of Xinjiang. By the end of 1877, Qing troops had recovered the areas north and south of the Tianshan Mountains which had been occupied by Yakubbae of Central Asia’s Kokand Khanate (Fergana). In February 1881, the Qing government recovered Ili, which had been forcibly occupied by Tsarist Russia for 11 years.   In 1884, it formally established a province in the Western Regions and renamed the area as Xinjiang (meaning “old territory returned to the motherland”). The establishment of Xinjiang as a province was a significant reform, on the part of the Qing government, of the administration of Xinjiang by the previous dynasties.  

From then on, the provincial governor oversaw all military and administrative affairs in Xinjiang, and the military and administrative center of Xinjiang was moved from Ili to Dihua (modern Urumqi). By 1909, under the jurisdiction of Xinjiang Province were 4 dao (circuit), under which were 6 prefectures, 10 ting (sub-circuits), 3 sub-prefectures and 21 counties or sub-counties. The administrative organization in Xinjiang was exactly the same as in the inland areas. In the year following the Revolution of 1911, insurrectionary revolutionaries in Xinjiang set up the New Ili Grand Military Government, marking the end of the political rule of the Qing Dynasty in the Ili region. After the Republic of China was founded, it constantly strengthened the defense of Xinjiang. Xinjiang was peacefully liberated on September 25, 1949. As the liberation struggle gained momentum across the country and the revolutionary struggle of the people of all ethnic groups surged forward in Xinjiang, Tao Zhiyue, Garrison Commander of Xinjiang, and Burhan, Chairman of the Xinjiang Provincial Government, renounced their allegiance to the Kuomintang and welcomed in the First Army Group of the First Field Army of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), led by General Wang Zhen. The people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang greeted the founding of the People’s Republic of China together with the rest of the Chinese people on October 1, 1949.

To sum up, since the Han Dynasty established the Western Regions Frontier Command in Xinjiang in 60 B.C., the Chinese central governments of all historical periods exercised military and administrative jurisdiction over Xinjiang. The jurisdiction of the central governments over the Xinjiang region was at times strong and at other times weak, depending on the stability of the period. The people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang actively safeguarded their relations with the central governments, thus making their own contributions to the formation and consolidation of the great family of the Chinese nation. The term “Turkistan” appeared in Arabic geographical works in the Middle Ages. It meant “the region of the Turks” and referred to the areas north of the Sir River in Central Asia and the adjoining areas to the east of the river. With the evolution of history, the modern ethnic groups in Central Asia were established one after another. By the 18th century, the geographical concept of “Turkistan” was already very vague, and almost nobody used it again in the historical records of the time.

copyright: xinhuanet