Review
Rudelson has done a wonderful job of providing
an overview of the issues that confront Uyghur
intellectuals over the meaning and use of
history.
Product Description
This text explores the history, culture,
politics and geography of the oasis communities
of China's far northwestern province, Xinjiang,
seeking to shed light on the competing ideas,
symbols and allegiances that make up the
diverging identities of the Uyghurs - the
region's Turkic Muslim inhabitants. Drawing upon
fieldwork in the Xinjiang oasis of Turpan, the
book assesses the factors that undermine the
creation of a pan-Uyghur identity. It explains
the historical and contemporary impact of such
factors as the geography of the region; the
fragmented visions and cross-cutting allegiances
of intellectuals, peasants, and merchants; and
the inability of the Uyghur elite who spearhead
the nationalist movement to transcend their own
provincialism, thereby endendering rival oasis
identities and suberting ethnic unity.
2.0 out of 5 starsFull Picture Doesn't Come
by Visiting Two Uyghur
Cities., Sep 2
1999
By A Customer
I am a Uyghur. My comment is:
this is not a good book on
Uyghurs. I haven't found it too
helpful to really understand
Uyghur nationalism and the
Uyghur oasis identity in
general.
Rudelson's interpretation of
Uyghur history and the roots of
Uyghur nationalism are very
shallow. I can say this book
fails to give the reader a clear
picture who the true Uyghur
people are and why they are
fighting against the Chinese
government.
Rudelson has translated the
famous Uyghur nationalistic
poems such as "Oyghan" by
Abduhaliq Uyghuri, and "Iz" by
Abdureyim Otkur. However, he did
not really understand the hidden
meaning in these poems. His
interpretation of these poems is
quite on the opposite to the
original meaning contained in
these great poems. There is also
a lot of negative elements in
his book. But the most
distasteful one, I believe, is
he associated Uyghurs with Nazi
ideology. He identified Uyghurs
as more pro-Hitler without any
proof. Historically, Uyghur
haven't had any direct contact
with the Jews.
The solutions he has offered
to the current Uyghur problem
are: 1. Uyghurs will be crushed
if they are against the Chinese
state; 2. So, Uyghurs should
take up their historic role of
middle-men or intermediaries in
Central Asia by cooperating with
the Chinese state. His solutions
sound to me: 1. Shut up
grumbling about your sufferings
under the Chinese rule. It is
not a big deal. Better forget it
since you can't do anything
about it; 2. Be happy as a
second-class citizen in China.
You can't be anything more than
that. Serve your Chinese master
and benifit his business with
all your heart.
His analysis of contemporary
Uyghur society is quite obscure.
He said, Uyghurs have oasis
identities such as Urumchilik,
Kashgarlik, Turpanlik, and
Hotanlik etc. which, in my
opinion, is kind of true, though
I have never heard of the word
"oasis identity" before reading
this book. He claims that
Uyghurs are more into these
identities than being Uyghur.
Some people put their oasis
identities above the identity of
being Uyghur. This, from my
point of view, is basically
fabrication. Even though some
religious Uyghurs may
unconsciously mix Uyghur=Muslim
and Muslim=Uyghur identities .
But they never and ever mix
Kargharlik, Turpanlik...with the
very identity of their nation-Uyghur.
The only thing I kind of
approve in his book is his
explanation of the intricate
relationship between Uyghur
intellectuals and pesants. He
said, Uyghur intellectuals are
very secular and Uyghur peasants
are very religious. Uyghur
intellectuals have failed to
relate their ideas and
ideologies to the Uyghur
peasantry in most cases.
Therefore, there is a big gap
remaining in-between. There is
nothing unique to relate them
and unite them together for now.
I believe this is crucially
important for the Uyghurs to
find something to relate.
5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent for reference,
and perfect to take along as
well, Oct 5 2000
By A Customer
I was inspired to write this
review after reading previous
reviews and considering them
incomplete. As a foreigner who
lives in Beijing and travels to
XJ as often as possible, I found
this book incredibly helpful. I
have taken it with me a few
times to XJ, and re-read
portions as tweaked by
conversations and observations
of my own. It explains many
things that confused me, such as
attitudes and prejudices that
exist in the Uighurs that I
know, and illuminates possible
reasons for their actions and
comments. Most Uighurs do not
have the luxury of considering
why they believe certain things,
or the time to sift through
their upbringing to track down
an idea to its source. Mr.
Rudelson attempts this, and does
an admirable job. I am envious
that he had time and opportunity
to live with the Uighurs in
Turpan, and learnt the language
well enough to socialise.
Without wanting to get bogged
down in specific details that
are not the focus of the book, I
note that I too have been
surprised when Uighurs voiced
appreciation for Hitler, usually
in the form of wry commentary
when watching films set in WWII.
It's not a question of
associating Uighurs with Nazi
ideology, but rather (as Mr.
Rudelson says) a variation of
'the enemy of my enemy is my
friend' logic. The author
himself points out that these
sentiments are unlikely to be
anti-Jewish, just anti-Han
Chinese.
It is key to remember that
Mr. Rudelson did field research
for social anthropology. His
book, while touching on the
political issues that always
accompany a modern book on this
area of the world, is not meant
to offer solutions or even
examine these complex issues in
detail. It is an attempt to
analyse and draw out how Uighurs
view themselves from a local
perspective and in the larger
context of Chinese nationality.
The fact that Mr. Rudelson's
research topic seems so basic to
readers familiar with XJ and the
Uighurs shows how much more
research is necessary for even a
reasonably accurate portrait.
The approach is academic, and
as such, the author considers
multiple viewpoints and
interpretations, which is key to
deconstructing complex issues.
There are no absolute answers
offered, nor can there be, as
anthropologists work with
people, not mathematical
formulas. The evidence, in the
form of answers from interviews
with Uighurs, is presented, and
then a possible theory is
developed. It is clear that Mr.
Rudelson has unique and deep
sympathy with Uighurs, but he
manages quite well to maintain
his perspective without allowing
his feelings to cloud either his
judgement or the issues. Nor
does the discussion become
overly academic -- this book is
great for an educated but non-specialised
reader.
It would be considerably more
difficult to do this research
today, not least because of
"fundamentalist" Islamic ideas
creeping in via trade and
contact with Pakistan,
Afghanistan and the 'stans
[Kazak / Kyrgyz & Uzbek Ferghana
Valley]. The attempts of other
Central Asian intellectuals to
research identity building are
not debated or discussed for
appropriateness, and thus not
allowed to compete and fail on
their own in the marketplace of
ideas. Anything that is tarred
with charges of
"fundamentalism", which covers
just about anything related to
Islam in the eyes of the
government, is thus starved of
the oxygen of public debate.
Also, even if something is
unrelated to Islam, controls on
speech, music and poetry
content, and public opinion that
are more strict than other
Chinese provinces ensure that
ideas are restricted much more
so than 10 years ago.
Mr. Rudelson was the first to
attempt this type of research,
and due to political
considerations, there have been
no foreigners allowed back
since. This book is
ground-breaking simply for that
reason alone, but happily it
goes beyond that in terms of
applicability and usefulness to
the China watcher and traveler
alike. I cannot recommend it
strongly enough for anyone who
is interested in this
fascinatingly complex border
area between Central Asia and
China.
Anyone that has spent any time
in China is well aware of the
Uyghurs. Their light skin,
mustaches and height cause any
foreigner to turn their head on
the streets of Beijing or
Shanghai. Who are they? Rudelson
answers this question well.
"Free Tibet" stickers can be
found on the back of cars all
over the US. Why no "Free East
Turkistan"?
The Uyghurs are the most
persecuted people in China, yet
few know of their plight. Unlike
the Tibetans with a more unified
Buddhist-centered culture, the
Uyghurs are incredibly diverse.
Are the Uyghurs a pan-Chinese
minority? Are they Muslim
seperatists? Are they
non-nomadic city-focused
Turkic-speaking secular
nationalists? Do the Uyghurs
even know?
Rudelson starts us on our
complicated journey down the
Silk Road.
