I should also encourage readers to visit the autonomous region blog, which I am always satisfied reading.

Citation: Jacobs, Justin. “The Many Deaths of a Kazak Unaligned: Osman Batur, Chinese Decolonization, and the Nationalization of a Nomad.” American Historical Review 115, no. 5 (December 2010): 1291-1314.

See also:

• Bandit Suppression in Xinjiang.
• Unlikely Immigrants: Xinjiang White Russians in the United States
• Douglas Mackiernan, Osman Batur, and the ‘Kazakh Exodus’

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 12,000 times in 2010. That’s about 29 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 39 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 74 posts. There were 434 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 75mb. That’s about 1 pictures per day.

The busiest day of the year was November 5th with 239 views. The most popular post that day was Unlikely Immigrants: Xinjiang White Russians in the United States.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were danwei.org, twitter.com, farwestchina.com, facebook.com, and Google Reader.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for ufo sightings, ufo, douglas mackiernan, deng liqun, and bombed town.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

Unlikely Immigrants: Xinjiang White Russians in the United States November 2010
3 comments

UFO Sightings in Xinjiang are Old News July 2010

Douglas Mackiernan, Osman Batur, and the ‘Kazakh Exodus’ March 2010
8 comments

Images of North Korea (Continued) (1940s/1950s) September 2009
2 comments

Twentieth Century Xinjiang Bibliography March 2010
6 comments

Troops in Kashgar ready to engage in production, 1950

A soldier doing land reclamation sometime during the 1950s

The 12th Regiment of the 2nd Division

Tilling the land, March 1950

Soldiers manufacturing farm tools

Soldiers weaving baskets

Building a sleigh to move goods

Solderis reclaiming wasteland

The 2nd Army 5th Division building a ditch, 1952

Young women working on a farm in the 1950s

Another shot of young women in the early 1950s

A hut turned rudimentary office

Clay barracks for the bingtuan

An early "nest" for the bingtuan

Returning "home" after a long day's work

Another "nest" for the bingtuan in the early 1950s

Female comrades washing clothes, winter 1952

A building constructed in 1951

All photos courtesy of a Tianya.cn BBS. See the original post and more photos here.

A Bingtuan farm in the 1960s

Another view of a Bingtuan farm in the 1960s

A meeting for women at a reclamation site in Yili

An auditorium in Yili built by the 5th Army (formerly the Yili National Army)

Zhu De visits Aksu on September 18, 1958

A studious Tao Zhiyue

Women from Shandong who relocated to Shihezi in 1954

Wang Zhen visiting a school in 1960

The children of the bingtuan in the 1950s

A building in Shihezi in the mid-1950s

A theater in Shihezi in the 1960s

Photos above courtesy of ‘Window into Xinjiang’ (新疆之窗). See the original page and more photos here.

During land reform, a deed for a plot of land is given to a peasant in Shule County, Kashgar

Burning the deeds for land formerly owned by landlords

Redistributing livestock to Uyghur peasants during land reform

A land reform work team discusses the campaign with peasants

Celebrating land reform

All photos courtesy of the Xinjiang bingtuan. See the original page here.

Land reform

The Kashgar Women's Federation, established on March 8, 1950

Punishing a landlord

Receiving livestock during land reform

Excitement abounds during land reform

A peasant receives a horse during land reform

All images courtesy of Toghrulbeg. See the original site here.

The PLA is welcomed to Kashgar by local crowds on December 1, 1949

A close up of the December 1, 1949, welcoming

Voting for cadres to lead a newly established Peasant Association

Workers from Shache, June 1952

Post-land reform, 1954

Celebrating the founding of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region

All photos courtesy of wlmqwb.com. See the original page with more photos here.

Arresting a bandit in Urumqi, autumn 1950

Chinese soldiers on the move

A Bandit Suppression Unit eats lunch with local Kazakh herdsmen

Ren Shutian, Commander of the 16th Division 46th Regiment, eats flat bread with his troops

Kazakh herdsmen give directions to cavalry units

Commander Luo Yuanfa

Luo Shaowei and Hu Qingshan, two soldiers who died during bandit suppression

A memorial for Luo Shaowei

Osman Batur, who was caught by the PLA in February 1951

The public execution of Osman Batur and others in Urumqi, April 29, 1951

All photos courtesy of Halamasi.com. View the original story in Chinese here.

See also:

• Unlikely Immigrants: Xinjiang White Russians in the United States
• Douglas Mackiernan, Osman Batur, and the ‘Kazakh Exodus’
• J. Hall Paxton and Xinjiang Refugees

Charles Kraus. “Creating a Soviet ‘Semi-Colony’? Sino-Soviet Cooperation and its Demise in Xinjiang, 1949-1955.” The Chinese Historical Review 17, no.2 (Fall 2010): 129-165:

Abstract: This paper uses published policy directives and memoirs from Chinese leaders to argue that the Chinese Communist Party, rather than Stalin, prompted the creation of two Sino-Soviet joint ventures in Xinjiang in 1950. Although minor problems arose during the negotiations for these joint ventures, the Chinese never opposed their creation. Only after the Soviet Union abused their privileged position in Xinjiang did the Chinese grow tired of Sino-Soviet cooperation, leading to the dissolution of the joint ventures in 1955. The paper is intended to clear the way for a more Sinocentric discussion of Sino-Soviet relations in Xinjiang from 1949-1955.

For more than half a century many Uyghurs, members of a Muslim minority in northwestern China, have sought to achieve greater autonomy or outright independence. Yet the Chinese government has consistently resisted these efforts, countering with repression and a sophisticated strategy of state-sanctioned propaganda emphasizing interethnic harmony and Chinese nationalism. After decades of struggle, Uyghurs remain passionate about establishing and expanding their power within government, and China’s leaders continue to push back, refusing to concede any physical or political ground.

Beginning with the history of Xinjiang and its unique population of Chinese Muslims, Gardner Bovingdon follows fifty years of Uyghur discontent, particularly the development of individual and collective acts of resistance since 1949, as well as the role of various transnational organizations in cultivating dissent. Bovingdon’s work provides fresh insight into the practices of nation building and nation challenging, not only in relation to Xinjiang but also in reference to other regions of conflict. His work highlights the influence of international institutions on growing regional autonomy and underscores the role of representation in nationalist politics, as well as the local, regional, and global implications of the “war on terror” on antistate movements. While both the Chinese state and foreign analysts have portrayed Uyghur activists as Muslim terrorists, situating them within global terrorist networks, Bovingdon argues that these assumptions are flawed, drawing a clear line between Islamist ideology and Uyghur nationhood.

Price: $45.00
Binding/Format: Hardback
ISBN: 978-0-231-14758-3
Publish Date: August 2010
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Pages: 304 pages

Publisher’s website: Columbia University Press

Recast All Under Heaven: Revolution, War, Diplomacy, and Frontier China in the 20th Century by Xiaoyuan Liu:

In applying the two interpretative themes of “frontier” and “ethnicity”, the book examines the externalization from and internalization to China by a number of the tributary affiliates and outlying territories of the by-gone Qing Empire (e.g., Korea, Vietnam, “Outer” and Inner Mongolia, Tibet, and Xinjiang).  The historical developments dissected here are certain overlooked aspects of the otherwise well-scrutinized international history of 20th-century East Asia.  These helped transform the territorial domain and ethnic composition of the Chinese state from “imperial” to “national”.

The book is unique in blending analyses of “domestic” and “international” developments involved in China’s modern reincarnation, and in providing an integral narrative that links historical themes pertinent to the eastern and western halves of China.  While the frontier characteristics of the Chinese state in the pre-industrial age are not news to the field of China studies, this is the first study contending that “frontier China” has remained a fitting characterization of the rising Asian giant.

Price: $120.00 / $34.95
Binding/Format: Hardback and paperback
ISBN: 978-1-441-16220-5
Publish Date:  August 12 2010
Imprint: Contiuum
Pages: 267 pages

Publisher’s website: Continuum

Modern China’s Ethnic Frontiers: A Journey to the West by Hsiao-ting Lin:

The purpose of this book is to examine the strategies and practices of the Han Chinese Nationalists vis-à-vis post-Qing China’s ethnic minorities, as well as to explore the role they played in the formation of contemporary China’s Central Asian frontier territoriality and border security.

The Chinese Revolution of 1911, initiated by Sun Yat-sen, liberated the Han Chinese from the rule of the Manchus and ended the Qing dynastic order that had existed for centuries. With the collapse of the Qing dynasty, the Mongols and the Tibetans, who had been dominated by the Manchus, took advantage of the revolution and declared their independence. Under the leadership of Yuan Shikai, the new Chinese Republican government in Peking in turn proclaimed the similar “five-nationality Republic” proposed by the Revolutionaries as a model with which to sustain the deteriorating Qing territorial order. The shifting politics of the multi-ethnic state during the regime transition and the role those politics played in defining the identity of the modern Chinese state were issues that would haunt the new Chinese Republic from its inception to its downfall.

Modern China’s Ethnic Frontiers will be of interest to students and scholars of Chinese history, Asian history and modern history.

Price: $125.00
Binding/Format: Hardback
ISBN: 978-0-415-58264-3
Publish Date: August 3rd 2010
Imprint:  Routledge
Pages: 224 pages

Publisher’s website: Routledge

Muslims on the Edge of China: Religious Knowledge and Authority Amongst the Uyghurs of Xinjiang by Edmund Waite:

The vast desert region dividing China from Central Asia, now known officially as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), has gained considerable international profile in recent years as an area that combines geo-political and economic significance with ethnic and religious sensitivity. The focus on Xinjiang’s key role as a “crossroads of trade” following the opening up of borders with neighbouring states has been accompanied by growing interest in continued ethnic unrest on the part of the Muslim Turkic-speaking Uyghurs. In recent years, Chinese government authorities have sought to depict Uyghur separatist activity as being linked to “illegal religious activities” and religious extremism and have accelerated efforts to bring religious activity under the auspices of state control. In the post-9/11 context, the Chinese authorities have explicitly linked their struggle against Uyghur separatism to the global “war on terror”, prompting accusations that China is deliberately using the current international climate to justify a clampdown on civil and religious liberties.

This book fills a gap in the literature by offering a detailed understanding of how Islam is enacted on the ground. Based on long-term anthropological fieldwork, the author explores the interplay between state policies and the enactment of religion at the local level. The book thus analyses the complex connection between state efforts to co-opt, supervise and repress certain modes of religion and the emergence of new religious ideologies seeking to establish more “orthodox” forms of religious conduct, whose priorities sometimes correspond but more usually conflict with this wider state agenda. The book furthers the readers’ knowledge of the religion in the region. It will be of interest to scholars of Chinese and Islamic studies as well as to political scientists.

Price: ???
Binding/Format: Harback
ISBN: 978-0-415-48074-1
Publish Date: September 1 2010
Imprint: Routledge
Pages: 208 pages

Amazon.com page: Muslims on the Edge of China

There are also several books about Xinjiang which are going to be published in 2011. I thought I’d highlight the new releases in advance:

The Tree That Bleeds- A Uighur Town on the Edge by Nick Holdstock:

The Tree That Bleeds relates the moving story of the Uighurs, a muslim ethnic minority in western China. Like the Tibetans, they speak their own language and have a long history of resentment against the Chinese government. In Febuary 1997 there was a large protest in Yining city between Uighurs and the police that led to many deaths, thousands of arrests, and the imposition of martial law. At the time, no Western news agencies were permitted access to the area, which meant that the only accounts of the violence were from highly biased sources.

The book describes the time the author spent in the region, and offers fresh insights into the ways in which the Chinese government tries to exert its authority on the lives of Uighur people. Controversial and compassionate, it is a fascinating portrait of a town divided by prejudice and resentment, which provides an invaluable context for anyone hoping to understand the recent riots in Urumqi and the changing face of China as it emerges into the modern world.

Price: £9.99
Binding/Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-906-81764-0
Publish Date: February 1st 2011
Imprint: Luath
Pages: 256 pages

Publisher’s website: Luath Press Limited
See also: Nick Holdstock’s WordPress

Xinjiang and China’s Rise in Central Asia, 1949-2009: A History by Michael E. Clarke:

The recent conflict between indigenous Uyghurs and Han Chinese demonstrates that Xinjiang is a major trouble spot for China, with Uyghur demands for increased autonomy, and where Beijing’s policy is to more firmly integrate the province within China. This book provides an account of how China’s evolving integrationist policies in Xinjiang have influenced its foreign policy in Central Asia since the establishment of the People’s Republic in 1949, and how the policy of integration is related to China’s concern for security and its pursuit of increased power and influence in Central Asia.

The book traces the development of Xinjiang – from the collapse of the Qing empire in the early twentieth century to the present – and argues that there is a largely complementary relationship between China’s Xinjiang, Central Asia and grand strategy-derived interests. This pattern of interests informs and shapes China’s diplomacy in Central Asia and its approach to the governance of Xinjiang. Michael E. Clarke shows how China’s concerns and policies, although pursued with vigour in recent decades, are of long-standing, and how domestic problems and policies in Xinjiang have for a long time been closely bound up with wider international relations issues.

Price: $140.00
Binding/Format: Hardback
ISBN: 978-0-415-58456-2
Publish Date: March 9th 2011
Imprint: Routledge
Pages: 224 pages

Publisher’s website: Routledge

Xinjiang and the Expansion of Chinese Communist Power: Kashghar in the Twentieth Century by Michael Dillon:

Xinjiang, China’s far northwestern province where the majority of the population are Muslim Uighurs, 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 Kashghar, 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 Uighurs lived their everyday lives before the communist takeover, and how their everyday lives were profoundly affected by the communist takeover. Subjects covered by the book include work, government, the built environment, religion, culture and politics.

Price: $140.00
Binding/Format: Hardback
ISBN: 978-0-415-58443-2
Publish Date: July 31st 2011
Imprint: Routledge
Pages: 256 pages

Publisher’s website: Routledge

*If I have neglected to mention any recent or upcoming publications, please feel free to leave a comment and I will update the list.