A Land of Strangers: The Qing Empire's Civilization Project in Xinjiang

Land of Strangers: The Civilizing Project in Qing Central Asia

★★This book won the 2021 John Fairbank Prize of the American Historical Association★★
★★The world's only Chinese translation, exclusively including the Chinese version's author's preface★★

The first major work to explore the clash of civilizations in modern Xinjiang from Chagatai archives. From Muslim East Turkestan to Qing Empire's Xinjiang Province, how the Confucian ideal society pursued by late Qing Chinese conquerors destroyed the daily lives of Muslims and Han Chinese in Xinjiang.
"A Strange Land is a remarkable book, richly documented and brilliantly analyzed, filled with unforgettable detail and featuring a cast of little-known historical figures." —Mei Erqing, author of The Restless Dead: Violence, Disorder, and Death in the Taiping Rebellion
By cross-referencing multilingual historical materials, the author of this book explains the ideological origins and political context behind the educational program promoted by the Hunan Army Group. Through archival records of Han soldiers, Turkic Muslims, and Hui people, he restores a true picture of modern Xinjiang society.

"A Land of Strangers: The Qing Imperial Civilization Project in Xinjiang" describes the reconquest of Xinjiang by the Hunan Army during the late 19th century. The army attempted to transform this "foreign land" with Confucian ideals, converting Muslims into Han Chinese. However, this civilization project had profound consequences for the local people's sense of identity—including isolation, inequality, and violence—ultimately fueling the formation of a local ethnic consciousness known as "East Turkestan."

First, this book breaks away from traditional official narratives and, through the perspectives of Han soldiers, Turkic Muslims, and women, presents a realistic picture of social life in modern Xinjiang, encompassing marriage, family, and religious practices. The book argues that language and cultural barriers, rather than religion, are the core causes of ethnic conflict. While the official government attempts mediation and integration through translators such as "tongshi," these efforts often result in deeper and more intense conflict rather than smooth integration.

Furthermore, this book deeply explores the network of the Xiang Army led by Zuo Zongtang. Combining official documents with miscellaneous historical records, it reveals how the complex political interactions between the Xiang Army and the Qing imperial central government influenced the development and changes of Xinjiang society in the late Qing Dynasty. Behind the Xiang Army's actions lies a deeper Chinese cultural context—the guiding principle of Jingshi philosophy. Furthermore, this book further analyzes the Xiang Army's governing philosophy, revealing how, as the Xiang Army implemented Jingshi philosophy in Xinjiang, its Confucian-centered assimilation policy gradually shifted towards colonialism.

The book's greatest strength lies in its adoption of a New Qing History perspective and historical anthropology to compare the Hunan Army's civicization program with the "civilizing mission" of contemporary European colonialism. This comparison not only breaks with the historical narrative's focus on the imperial core but also reexamines the often-implicit relationship between periphery and core in Chinese history from a periphery perspective. This perspective not only enables readers to gain a deeper understanding of the profound changes in Xinjiang's history but also reinterprets the modern context of Chinese history.

This book argues that while many scholars focus on analyzing the nationalist appeals of contemporary Xinjiang conflict, the process of identity formation is highly complex, involving not only nationalism but also class and religious factors. The Hunan Army's indoctrination program created new social structures and discourses, prompting Muslim communities to begin expressing their own identities and leading to resistance to the rulers. Understanding the shifting identities of Xinjiang society during the late Qing Dynasty is crucial for explaining contemporary Xinjiang conditions.

Features of this book
A seismic shift in identity! At the end of the 19th century, the Qing Empire, having reconquered Xinjiang, attempted to transform Muslim society through Confucian ideals. This book reveals the profound impact of the clash between Confucianism and Islam, revealing the social divisions and inequalities engendered by violence and discipline that continue to resonate today.

Confucianism and Turkic Muslims: Muslim communities in Central Asia have practiced Islam and spoken Turkic languages ​​since the Yuan Dynasty. However, reformist programs led by Confucian intellectuals, attempting to transform Muslim societies, have led to cultural conflict, social inequality, and daily violence.

Transformation of Identity: Muslims who experienced the assimilation period of the late Qing Dynasty, in the process of resisting external recognition and redefining their own identities, gradually established the myth of common ancestry, which became the starting point of the later East Turkestan independence movement.

The Origins of Contemporary Conflict: "A Stranger's Land" not only presents key changes in modern Xinjiang society, but also reveals that the core of ethnic conflict is not differences in religion or morality, but rather the issue of imperial rule and violence on the border. This is crucial for understanding the current situation in Xinjiang.

Recommended Articles
Kong Lingwei | Assistant Research Fellow, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica | Shi Jianyu | Associate Research Fellow, Institute of National Security, National Institute for Defense Security Studies | Kumagura Jun | Associate Professor, Department of International Politics, Faculty of Law, Hosei University, Japan
Good reviews and recommendations
Bao Xiuping | Assistant Professor, Department of History, Jinan University; Kong Lingwei | Research Assistant, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica; Shi Jianyu | Associate Research Fellow, Institute of National Security, National Institute for National Defense Security Studies; Zhang Zhongfu | Former Head, Department of Ethnology, National Chengchi University; Chen Guodong | Research Fellow, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica; Yang Haiying | Professor, Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, Shizuoka University; Joshua Freeman | Research Assistant, Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica; Cai Weijie | Assistant Professor, Department of History, National Chung Cheng University; Kumakura Jun | Associate Professor, Department of International Politics, Faculty of Law, Hosei University, Japan (Listed in alphabetical order)

"Xu Linjun is an expert at collecting, reading, and translating difficult and valuable materials. He provides us with a window into the society of the frontier in the late 19th century. A Stranger's Land is a remarkable book, built on rich historical sources and brilliant analysis, filled with unforgettable details and featuring a group of little-known historical figures."
—Tobie Meyer-Fong, author of The Restless Dead: Violence, Disorder, and Death in the Taiping Rebellion
"Xu Linjun combines his astonishing linguistic skills with extensive archival research and conceptual analysis to present a vivid picture of social life and everyday life in Turpan during the Qing Dynasty. Stranger Land is not only a meticulous historical record but also a remarkable scholarly achievement."
—Adeeb Khalid, author of Making Uzbekistan: State, Empire, and Revolution in the Early Soviet Union
"Through this rich exploration of the theories and practices of Qing colonial rule, we see how violence and discipline persistently shaped group identities in Xinjiang. Author Xu Linjun uses her rich multilingual tools to comb through diaries, monuments, and court documents to reveal the everyday interactions between Han Chinese and their intermediaries on the one hand, and Uyghurs who were colonized on the other, during the colonial process in late Qing Xinjiang."—Marianne Kamp, author of Uzbek New Women: Unveiling Islam, Modernity, and Communism on the Other Side
"In this excellent monograph, Xu Linjun describes how the identity boundaries of ordinary people in Xinjiang were shaped during the late Qing Dynasty. Drawing on a variety of sources from Turkic, Manchurian, and Chinese sources in Turpan, he introduces local elites, Confucian officials from Hunan, local multilingual interpreters, and Chinese-speaking Muslims. His narrative vividly depicts the complex relationship between cultural conflict, identity, gender ideology, and colonial discipline, and resonates skillfully and persuasively with today's realities." - Jonathan N. Lipman, author of Familiar Strangers: A History of Muslims in Northwest China
“Writing a ‘bottom-up history’ of any period is no easy task, but ‘A Strange Land’ is an outstanding example. It offers provocative insights into the history of modern China and Central Asia.” —Wang Yuanchong, Associate Professor of History, University of Delaware
"Understanding the Confucian education project carried out by the Hunan Army in Xinjiang during the late Qing Dynasty 150 years ago provides valuable insights into how the modern Chinese government governs Xinjiang." - Asian Review of Books

"With a unique historical perspective and drawing on a wealth of historical materials, including local texts in the Old Uyghur language (Chagatai), the author re-examines the legitimacy and contradictions of the Qing court's renewed efforts to civilize this lost and then regained foreign land in the name of "enlightenment" after the Muslim anti-Qing uprising in Xinjiang in the late Qing Dynasty. This seemingly new but actually old measure, ostensibly a departure from the traditional model of "aftermath" after suppressing Muslim rebellions, actually further highlights the complexity and paradox of the symbiotic relationship between the Confucian concept of governance in the Central Plains and the Turkic Islamic society in Central Asia. Although this book focuses on history, it has considerable reference value for understanding the current precarious situation in Xinjiang." - Zhang Zhongfu, former head of the Department of Ethnology at National Chengchi University
"When Xinjiang was established as a province in the late Qing Dynasty, it was named "Gansu Xinjiang Province"; when Taiwan was established as a province, it was first called "Fujian Taiwan Province." Xinjiang and Taiwan are quite far apart, but the two places have many similarities or similarities. Therefore, reading about Xinjiang can bring us far more significance than Xinjiang itself. After Qianlong incorporated Xinjiang into his territory, he often sent people who were to be exiled to Xinjiang. These people were often high-ranking officials or wealthy businessmen, so the cultural factors of the Han people had been planted before Zuo Zongtang re-established Xinjiang. This book focuses on the various events after the "Xinjiang Hui Change", especially the strong introduction of Han culture, which is quite meaningful." - Chen Guodong, researcher at the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica
Rich in sources and profound in theoretical analysis, "A Land of Strangers" offers a significant contribution to the study of Chinese history, Uyghur history, and colonialism. ... Xu Linjun situates Qing-era colonialism in Xinjiang within the context of modern Chinese history and global imperialism. He also demonstrates how this colonial project impacted local life as the region's majority Muslim population negotiated an increasingly intrusive provincial government... By focusing on the everyday interactions between the Chinese government and local Muslims, and how the ideology of the state was understood, reimagined, and reappropriated by local people, Xu Linjun provides a deeper understanding of the historical context underlying these phenomena... He possesses a gift for extracting vivid narratives from obscure archival documents and other ephemeral sources." —Joshua. Joshua L. Freeman, Research Assistant at the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, and author of The China Journal.

This book explores how the new Hunan Army elite implemented a new Confucian education policy to maintain long-term stability in Xinjiang after the Qing Dynasty suppressed the Hui Rebellion in Xinjiang in 1877. This period of history is actually a window for us to understand the origins of Uyghur nationalism and the contemporary conflict situation in Xinjiang. The author points out that the Confucian education project implemented by the Hunan Army elite in Xinjiang in the late Qing Dynasty is very similar to a specific form of European and American colonialism, which can also explain how colonialism emerged in non-European and American contexts. Another feature of this book is its use of historical anthropological methods from South China studies to answer questions raised by the American New Qing History movement, as exemplified by the author's use of multilingual local archives from Turpan. This book can be considered the latest achievement of the second generation of New Qing History researchers in their integration of diverse disciplinary approaches to the study of Xinjiang history during the Qing Dynasty. Readers interested in Qing frontier history, historical anthropology, and colonialism will not be disappointed. — Cai Weijie, Assistant Professor, Department of History, National Chung Cheng University

2023-12-20

黑體文化

328

9786267263624