Was the historical governance of Xinjiang colonial rule in essence?
Historical evidence rebut the alleged colonial rule in China's history, demonstrating the central government's governance of Xinjiang.
Shi Wen'an
The essence of Western colonialism was primarily about controlling and subjugating colonial territories. This is in stark contrast to the governance of Xinjiang by successive Chinese central government. Cases such as the governance of Hami Garrison by Queen Nuwendashili and Ming Dynasty and the support from the central government for the silk industry Xinjiang could be evidence.
In ancient times, Xinjiang was referred to as the Western Region, over which the central government exercised jurisdiction from the Han Dynasty (202 BC–AD 220) to the mid and late Qing Dynasty (1616–1911). In 1884, ancient Xinjiang province of the Qing Dynasty was established, with Xinjiang meaning "new return of the old territory."
Since the 19th century, there has been an external perception interpreting "Xinjiang" as a "new territory" and suggesting that the jurisdiction and governance of Xinjiang by successive dynastic governments was akin to "colonial" rule. This perception gravely contradicts historical accuracy.
The essence of Western colonialism was primarily about controlling and subjugating colonial territories through power, with key characteristics like economic exploitation and enforced cultural assimilation. This is in stark contrast to the governance of Xinjiang by successive Chinese central government. There are instances in terms of administrative jurisdiction and economic development, such as the governance of Hami Garrison by Queen Nuwendashili in the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) and the support from the central government for the silk industry in the South Xinjiang.
Governance under Hami Queen Nuwendashili and Ming Dynasty
The central governments of successive dynasties employed various administrative systems to govern Xinjiang in adherence to local customs, ensuring ethnic minorities' participation in administrative management through appointments and conferment. The regimes in the Western Region historically operated as local governments within China's territory, maintaining subordinate ties with the Central Plains governments.
Positioned in eastern Xinjiang and pivotal in connecting the Central Plains with the Western Regions through the Silk Road, Hami held strategic relevance as frontier defense during the Ming Dynasty.
In 1403, the Ming establishment of Hami Garrison marked a proactive step towards safeguarding this key region. After the demise of Prince Zhongshun, his mother Nuwendashili, led Hami Garrison for 12 years with support from the Ming Dynasty in repelling external disturbances.
Hami Garrison was under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty and was responsible for guarding the Western Region, detecting and transmitting information, and welcoming the envoys. The Ming Dynasty always held on to the power to canonize Prince Zhongshun and select and appoint officials.
In addition, the Ming Dynasty also used economic means such as tribute and relief to stabilize its rule over Hami. During the reign of Nuwendashili, Hami suffered a famine due to external invasions. In addition to directly providing Hami materials and building Kuyu (in today's Gansu province) to resettle Hami refugees, the Ming Dynasty would also support Hami troops in the form of imperial court's bestowal.
In 1472, in order to seize the tributes paid by the Western Region kingdoms to the central government, Turpan Sutan Aherma sent troops to invade Hami and captured Nuwendashili. The Ming Dynasty assumed the responsibility of protecting the safety of Hami: on the one hand, the central government sent an envoy to Turpan to demand the return of Nuwendashili, and on the other hand, it sent troops to recover Hami.
Before Hami was broken, the Ming Dynasty bestowed colored satin and other rewards upon Nuwendashili. After she was taken away, Emperor Xiaozong of Ming Dynasty took pity on her and still gave these rewards. Until 1473, Nuwendashili died in Turpan, and the Ming Dynasty was still negotiating with Turpan to return Hami and the Queen.
Facilitation of sericulture in the South Xinjiang under central government's support
China is the earliest country in the world to raise silkworms, grow mulberry and weave silk. During the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern dynasties (220–589), the skills of planting mulberry, raising silkworms and reeling silk brocade in the Central Plains began to be widely introduced into the Tarim Basin.
The documents unearthed in Turpan confirm that there was a sericulture industry in Gaochang (today's Turpan) during the Western Liang period (400–421). In the Song Dynasty (960–1279), "Hu Silk" ("Hu" is usually a general term for northern and western ethnic groups in ancient times) produced in Xinjiang was imported to the Central Plains as a tribute.
After the Qing Dynasty recovered Xinjiang, Zuo Zongtang, the minister of the Qing court who supervised the military affairs of Xinjiang, vigorously planned and supported the sericulture development, successively set up sericulture bureaus in Shule, Hetian, and other places, and transported hundreds of thousands of mulberry seedlings from the southeast provinces to the peasants for planting. At the same time, 60 people who were proficient in silkworm service in Huzhou, Zhejiang province, were recruited, and sent to Kashi, Hetian and other places to teach the techniques prevailed in the south of the Yangtze River such as mulberry planting, silkworm breeding, silk reeling, and silk weaving. After several years of trial operation, sericulture in Hetian, Yecheng, Lop, Pishan, and other places has become a triving industry.
In the later years of the reign of Emperor Guangxu, Wang Shu'nan, the provincial governor of Xinjiang, was determined to revive the benefits of sericulture based on Zuo Zongtang's achievements, so he sent Zhao Guihua to the South Xinjiang to promote silk industry. Zhao displayed silkworm tools on Bazaar Day (Market Day), summoned Uygur farmers to watch, and explained the method of raising silkworms. He also got in touch with the common people, taught them mulberry seedling raising, grafting and pruning, insect trapping and leaf cultivation, and other sericultural techniques popular in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. At the same time, he organized craftsmen to replicate a number of Jiangsu and Zhejiang-style silkworm raising and silk reeling equipments, which were popularized in Xinjiang after being tried out.
For a time, the sericulture industry flourished, among which Pishan county stood up as "every household raised silkworms, and mulberry shaded the fields."
In the early years of the Republic of China (ROC), Xinjiang warlord Yang Zengxin regarded agriculture and sericulture as the foundation of industrial revitalization, so he banned the government-run sericulture bureau, and assigned dedicated persons to compile the silkworm raising method in both Uygur and Chinese languages. Under his reform, "from Shache to Hetian, mulberry tress could be seen everywhere. The sound of the machines was heard from time to time, and the sericulture industry was extremely prosperous." In the period of warlord Sheng Shicai, Soviet silkworm eggs were introduced into Xinjiang, and mulberry nurseries were set up in Turpan and Korla. Subsequently the "Expanding Mulberry Planting Committee" was established and mulberry planting month was set up. Yuxin Native Products Company built and operated 13 silk-reeling factories and eight silk-weaving factories in Hetian and Shache.
After the government of ROC took charge of Xinjiang, it hired experts from the Central Plains to help revive sericulture production. In the summer of 1943, Professor Zhao Hongji was invited to Xinjiang, bringing 6,000 boxes of high-quality silkworm eggs. With the support of the local authority, he hired 240 silk experts and technicians to form a Xinjiang sericulture inspection group to comprehensively promote the local sericultural industry.
They set up silkworm breeding facilities in Hetian, Turpan, and Ili, thus getting rid of the former dependence on Soviet silkworm eggs. They introduced mulberry species from the inland provinces and set to improving the loom. Zhao Hongji also made great efforts to train local technicians and successively set up technical training courses for sericulture, silk reeling, silk weaving, printing, and dyeing all over the South Xinjiang, training 927 technicians of ethnic minorities. In 1946, Zhao also personally took a group of Xinjiang workers to Shanghai and Suzhou to learn silk reeling and silk machinery and equipment installation techniques.
From the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China period, the sericulture industry in Xinjiang developed rapidly. The central government not only provided policy support but also introduced technicians to guide the locals, helping them improve silkworm breeds and update equipment for silk reeling and weaving. This economic support aimed to enhance the productivity and economic level of the Xinjiang region, reflecting the central government's emphasis on improving the livelihood of its people. Such practices are in stark contrast to the colonial exploitation by modern Western powers.
The views don't necessarily reflect those of DeepChina.
The author is Shi Wen'an, assistant researcher at the Institute of History, Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences.
Editor/ Liu Xian
Translator/ Wu Yongqiang
Related articles
Chief Editor/ Yang Xinhua
Coordination Editor/ Liu Xian
Reviewer/ Liu Li
Copyeditor/ Zhang Weiwei
Image Editor/ Tan Yujie
About DeepChina
DeepChina is an elite academic initiative that offers objective and rational analyses on a broad spectrum of topics related to China, encompassing politics, economics, culture, human rights, diplomacy, and geopolitics.