Xinjiang Province, Republic of China

Last updated • 3 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Sinkiang Province
新疆省
1912–1992
Provincial Government Seal:
新疆省政府印
Xin Jiang Sheng Zheng Fu Yin .svg
Republic of China edcp location map (disputed territories) Sinkiang.svg
Sinkiang Province (red) in the Republic of China (as claimed)
Status Province of the Republic of China (1912–1992)
Capital Tihwa
Capital-in-exile Taipei
History 
 Established
1912
October 13, 1949
 Provincial government functions removed
January 16, 1992
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Flag of China (1889-1912).svg Xinjiang Province, Qing Empire
Xinjiang Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg
First East Turkestan Republic Kokbayraq flag.svg
Second East Turkestan Republic Flag of the Second East Turkestan Republic (2).svg

Xinjiang Province (Chinese :新疆省; pinyin :Xīnjiāng Shěng) or Sinkiang Province was a nominal province of the Republic of China without administrative function. First set up as a province in 1884 by the Qing dynasty, it was replaced in 1955 by the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. The original provincial government was relocated to Taipei as the Sinkiang Provincial Government Office (新疆省政府辦事處) until its dissolution in 1992.

Contents

Administration

The province inherited the borders of the Qing dynasty province, bordering Kansu, Tsinghai, the Mongol Area, Tibet Area and the countries Soviet Union, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. The claimed boundaries of the province included all of today's Xinjiang and parts of Mongolia, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. [1]

History

In 1912, the Qing dynasty was replaced by the Republic of China. Yuan Dahua, the last Qing governor of Xinjiang, fled. One of his subordinates, Yang Zengxin, took control of the province and acceded in name to the Republic of China in March of the same year. Through Machiavellian politics and clever balancing of mixed ethnic constituencies, Yang maintained control over Xinjiang until his assassination in 1928 after the Northern Expedition of the Kuomintang. [2]

The Kumul Rebellion and other rebellions arose against his successor Jin Shuren in the early 1930s throughout Xinjiang, involving Uyghurs, other Turkic groups, and Hui (Muslim) Chinese. Jin drafted White Russians to crush the revolt. In the Kashgar region on November 12, 1933, the short-lived self-proclaimed First East Turkistan Republic was declared. [3] [4] The Hui Kuomintang 36th Division (National Revolutionary Army) destroyed the army of the First East Turkestan Republic at the Battle of Kashgar (1934), bringing the Republic to an end. The Soviet Union invaded the province in the Soviet Invasion of Xinjiang. In the Xinjiang War (1937), the entire province was brought under the control of northeast Manchu warlord Sheng Shicai, who ruled Xinjiang for the next decade with close support from the Soviet Union. In 1944, the President and Premier of China, Chiang Kai-shek, informed by the Soviets of Sheng's intention to join the Soviet Union, decided to shift him out of Xinjiang to Chongqing as the Minister of Agriculture and Forest. [5] More than a decade of Sheng's era had ended. However, a short-lived Soviet-backed Second East Turkestan Republic was established in that year, which lasted until 1949 in what is now Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture (Ili, Tarbagatay and Altay Districts) in northern Xinjiang.

During the Ili Rebellion the Soviet Union backed Uyghur separatists to form the East Turkestan Republic (ETR) in Ili region while the majority of Xinjiang was under the control of the Republic of China. [3] In 1946, the ROC government and the ETR agreed to establish the Coalition Government of Xinjiang Province, although it collapsed shortly after in 1947. The People's Liberation Army entered Xinjiang in 1949 and the Kuomintang commander Tao Zhiyue surrendered the province to them. [4] The original provincial government was relocated to Taipei as the Sinkiang Provincial Government Office (新疆省政府辦事處) to symbolize the ROC's claim of sovereignty over the province; it was eventually dissolved in 1992.

Demographics

Ethnic groupEstimated population
1933 [6]
Han Chinese 202,239 (5.41%)
Uyghurs 2,900,173 (77.75%)
Kazakhs 318,716 (8.55%)
Hui 92,146 (2.47%)
Kyrgyz 65,248 (1.75%)
Mongols 63,018 (1.69%)
Taranchis 41,307 (1.11%)
Russians 13,408 (0.36%)
Sibes 9,203 (0.25%)
Tajiks 8,867 (0.24%)
Uzbeks 7,966 (0.21%)
Tatars 4,601 (0.12%)
Solons 2,489 (0.07%)
Manchus 670 (0.02%)
Total3,730,051

List of governors

  Non-partisan/ unknown  Warlords   People's Anti-Imperialist Association    Kuomintang (Nationalist)

Chairperson of the Provincial Government (Mainland era)

No.PortraitName
(Birth–death)
Term of officePolitical Party
1 Yang Tseng-hsin.jpg Yang Zengxin
楊增新
Yáng Zēngxīn
(1864–1928)
1912July 7, 1928 Xinjiang clique
Assassinated.
2 Jin Shuren.jpg Jin Shuren
金樹仁
Jīn Shùrén
(1879–1941)
July 7, 1928April 12, 1933 Xinjiang clique
Deposed in a coup.
3 Liu Wenlong
劉文龍
Liú Wénlóng
(1870–1950)
April 14, 1933September 1933
Removed from office and placed under house arrest by Sheng Shicai.
Zhu Ruichi
朱瑞墀
Zhū Ruìchí
(1862–1934)
September 1933March 5, 1934
Figurehead chairman appointed by Sheng Shicai and not recognized by the Central government. Died in office.
4 Li Rong.jpg Li Rong
李溶
Lǐ Róng
(1870–1940)
October 1934March 21, 1940
Figurehead chairman. Died in office.
5 Governor Sheng Shicai.jpg Sheng Shicai
盛世才
Shèng Shìcái
(1895–1970)
April 4, 1940August 29, 1944 People's Anti-Imperialist Association
Kuomintang
Recognized by the Central government only as a duban (military governor), Sheng was de facto ruler of Sinkiang from 1933. In 1940, the Central government recognized him as Provincial chairman. Removed from office.
6 Wu Zhongxin.jpg Wu Zhongxin
吳忠信
Wú Zhōngxìn
(1884–1959)
August 29, 1944March 29, 1946 Kuomintang
Resigned.
7 Zhang Zhizhong.jpg Zhang Zhizhong
張治中
Zhāng Zhìzhōng
(1895–1969)
March 1946June 1947 Kuomintang
Removed from office.
8 Mas'ud Sabri.jpg Masud Sabri
麥斯武德
مەسئۇت سابرى
(1887–1952)
June 1947January 1949 Kuomintang
First Uighur governor and first non-Han Governor in China during the twentieth century. Appointed during the Ili Rebellion.
9 Burhan Shahidi6.jpg Burhan Shahidi
包爾漢
بۇرھان شەھىدى
(1894–1989)
January 1949September 26, 1949 Kuomintang
Surrendered to the People's Liberation Army.

Xinjiang Provincial Government Office era

Chairperson of the Provincial Government

No.PortraitName
(Birth–death)
Term of officePolitical party
1 Yulbars Khan.jpg Yulbars Khan
堯樂博士
يۇلبارس خان
(1888–1971)
April 11, 1950July 27, 1971 Kuomintang
Died in office.

Director, Xinjiang Provincial Government Office

No.PortraitName
(Birth–death)
Term of officePolitical party
1Yao Tao-hung
堯道宏
Yáo Dàohóng
(1913–1991)
July 27, 1971 ? Kuomintang
Son of Yulbars Khan.
2Hou Chi-yu
侯紀峪
Hóu Jìyù
 ?January 16, 1992 Kuomintang
Post abolished.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Turkestan</span> Geographical region in Central Asia

East Turkestan or East Turkistan, also called Uyghuristan, is a loosely-defined geographical region in the northwestern part of the People's Republic of China, on the cross roads of East and Central Asia. The term was coined in the 19th century by Russian Turkologists, including Nikita Bichurin, who intended the name to replace the common Western term for the region, "Chinese Turkestan", which referred to the Tarim Basin in Southern Xinjiang or Xinjiang as a whole during the Qing dynasty. Beginning in the 17th century, Altishahr, which means "Six Cities" in Uyghur, became the Uyghur name for the Tarim Basin. Uyghurs also called the Tarim Basin "Yettishar," which means "Seven Cities," and even "Sekkizshahr", which means "Eight Cities" in Uyghur. Chinese dynasties from the Han dynasty to the Tang dynasty had called an overlapping area the "Western Regions".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheng Shicai</span> Chinese warlord (1895–1970)

Sheng Shicai was a Chinese warlord who ruled Xinjiang from 1933 to 1944. Sheng's rise to power started with a coup d'état in 1933 when he was appointed the duban of Xinjiang. The Soviet era ended in 1942, when Sheng approached the Nationalist Chinese government, but still retained much power over the province. He was dismissed from this post in 1944 and named Minister of Agriculture and Forestry. Growing animosity against him led the government to dismiss him again and appoint him to a military post. At the end of the Chinese Civil War, Sheng fled mainland China to Taiwan with the rest of the Kuomintang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First East Turkestan Republic</span> 1933–1934 state in Central Asia

The Turkic Islamic Republic of East Turkestan (TIRET) was an independent republic centered on the city of Kashgar, located in the far west of Xinjiang Province. It is often described as the First East Turkestan Republic to differentiate it from the Second East Turkestan Republic (1944–1946).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second East Turkestan Republic</span> 1944–1946 unrecognized state in Central Asia

The East Turkestan Republic (ETR) was a satellite state of the Soviet Union in northern Xinjiang that existed from 1944 to 1946. It is often described as the Second East Turkestan Republic to differentiate it from the First East Turkestan Republic (1933–1934), but "second" was never a part of its official name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jin Shuren</span> Warlord of the XinJiang Province of China

Jin Shuren was a Chinese Xinjiang clique warlord who served as Governor of Xinjiang between 1928 and 1933.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muhammad Amin Bughra</span> Uyghur revolutionary (1901–1965)

Muhammad Amin Bughra, sometimes known by his Han name Mao Deming and his Turkish name Mehmet Emin Buğra (1901–1965), was a Uyghur Muslim leader who planned to set up a sovereign state, the First East Turkestan Republic. Muhammad Amin Bughra was a Jadidist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabit Damolla</span> Uyghur revolutionary (1883–1934)

Sabit Damolla was an East Turkestan independence movement leader who led the Hotan rebellion against the Xinjiang Province government of Jin Shuren and later the Uyghur leader Khoja Niyaz. He is widely known as the first and only prime minister of the short-lived Turkic Islamic Republic of East Turkestan from November 12, 1933, until the republic's defeat in May 1934.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Turkestan National Army</span> Military unit

The East Turkestan National Army was the armed forces of the Second East Turkestan Republic (ETR). It was active from 1945 to 1949, beyond the dissolution of the ETR in 1946, when it was renamed the Ili National Army per a peace agreement between the ETR leadership and representatives of the Republic of China. It originally consisted of six regiments: the Suidun Infantry Regiment, the Ghulja Regiment, the Kensai Regiment, the Ghulja Reserve Regiment, the Kazakh Cavalry Regiment, the Dungan Regiment, the Artillery Subdivision, the Sibo Subdivision, and the Mongol Subdivision. The last two subdivisions were later reformed to regiments. All regiments were armed with mostly German-made weapons that were provided by the Soviet Union on orders by Joseph Stalin. Its personnel was trained in the Soviet Union. Rebel aviation included 42 airplanes, which were captured in the Ghulja Kuomintang air base and repaired by Soviet military personnel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xinjiang clique</span> Chinese warlord clique (1911–1944)

The Xinjiang clique was a military clique that ruled Xinjiang during China's warlord era. Unlike other cliques, its leaders were from outside the province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Incorporation of Xinjiang into the People's Republic of China</span>

The incorporation of Xinjiang into the People's Republic of China, known in Chinese historiography as the Peaceful Liberation of Xinjiang, was the takeover of Xinjiang by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its People's Liberation Army (PLA) in the waning days of the Chinese Civil War. At the time, Xinjiang was divided into ten districts. The Republic of China controlled seven districts and governed them as Xinjiang Province, while the other three were governed by the Three Districts Economic Commission which consisted of the former leadership of the Second East Turkestan Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khoja Niyaz</span> Uyghur revolutionary (1889–1941)

Khoja Niyaz, also Khoja Niyaz Haji, was a Uyghur independence movement leader who led several rebellions in Xinjiang against the Kumul Khanate, the Chinese governor Jin Shuren and later the Hui warlord Ma Zhongying. He is best remembered as the first and only president of the short-lived Islamic Republic of Eastern Turkestan from November 1933 until the republic's defeat in April 1934.

The Soviet invasion of Xinjiang was a military campaign of the Soviet Union in the Chinese northwestern region of Xinjiang in 1934. White Russian forces assisted the Soviet Red Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ili Rebellion</span> 1944–1946 uprising in northern Xinjiang, China

The Ili Rebellion was a separatist uprising by the Turkic peoples of northern Xinjiang against the Kuomintang government of the Republic of China, from 1944 to 1946. The Ili Rebellion began with the East Turkestan National Revolution, known in Chinese historiography as the Three Districts Revolution, which saw the establishment of the Second East Turkestan Republic. The leadership was dominated by Uyghurs but the population consisted mostly of Kazakhs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yulbars Khan</span> Uyghur chieftain and general

Yulbars Khan, courtesy name Jingfu (景福), was a Uyghur chieftain and Kuomintang general during the Chinese Civil War. He entered the service in the Kumul Khanate of Muhammad Khan of Kumul and later his son Maksud Shah. He served as an advisor at the court, until when Maksud died in March 1930, governor Jin Shuren abolished the khanate. Yulbars then conspired with Khoja Niyaz and Ma Zhongying to overthrow Jin in the Kumul Rebellion. According to some people, Ma restrained Yulbars from traveling to Nanking to ask the Kuomintang for help, Ma earlier had an agreement with the Kuomintang that if he seized Xinjiang, he would be recognized by the Kuomintang as its leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic rebellion in Xinjiang (1937)</span> Part of the Xinjiang Wars

In 1937 an Islamic rebellion began in southern Xinjiang. The rebels were 1,500 Uighur Muslims commanded by Kichik Akhund, who was tacitly aided by the New 36th Division, against the pro-Soviet provincial forces of the puppet Sheng Shicai.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kumul Rebellion</span> Revolt in East Turkistan (1931–1934)

The Kumul Rebellion was a rebellion of Kumulik Uyghurs from 1931 to 1934 who conspired with Hui Chinese Muslim General Ma Zhongying to overthrow Jin Shuren, governor of Xinjiang. The Kumul Uyghurs were loyalists of the Kumul Khanate and wanted to restore the heir to the Khanate and overthrow Jin. The Kuomintang wanted Jin removed because of his ties to the Soviet Union, so it approved of the operation while pretending to acknowledge Jin as governor. The rebellion then catapulted into large-scale fighting as Khotanlik Uyghur rebels in southern Xinjiang started a separate rebellion for independence in collusion with Kirghiz rebels. The various groups of rebels were not united. The main part of the war was waged by Ma Zhongying against the Xinjiang government. He was supported by Chiang Kai-shek, the Premier of China, who secretly agreed to let Ma seize Xinjiang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masud Sabri</span> Chinese Uyghur politician (1886–1952)

Masud Sabri, also known as Masʿūd Ṣabrī, was an ethnic Uyghur politician of the Republic of China who served as the governor of Xinjiang during the Ili Rebellion. He received education at Kulja and Istanbul and was a Pan-Turkist. Chiang Kai-shek appointed him the first Uyghur governor of Xinjiang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahmut Muhiti</span> Uyghur military leader (1887–1944)

Mahmut Muhiti, nicknamed Shizhang, was a Uyghur warrior from Xinjiang. He was a commander of the insurgents led by Khoja Niyaz during the Kumul Rebellion against the Xinjiang provincial authorities. After Hoya-Niyaz and Sheng Shicai, the newly appointed ruler of Xinjiang, formed peace, Muhiti was briefly appointed by Sheng a Military Commander of the Kashgar region in 1934, but was soon demoted and appointed commander of the 6th Division, composed of Turkic Muslims and named Deputy Military Commander of the Kashgar region. Muhiti opposed Sheng's close ties with the Soviet Union forming opposition to his regime in Kashgar. He organised the Islamic rebellion against Sheng in 1937 and fled to British India. Muhiti was afterwards active in the Japanese-occupied China, fruitlessly cooperating with Japan in order to enhance the cooperation between Japan and Muslims, dying in Beijing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ishaq Beg Munonov</span> Kyrgyz leader from Xinjiang

Ishaq Beg Munonov, also Isḥāq Beg, was an ethnic Kyrgyz leader in Xinjiang, China during the first half of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coalition Government of Xinjiang Province</span> 1946–1947 government of Xinjiang, China

The Coalition Government of Xinjiang Province was the governing body of China's Xinjiang Province from 1946 to 1947. It was formed after a Soviet-brokered peace agreement between the Republic of China (ROC) and the breakaway Second East Turkestan Republic (ETR). The dissolution of the ETR coincided with the establishment of the coalition government; however, the interests of the ETR's former leaders were retained through the subordinate Ili District Council. The coalition government collapsed after the withdrawal of the former ETR side, which opposed the appointment of Masud Sabri, a pro-Kuomintang conservative, as the provincial chairman. Despite himself being a Turkic Uyghur, Sabri undid the pro-Turkic reforms implemented by his predecessor Zhang Zhizhong.

References

  1. ROC Administrative and Claims.jpg. Wikipedia. Map showing the claims of the ROC.
  2. Governors of Xinjiang: Yang Zengxin (1912–1928), Jin Shuren (1928–33), Sheng Shicai (1933–44); source: "Xinjiang". Encyclopædia Britannica Online . Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. 2016. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Feener, R. Michael (2004). Islam in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives. Religion in Contemporary Cultures. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. p. 174. ISBN   1-57607-516-8. OCLC   940831123.
  4. 1 2 Bhattacharji, Preeti (May 29, 2012). "Uighurs and China's Xinjiang Region". Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on July 18, 2009. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  5. Brown, Jeremy (2010). Dilemmas of Victory: The Early Years of the People's Republic of China. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. p. 186. ISBN   9780674033658. OCLC   822561761.
  6. Klimeš, Ondřej. (January 8, 2015). Struggle by the pen : the Uyghur discourse of nation and national interest, c. 1900–1949. Boston. p. 154. ISBN   978-90-04-28809-6. OCLC   900277055.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)