A Study On Burut’s History Of Xinjiang In Qing Dynasty(1758-1864)

Burut was the name of Kirghiz in Qing Dynasty,Kirghiz people have a long history in China.Before Qing Dynasty,Kirghiz once was called as Jiankun,Gekun,Khakas,Qirghiz,etc.Their ancestors originated from Yenisei River and experienced different periods of migration to the west direction,finally they settled down in Tianshan area and became an important ethnic group in this region.Some Burut leaders in Tianshan area played key roles in south Tianshan area even in Yarkand Khanate and Khoja Eras.Therefore,Buruts were characterized as being adept in depending on the sourrounding regims and influence.In Qianlong Era,when Qing Dynasty unified Xinjiang area,Burut tribes subsequently submitted to Qing Dynasty from areas of Issyk-kul,upper course of Narin River,Talas and Chu Rivers,Ferghana Region,Kashghar and Yarkand,etc.They were divided into East and West part and nineteen Burut tribes were officially recorded by Qing’s government.Because of the large number of the tribes and their wide distribution,relationships with Qing Dynasty varied among different tribes in different periods.In Qianlong and Jiaqing years,tribes like Kipchak,Chongbagish,Kuschu,Edigine,Sari-bagish,Sayak were rather close to the Qing Dynasty in relationships.Parts of the tribes’ leaders were appointed by the government and enjoyed high position,eg.Hakim,the Biy of Kipchak,was granted as sula amban and Hakim Beg of the fourth rank;Hakim’s brother Esen served as hiya(guard)in the army;Aval,the leader of Chonbaguish tribe,was granted fourth-rank cap button and Puer money.In those years,these tribes and stories of the leaders were very typical,so the former part of the dissertation mainly analyzed the figures and events from these tribes.From the ending years of Jiaqing to Daoguang periods,descendants from the Khoja family of Aqtaghliq faction revolted in southern Xinjiang for several times.Burut members participated in revolts of Jihangir,Yusuf and Seven Khojas,so the latter part of the dissertation explicated more on the Burut’s roles and positions among these events.In this period,the position of Kipchak and Chongbaguish declined gradually.However,tribes like Cherik and Kuschu helped the Qing Dynasty subdue the revolts,so they played important roles among all tribes then.Even from the Qianlong years,the Kokand Khanate in central Asia started to subdue the neighbouring Burut tribes.In Daoguang years,Mahammad Ali Khan speeded up the outer expansion,and tribes from Chu and Talas Rivers,upper course of Narin River and Sarikol regions became colonized by Kokand.Meanwhile,revolts by the Khoja descendants were also under the auspices of the Kokand influence.Therefore,impacts from Kokand should never be neglected the when exploring the relationships between Burut and Qing Dynasty.Compared to other Burut tribes,tribes of East Burut(northern Kirghizstan)had much closer genealogical relationships among one another,thus forming a loose confederacy,which was typical.From the 1840 s,East Burut tribes gradually suffered from Russia’s colonization.Through widely appointing the Manap title,Russia came to colonize the Burut tribes around the Issyk-kul and alongside the upper course of Narin River,which actually laid the foundation for seizing the territory on Qing’s northwestern frontier through unequal treaties.Analysis on the connection between East Burut and Russia helps understand Russia’s invasion process on China’s frontier area.Based on gleaning from Manchu and Chinese archives,annalistic literature and local chronicles,the dissertation combed the one-hundred-year history of Burut tribes in Xinjiang also by referring to literature in foreign languages and related researches by scholars from home and abroad.The relationships between Burut and Qing Dynasty,Kokand,Russia and Khoja family became the main clues throughout the dissertation and they are also the motif of this research.Important vassal groups as Burut were,scholars from home and abroad haven’t studied on them systematically.Through this study,the dissertation aimed at further sorting out the historical context of Buruts in Qing Dynasty and analyzing the problems which haven’t been explicated clearly by former scholars in order to further evaluate their role and position on Qing’s northwestern frontiers.