Late Qing Dynasty (1864-1884)

These twenty years,since Tongzhi,the Third Year(1864)to Guangxu,the Tenth Year(1884),was a turning point of the history in Xinjiang in the late Qing.Many important events,such as the unrest in Southern Xinjiang,the invasion of Yakoob,Russia seizing Yili area,had happened in this period of time,so the situation at that time was really intricate.Basing on local cultural and geographical environment,chaos appeared in Southern Xinjiang,but the situations in Urumqi and Yili region were different.Big powers like Britain,Russia and Turkey also gamed with China in this region.Overcoming kinds of difficulties,the Qing government firmed their northwest border,and laid the foundation for later governance.In this paper,the history of this period has been roughly sorted out and described.First of all,it was a brief review of the international and domestic situation in the late part of nineteenth Century.In1848(Qing Dynasty,Daoguang,the twenty-eighth year),the European Revolution,had broken the traditional balance of Europe.Influenced by international political pattern,the situation in the Middle East,changed also greatly.Osman Turkey Empire fell apart.Persian was lingering on in a steadily worsening condition,too.Pan Turkism and pan Islamism,emerged.Wahhabism in the Arabia Peninsula was also growing.Central Asia became an arena for Britain and Russia.Kokand,Bukhara and Khiva Khanate belonged to Russia;the British,based in India,aggrandized its influence in Central Asia.The Qing government paid little attention to Central Asia.Xinjiang area is threatened by growing crises.At home,the Taiping Heavenly kingdom(1851-1864)upraised as the most destructive force.Rebellions like the Nian Rebellion(1853-1868),Shan Gansu Muslim Rebellion(1862-1873),Yunnan Muslim Rebellion(1856-1873),weakened seriously the strength of the Qing government.Facing all domestic troubles and foreign invasion,Chinese intelligentsia began to seek self-improvement way,for competing with the Westernization movement.All kinds of military and civilian industries were set up at this time,which provided strong support for the pacification of Northwest chaos.Secondly,the occurrence and evolution of the southern chaos were described roughly.Due to the insufficient supply from mainland provinces,Xinjiang military system could not operate effectively,sorts of social crisis began to appear.Shan Gansu Muslim Rebellion was the external situation.The prestige of local government declined and officials could not control this region in force.This was the internal situation.Adjacent to Kokand,chaos of Southern Xinjiang was impact by the situation in Central Asia.So Kuqa,Kashgar,Yarkand,Hotan oasis formed a few separatist forces.Under specific historical conditions,Yakoob became a ruler of Southern Xinjiang in a short period of time,but local people's support for the Qing government,which was since Qianlong period,had not completely lost.Yakoob's tyranny let people in Southern Xinjiang miss the Qing.This was also the potential power for Qing government hitting the insurgency in Southern Xinjiang successfully later on.Third,the changing relationship between Han and Hui during this time in Urumqi area was dissected.Urumqi and the surrounding area had been implemented the system of prefectures and counties.The local people were immigrants,including Han and Hui.Tuo Delin group was against Qing government,and was a power which Yakoob wanted to exterminate.They set up the "Muslim country",which was the center of Hui people in Xinjiang.At the same time,the Han people was forced to army themselves.Xu Xuegong,Zhao Xingti,Kong Cai,Zhang He organized militias,which represented the strength of Han people in Xinjiang.In this period,they resisted against Yakoob and Russia,assisted the Qing government to recover Xinjiang,and had played a very special role.Fourth,the general analysis on ethnic relations behind chaos of Yili and the scene of Sino Russian game roughly.Yili was the most important region in Xinjiang,where the government troops resistant against the rebels the longest time.For a long-term management in Yili region in Qing Dynasty,ethnic relations formed a unique pattern of difference.Under bad financial circumstances,this unique pattern can't be sustained.At the same time,the local government credibility declined,this was also the main cause of unrest.After the unrest in Yili region,Russia had gained an opportunity to occupy this area.Fifth,the preparation and the process of the Qing government recovering Xinjiang were described mainly.Yakoob could not integrate the southern oasis into a unified community,which named "Yeti-shahr".In 1877(Qing Dynasty,Guangxu,the Third Year),the tenth Russian Turkish war broke out,because of the sudden tense situation in the Middle East.Russia,Britain and Turkey,were involved in.Three countries' attention in Central Asia moved westward instantly,diplomatic protection network that Yakoob painstakingly created was failed to function.At the same time,at home,how to balance the power of defence,gradually reached a consensus.Under the offensive of governmental troops,Southern Xinjiang calmed down.The tenth Russian Turkish war,not only accelerated the demise of Yakoob,also made the best opportunity to recover Yili region.After the recovery of Yili region,a lot of repair measures appeared,the plan to construct the province of Xinjiang put on the agenda.Sixth,the historical experience of the governance in Xinjiang and its enlightenment were summed up roughly.Ministers who discussed affairs of government frequently,provided valuable reference for the governance of Xinjiang.In addition,the Qing Government recovered Xinjiang,benefited from the practical implementation of Xiexiang(i.e.the salary to officials and soldiers)system and the sustainment of military recommendation system.For Xinjiang,these issues,such as the ethnic group unity,ethnic equality,ethnic policies,the policy of stationing troops to cultivate and guard frontier areas,are not new topic.In the late Qing Dynasty this history offers a research sample,which can give us a lot of inspirations.