An Study Of Taran?i In The Qing Dynasty

Taran?i is an old term that refers to Uyghurs who live in Ghulja,Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,China and in the region of Almaty,Kazakhstan.Taran?i,which can also be translated as Tarya?in,has an etymology rooted in Old Turkic.It is also related to the names of local land systems at that time.When investigated from a philological perspective,the word Taran?i can be traced back to the mid-seventh century AD,however the use of it as reference to a specific group of people appeared somewhat later.Basing their policies on the reorganization of former residents of Ili,who were scattered throughout the regions of Aqsu,the Qing Dynasty spurred the migration of Uyghurs from the South of the Tianshan Mountains onto the banks of Ili River after the reunification of Xinjiang.They were engaged in farming and henceforth provided the Qing with an ample source of food and taxes.These migrants were called "Taran?i",according to the earlier Junggar tradition.In 1881,Ili Uyghurs were forced to migrate to the province of Semirechye,which was Russian territory,causing ?Taran?i? to become the appellation of those ethnically Uyghur in Central Asia.In 1921,in accordance with the spirit put forward by the meeting in Tashkent,Uyghurs in Central Asia stopped using this name,and restored their original name,Uyghur.In the 1930 s,when Xinjiang was governed by Sheng Shicai,the name "Taran?i" finally came to refer to an individual ethnic group.This usage continued until the first stages of the Ethnic Identification Project in 1950-1952,during which it was then banned.This paper is comprised of a total of four sections.The first chapter shall not only investigate into the various names for the Taran?i,the Junggar regime and the people engaged in farming to the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains,but also into the defeat of the Junggar by the Qing Dynasty.First of all,research shall be undertaken into the several viewpoints on the etymology of the name ?Taran?i? and the history of Ili‘s ?eight thousand households?.Thereafter,this chapter shall include a study into the "Tarya?in","Buharain?,"Bazargan" and "U?ak" farming populations in the Northern Tianshan Mountain,during the Junggar Khanate period.Chapter Two shall focus on a total of three topics: the Qing Dynasty‘s agricultural development policies in Ili,the system of control and administration placed on the Ili Taran?i and the Qing‘s establishment of the Taran?i Yuzi Village.It shall also explore into the establishment and function of the military administration system,the formation of Taran?i farming culture,as well as the Taran?i legal system,providing an insight into the duties and responsibilities of the Taran?i and an overview of Yuzi Village.Chapter Three is divided into three sections and shall investigate into the incident of 1864 in Ghulja and the Taran?i regime.First of all,it will analyse the reasons behind the outbreak of the such incident,looking from a variety of aspects,such as the influence of the complex ethnic conflict within Ili and the uprising of the Hui in Shangan.Secondly,it will discuss the structure of the Taran?i regime,which was established after said incident,and its relationship with the surrounding areas.The third section shall draw from a variety of related materials,analysing internal conflict in the Taran?i regime,in addition to Tsarist Russia‘s invasion and the subsequent fall of the Taran?i regime.Chapter Four shall undertake research into the Taran?i who were forced to migrate to the province of Semirechye,as well as their settlements and the migration‘s influence on the social economy of Ili.What‘s more,it will also analyse the change in social lifestyle and the influence of the migration on the Taran?i themselves.In order to systematically describe the history of the Taran?i during the Qing Dynasty,the author has taken ?Scientific Development‘ as a guiding concept and has adopted the theories and methodology found in historical philology,ethnology,sociology,field survey and historical geography.In addition,this paper shall take inspiration from the new achievements and research methodologies in the fields of religious,musical and linguistic anthropology,as well as a variety of oral interview methods to complete a full and systematic investigation.The author believes that the original birthplace of the Taran?i is not in Ili,but in the areas around Tacheng and Hoboksar in Xinjiang.The term ?Taran?i? is,in fact,a reference to the group of Uyghurs who were forced to undertake a farming lifestyle by their Junggar rulers and were known by such a name due to their major occupation.Returning to the villages(reforestation)was a pioneering policy implemented by the Qing government,exerting a great effect on reclamation work in Ili.At present,the majority of villages located on the banks of the Ili River originate from the aforementioned Qing Dynasty policy and are a continuation of its developmental model.In short,the history of agricultural development in Ili is,in fact,the history of every ethnic group‘s common effort in developing,building and fighting against foreign aggression.