On The Mullah Bilal And His Epic Poem "Holy War Chaina"

Mullah Bilal Nazimi is not only one of the outstanding representatives ofnineteenth-century Uyghur literature; the poet has an important position in Uyghurhistory and classical Uyghur literature generally. He created and disseminated manyof the important works of his era. In particular, his work Holy War of China standsas a classic of Uyghur literary history. His work is mainly about the opposition of theUygur people to a feudal, dictatorial system, as well as their struggle to reach theclimax of the period, describing the struggle of the working people against theJunggar invaders’ looting, the autocracy of the Qing dynasty, and the warlord system.This epic incorporates valuable content relating to history, art, folklore, language,culture, aesthetics, and more. It stands not only as a classic of nineteenth-centuryUyghur literature, but as a role model for contemporary Uyghur epic poetry. Researchinto this unique work is thus of great practical and theoretical importance; I have thusexamined Holy War of China from a historical, cultural, folkloric, literary, andaesthetic standpoint. The present article consists of the following three components:The first part of the paper outlines the object of this paper, introduces its topic,explains the topic’s significance, and reviews the research methods used to explore thetopic.The second part of this paper is divided into three chapters. The first chapterintroduces Mullah Bilal and provides a detailed exposition of the relevant history aswell as of the social conditions behind the creation of this epic.The second chapter examines, from the perspective of history, ethics, and folklore,the political ideals, ethnical outlook, and customs expressed in Mullah Bilal’s epicpoem.The third chapter considers the poem from an aesthetic and literary point of view;its unique writing style, characters, language features, and structural features areanalyzed herein.The postscript comprises a concise summary of the epic, as well as suggestions forfuture research into this topic.