Land of Strangers: The Civilizing Project in Qing Central Asia

Confucian revivalists from central China gained control of Xinjiang in the late 19th century, seeking to transform Turkic-speaking Muslims into Chinese-speaking Confucians. This led to deep divisions between communities and a profound estrangement that continues to this day. Eric Schluessel's book "Land of Strangers" explores this encounter through the struggles of ordinary people in Turpan, revealing the human consequences of a bloody conflict and the violence of reconstruction. Schluessel traces the emergence of new struggles around identity and shows how religious and linguistic differences converged into ethnic labels.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 304 pages
\n Publication date: 20 October 2020
\n Publisher: Columbia University Press
\n

In the late 19th century, as the Qing empire neared its end, a group of Confucian revivalists from central China gained control over the predominantly Muslim-populated region of Xinjiang, also known as East Turkestan. Their goal was to transform the Turkic-speaking Muslims into Chinese-speaking Confucians, seeking to bind this population and their homeland to the Chinese cultural and political realm. However, their approach of assimilation did not yield the desired results, leading to deepening divisions between communities. This estrangement continues to this day.

In his book "Land of Strangers," Eric Schluessel delves into this complex encounter between Chinese power and a Muslim society. Through the stories of ordinary people in the oasis of Turpan, he explores the human consequences of a bloody conflict and the more insidious violence of reconstruction. Schluessel traces the emergence of new struggles around essential questions of identity, showing how religious and linguistic differences converged into ethnic labels. By reading across local archives and manuscript accounts in the Chinese and Chaghatay languages, he recasts the attempted transformation of Xinjiang as a distinct form of colonialism.

This book is particularly relevant in today's context, as understanding the roots of the modern relationship between Uyghurs and China has gained newfound urgency. "Land of Strangers" provides valuable insights into a crucial moment of social and cultural change in Xinjiang's past, shedding light on the complexities and challenges that continue to shape this region.

\n Weight: 416g\n
Dimension: 152 x 227 x 21 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9780231197557\n \n