8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Way too preachy..., September 8, 2010
This review is from: Wild West China: The Taming of Xinjiang (Hardcover)
This book begins with a sprawling historic panorama of desert sands & nomadic tribes. The intimate details of the Taklamakan desert are inspiring. But soon it becomes clear that this work's main purpose is not scholarly; the author has a very big ax to grind. Popular (and largely ill-informed) western sentiment regarding the liberation of Xinjiang, like the Tibet issue, suddenly leak out. Some of the initial, somewhat incongruous proclamations are embarrassingly contradictory, such as the statement on page 60 that, "...the 'autonomous region' [referring to Xinjiang] which has no autonomy..." is then followed by this remark on the very next page: "...the 'new frontier' [Xinjiang] enjoyed considerable autonomy."
After establishing that Chinese authority in the region dates back to around 600 CE, the author then begins building a case against China's presence and against Han Chinese mistreatment of the Uighurs (one of many native minority populations inhabiting the region). Paradoxically, it was the Qing Dynasty Manchus (non-Han) who dominated China and brought Xinjiang under complete control, as they did the rest of China's Han population, until they themselves (the Manchus) became totally assimilated into Han culture. The author believes that China's continued administration of Xingiang since this time in unfair and that Xinjiang must now be granted independance. These is no mention of the fact that the Uighurs (the Orkon Uighur Kingdom) are not indigenous to the Tarim Basin region and themselves invaded the area (displacing Indo-Europeans who we know were living there at least as far back as 1800 BCE) after being thrown out of Western Mongolia in 840 CE by the Kirghiz, another Turkic people that the Uyghurs had themselves previously invaded and dominated.
The author's rhetoric quickly builds into a vitriolic polemic against the Chinese Communist Party, listing horrific injustices that they imposed on the native populace; presumably with the end goal of exterminating all of them. Author seems unaware that the atrocities he lists have been suffered not just by Uighurs, but by Han Chinese as well. He also downplays efforts made by China to bring education, modernization, food & sanitation to the region. One might ask, "What right does China have, forcing these people to enter the modern world?" This is perhaps valid when dealing with adults who can choose for themselves, but forcing children to live in squalor and remain uneducated is not acceptable by any standard of civility.
The author is excessive in describing "Han chauvinism," the attempt to turn Muslim Uyghurs into Han Chinese and he contradicts himself again in the latter part of the book, claiming that imported Han Chinese steal jobs that would otherwise have gone to "more highly qualified Uighurs." This is after we have been told about how the Uighurs are not given educational opportunities because of Han chauvinism and that they instead cling to Muslim madrasah religious indoctrination that also breeds violence. How then are they "more highly qualified" than Han Chinese who have attended university and learned useful skills, instead of hateful religious indoctrination? He also bemoans the fact that there is no unified Xinjiang liberation movement due to what two prominent Uighur (or "Eastern Turkistan") elders (i.e.: General Riza Bekin & Erkin Alptekin) attribute to "laziness and lack of education," (p.234) coupled with in-fighting among the various contenders for Uighur leadership in exile. These are exactly the same observations that Han Chinese who live in Xinjiang commonly make. This, in spite of the fact that the Chinese government has extended preferential treatment to the Uighurs (e.g.: greatly reduced college entrance requirements).
Another obvious (to anyone familiar with Asian people) faux-pas, is the author's selection of a photo, captioned: "A border guard in fraternizing mood". This photo, of a Han Chinese military officer cuddling a young girl, is meant to portray how "Han Chinese regard the minority peoples with a mixture of fear and fascination, as attractively exotic, but also as primitive and 'unpatriotic.'" It goes on to mention how this attitude is "repressive." The author wants us to believe that the perverted Han army officer is being inappropriately cuddly with a Uighur child who does not welcome his affection, when the girl in the picture is NOT one of the author's beloved Uighurs at all, but obviously a Han Chinese---and is in all likelihood the officer's daughter...
The Uighurs that Christian Tyler champions are not as saintly as he would like us to believe and if China's Communist Party, as universally reviled as everyone already knows it to be, were to suddenly pull out and leave them to their own devices, they would merely be absorbed by Afghanistan, where they would not likely fare much better. Setting the Uighurs up as martyrs only serves to reinforce their perpetual "status as victim," which will not help any of those who may choose to break out of this cycle and better themselves. This is what Han Chinese who also suffered unspeakably under "Liberation" chose to do.
I suspect this book may have been a Master's, or perhaps Ph.D. thesis that was not properly supervised. There are many points of interest, but the author sells himself short with sloppy scholarship and relentless Han-bashing. Those seeking a dispassionate presentation of Xinjiang history would appreciate "China Marches West," by Peter C. Perdue. Perdue carefully lays out well-documented material, leaving speculative judgments to the reader...
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16 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An invaluable contribution to Chinese History and International Studies, August 14, 2005
This review is from: Wild West China: The Taming of Xinjiang (Hardcover)
The home of sand-buried cities, painted cave shrines, rare animals, and wonderfully preserved mummies of a distinctive European appearance, the wilderness of Xinjiang in northwest China is marked by a savage landscape and volatile climate where the Uighurs still farm tranquil oases that ring the world's second largest sand desert (Taklamakan) and the native herdsmen sill roam the wild mountains. This is a region that has been hallmarked by violence ranging from the incursions by nomad chieftains from the north, Muslim emirs from Central Asia, Russian generals, and warlords from inner China. Wild West China: The Taming Of Xinjiang by journalist Christian Tyler is the story of how the Communists have developed this one time untamed wilderness through the development of a penal colony, as a buffer against invasion, and as a suppler of raw materials and living space. But Chinese development is seen by the native Uighurs as the unwelcome work of an alien occupier which has led to continued violence and savage reprisals. An invaluable contribution to Chinese History and International Studies, Wild West China is especially commended to academia and university library reference collections.
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4 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book, August 31, 2008
This review is from: Wild West China: The Taming of Xinjiang (Hardcover)
Wild West China gives an excellent history of Xinjiang, China. Because China has targeted the Muslim Uighur people who live there as potential terrorists as a way of controlling any desire they might have for autonomy, this is an important current issue. The book details the history of the Uighur from their earliest days in Xinjiang to the present. In an interesting, lively narrative the author shows how Xinjiang, like Tibet, has been conquered, manipulated, and used to capitalize on its potential wealth and provide "space" for its overflowing Han people. Most of us know little or nothing about the Uighur and the human rights issues plaguing them today. This book is one of the best at filling that gap.
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