Four Interesting Facts about Uyghur Tribe in China

VIVA – China is one of the largest countries with the second largest population in the world. It turns out that China has several ethnic groups, one is the Uyghur. The Uyghur is an official minority ethnic group in China.

This tribe is a descendant of the ancient Huihe tribe spread across Central Asia. It is known that the Uighur people are the main Muslim tribe in China. As reported by Britannica, the Uyghurs are Turkic-speaking people in the interior of Eastern Central Asia, China. Well, here are four interesting facts about the Uyghurs.

1. Ever Became the Largest Empires in the World

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Aksi Solidaritas Untuk Muslim Uighur

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• ANTARA FOTO/Rahmad

As information from UNESCO's A Brief Introduction to Uyghurs and East Turkestan, author James Churchward described the Uyghur Empire in his book "The Great Uyghur Empire" as the largest and most important colonial empire of Mu, the Sun Empire.

The tribe established the Uighur Empire in the Uighur, Toquz Oghuz, Orkhon, and Khanate which stretched from the Caspian Sea to Manchuria from 745 to 840 AD. However, the kingdom was invaded by the Kyrgyz in 840 AD causing it to migrate toward the Tien Shan.

2. Living in the Most Barren Region of the World

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Para peserta didik kamp pendidikan vokasi etnis Uighur di Kota Kashgar, Daerah Otonomi Xinjiang, Cina, mengikuti kelas ilmu hukum, Jumat, 3 Januari 2019.

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• ANTARA FOTO/M Irfan Ilmie

The Uyghurs are mostly rural people who live in a network of oases formed in the valleys and slopes of the Tien Shan, Pamir. Living in one of the most barren regions in the world. The Uyghur tribe has practiced irrigation for centuries to conserve water for agriculture. 

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Tindakan represif militer China terhadap etnis Muslim Uighur

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• NPR

In the 1950s, the Uyghurs in Xinjiang lived side by side with the Han, China's majority ethnicity who came to Xinjiang. Over time, they became enemies due to economic and ethnic disparities. It culminated in 2009 when 200 Han people were killed and 1,700 injured. 

Then, Chinese authorities responded by cracking down on Uyghurs suspected of being dissidents and separatists. The authorities' actions included shootings, arrests, and prison sentences in 2017. The most controversial government effort was the arrest of up to one million Uyghurs by human rights organizations. 

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Aksi solidaritas untuk Muslim Uighur

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• ANTARA FOTO/Basri Marzuki

A publication titled A Brief Introduction to Uyghurs and East Turkestan writes that the 2003 Chinese government census put the Uyghurs at nearly 9 million, making them the fifth largest of China's 55 officially recognized ethnic minorities.

Previously, in 1949 the Uighurs accounted for 95 percent of East Turkestan's population. In China's 60th year of communist rule, Uyghurs officially represent 45 percent of the country's population. Han tribe accounts for only 40 percent.

Halaman Selanjutnya

The Uyghurs are mostly rural people who live in a network of oases formed in the valleys and slopes of the Tien Shan, Pamir. Living in one of the most barren regions in the world. The Uyghur tribe has practiced irrigation for centuries to conserve water for agriculture.