Whose historical homeland was China's Xinjiang?
A process of continual migration, flow and integration of various ethnic groups.
Jia Jianfei
Xinjiang has always been a region where multiple ethnic groups coexisted. How did the migration and integration of ethnic groups in the region develop since ancient China?
In ancient China, Xinjiang was referred to as the Western Regions and has always been a region where multiple ethnic groups coexisted. The present-day ethnic and population distribution in Xinjiang reflects a historical process of continual migration, flow and integration of various ethnic groups.
Examining the tapestry of history, it can clearly be seen that the impetus behind the migration and integration of ethnic groups in Xinjiang primarily originated from the east. The Han people from the Central Plains were among the earliest ethnic groups to enter Xinjiang, while the nomadic tribes from the northern grasslands exerted significant influence on the migration and integration of ethnic groups in Xinjiang over an extended period.
Early ethnic integration in Xinjiang
Prior to the Han dynasty (202 BC–AD 220), Xinjiang was already home to a diverse mix of ethnic groups. Based on archaeological, anthropological and historical studies, the original inhabitants of Xinjiang migrated from the east and west during different historical periods. Natural and geographical factors meant that exchanges between Xinjiang and the agrarian civilization of the Central Plains to the east, as well as the nomadic cultures of the northern grasslands, were more feasible compared to the west. Consequently, populations from the east steadily migrated westward, forming the predominant demographic makeup of Xinjiang.
The Western Han dynasty (202 BC–AD 25) witnessed a vibrant period of migration from the Central Plains to Xinjiang. According to historical records, the Saka people residing in the Ili River basin and the extensive region of the northern Syr Darya River were the earliest ancient ethnic group with a confirmed identity in Xinjiang's history. Starting from the Western Han dynasty, populations from the east began migrating westward to Xinjiang. Over the subsequent two millennia, Xinjiang's ethnic structure and population distribution have continued to shift.
During the early Western Han dynasty, the Dayuezhi people, who had been active in the Hexi Corridor and its western reaches, were displaced by the Xiongnu people from the east. They migrated westward to the Ili River basin, forcing some Saka people to move south. A portion of these Saka people then settled in various oases on the peripheries of the Tarim Basin, where they established city-states such as Shule, Shache, Xiuxun and Yutian (Khotan). Later, under pressure from the Wusun people, the Dayuezhi moved even farther west to the Syr Darya River basin. The Wusun, in turn, occupied the Ili River basin and the vast region north of the Tianshan Mountains. With the rise of the Xiongnu, large numbers of them entered Xinjiang, defeating local ethnic groups and unifying the region.
Around the same time, the Han people gradually made their way into Xinjiang. These early arrivals were referred to as the "Qin people" by Xinjiang locals. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the imperial envoy Zhang Qian made two journeys to the Western Regions, formally opening up a major passage to the west and initiating official communication between the Central Plains and the Western Regions.
In the first century BC, the Western Han dynasty officially incorporated Xinjiang into its governance system. Notably, in 60 BC, the Western Han government established the Protectorate of the Western Regions in the city of Wulei (now in Luntai county, Xinjiang), leading to a substantial influx of Han people into Xinjiang, including officials and soldiers sent to defend and cultivate the border areas, merchants, as well as their families. By the end of the Han dynasty, the Han people had become widespread throughout Xinjiang.
Since the Han dynasty, more of China's ancient ethnic groups have migrated to Xinjiang. Particularly during the Wei Kingdom (220–265), Jin dynasty (265–420), and the Southern and Northern dynasties (420–589), the frequency of migrations and interactions among various ethnic groups increased. Among them, nomadic tribes from the north were predominant, making this period a significant era of integration for northern ethnic groups in ancient China. For example, ethnic groups such as the Xianbei, Rouran, Yanda, Gaoche, Yuepan and Tuyuhun migrated successively to Xinjiang and became active in the areas north and south of the Tianshan Mountains.
The significant wave of migration
The Tang dynasty (618–907) witnessed another significant wave of ethnic migration in Xinjiang, with substantial movements of Han, Tujue (Turkic), Tubo and Huihu (Uighur) peoples to the region, profoundly shaping its historical trajectory.
First, the Tujue (Turkic) people. In the mid-sixth century, the Turkic people established the Turkic Khanate centered on Mobei (the area north of the vast deserts on the Mongolian Plateau), ruling over Xinjiang and vast areas of the Mongolian steppe. Later, the Turkic Khanate split into eastern and western branches, and by the mid-eighth century, both had collapsed, leading to the gradual integration of Xinjiang's Turkic people into other ethnic groups.
Next came the Han people. During the Tang dynasty (618–907), a large number of Han people migrated to Xinjiang through avenues such as military service, land reclamation projects, business ventures and voluntary migration. Records show that during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, there were over 70,000 Han people in Yizhou (present-day Hami), Xizhou (present-day Turpan) and Tingzhou (present-day Jimsar). In addition, there were approximately 30,000 troops stationed along with tens of thousands of their family members in the four townships administered under the Anxi Protectorate: Qiuci (present-day Kuqa), Yanqi (present-day Yanqi), Yutian (present-day Hotan) and Shule (present-day Kashi). It is estimated that at that time, the total population of Xinjiang was only a few hundred thousand, with Han people accounting for approximately one-third to one-half. The Tang government implemented the same systems in Xinjiang as in other territories.
Additionally, many Tubo people also migrated to Xinjiang during this time. In 663, the Tubo regime expanded into present-day Qinghai Province and the southeast of Tarim Basin, sparking conflicts with the Tang dynasty over control of Xinjiang. Particularly in 755, taking advantage of the Tang government's dispatching a large military force from Xinjiang to quell the An Shi Rebellion, the Tubo regime launched military campaigns and occupied most of the areas north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. Consequently, a large number of Tubo tribes began to migrate into Xinjiang.
Lastly, there were the Huihu (Uighur) people. The Huihu initially inhabited the Selenga River and Orkhon River basins. As early as the late fifth century, a portion of the Huihu tribe had migrated to the Tianshan Mountains region. In the mid-eighth century, the Huihu established a regime in Mobei and engaged in intense competition with the Tubo regime in Xinjiang at the late-eighth and early-ninth centuries, ultimately gaining control of some of the areas north of the Tianshan Mountains. In 840, the Huihu Khanate collapsed, leading to the mass migration of its populace. Some of them migrated to the present-day Jimsar and Turpan, later establishing the Huihu Kingdom of Gaochang (Qocho Uighur Kingdom). Another faction migrated to the Central Asian steppe and Kashgar (present-day Kashi), where they, along with other ethnic groups, founded the Kara-Khanid Khanate.
Over the subsequent centuries, the Huihu (Uighur) people migrating westward formed the core, gradually evolving into the present-day Uygur ethnic group after assimilating and integrating with some of the local Xinjiang residents, as well as the Tujue (Turkic), Khitan, Mongol, Tubo, Qiang and Han populations migrating to Xinjiang.
Formation of ethnic distribution in north and south Xinjiang
During the Song (960–1127), Liao (907–1125), Jin (1115 –1234) and Yuan (1271–1368) dynasties, a large number of ethnic groups from grassland regions, represented by the Khitans and the Mongols, moved to Xinjiang.
In 1124, Yelü Dashi of the Liao dynasty led his troops westward, establishing the Western Liao regime, leading to the movement of a group of Khitan people to Xinjiang. In the 13th century, the Mongols conducted three westward expeditions, with a significant number of Jurchen, Khitan, Han, Huihu (Uighur) and Western Xia people among their ranks. This led to another wave of ethnic migrations, during which many Han people were resettled by the Mongol government in Xinjiang for agricultural purposes.
The Mongols' westward expansion and their governance of Xinjiang further dismantled barriers between diverse ethnic groups, paving the way for the emergence of the Hui, Kazakh, Uzbek and other new ethnic groups.
Following the fall of the Yuan dynasty, the Eastern Chagatai Khanate and the Yarkant Khanate, established by descendants of Chagatai, continued to rule over much of Xinjiang. This period witnessed further integration and development of various ethnic groups in Xinjiang. Many Han people, Chagatai Mongols and other groups integrated into the Uygur community, while Kazakh, Kyrghyz, Uzbek and Tajik peoples gradually emerged as distinct ethnic groups.
During the same period, Mongolia was divided into areas of Tatar and Oirat ethnic groups, later fragmenting further into Monan, Mobei and Moxi Mongolia—the areas south, north and west of the vast deserts on the Mongolian Plateau, respectively.
In the first half of the 16th century, Moxi Mongolians (also known as the Oirats) were primarily active in the western Mongolian steppe. By the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the Oirats migrated westward to the vast areas north of the Tianshan Mountains and the Irtysh River basin. After integrating surrounding ethnic groups, eventually a situation developed whereby the Dzungar, Dorbod, Torghut and Khoshut peoples coexisted as the four major tribes.
In the late 17th century, the Dzungar tribe gained control over the Mongol Oirat tribe north of the Tianshan Mountains. Subsequently, the Torghut and Khoshut relocated to the lower reaches of the Volga River and Qinghai, respectively. The Dzungars later conquered the Yarkant Khanate south of the Tianshan Mountains.
In the mid 18th century, the Qing dynasty (1616–1911) finally quelled the rebellions of the Dzungars in northern Xinjiang and of the Altishahr Khojas in southern Xinjiang, thereby unifying the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains and establishing effective governance. To strengthen control over and develop Xinjiang, the Qing government organized large numbers of Manchu, Mongolian, Xibo, Solon (Daur), Han and Hui soldiers from the east to settle in Xinjiang.
At the same time, the government actively encouraged the Han and Hui peoples from the Central Plains to migrate to Xinjiang, and organized the Uygurs from the south of the Tianshan Mountains to cultivate land in Ili, northern Xinjiang. As a result, the Manchu, Xibo, Solon and other ethnic groups became new members of Xinjiang's diverse ethnic mosaic.
During the late 19th to early 20th centuries, there was a significant influx of Russians, Uzbeks and Tatars into Xinjiang, who settled permanently.
By the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Xinjiang was home to 13 indigenous ethnic groups: the Uygur, Han, Mongolian, Manchu, Hui, Kazakh, Xibo, Kyrghyz, Daur, Russian, Tatar, Tajik and Uzbek groups. This created a demographic landscape in Xinjiang where various ethnic groups spread over vast areas while some lived in individual concentrated communities in small areas.
The views don't necessarily reflect those of DeepChina.
The author is Jia Jianfei, associate researcher at the Institute of Shanxi Merchants Studies, Shanxi University of Finance and Economics.
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