Bharatwiki Socrates at 06:48, 10 December 2023

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{{Short description|Historical region in Central Asia}}
{{About|a geographical region term|the Chinese province-level division that corresponds to the region|Xinjiang}}

[[File:Chinese Turkestan with caravan and rifle (1901) (14594951057).jpg|thumb|A 1901 map showing the areas around Chinese Turkestan.]]

'''Chinese Turkestan''', also spelled '''Chinese Turkistan''',<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y9lwAAAAMAAJ |title=A Short History of Chinese Turkistan |publisher=Centre of Central Asian Studies, University of Kashmir |year=1981 }}</ref> is a geographical term corresponding to the region of the [[Tarim Basin]] in [[southern Xinjiang]] (south of the [[Tian Shan]] mountain range) or [[Xinjiang]] as a whole<ref name="revisited">{{cite journal |title=The Great Game Revisited: Three Empires Collide in Chinese Turkestan (Xinjiang) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24537108 |journal=Europe-Asia Studies |jstor=24537108 |access-date=September 19, 2023 |last1=Share |first1=Michael B. |date=2015 |volume=67 |issue=7 |pages=1102–1129 |doi=10.1080/09668136.2015.1067075 |s2cid=153350010 }}</ref><ref name="xinjiang">{{cite web |title=Xinjiang – China's new territory or East Turkestan? |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/voices/xinjiang-chinas-new-territory-or-east-turkestan/ |website=The Times of India |access-date=August 22, 2023}}</ref> which was under the rule of the [[Qing dynasty]] of China. It is considered a part of the [[Chinese Tartary]] that covered the [[Inner Asia]]n regions ruled by the Qing dynasty. The Europeans commonly used this term especially during the period of the Qing dynasty to denote the division of [[Turkestan]] into territories controlled by the Chinese and the Russians, with the latter controlling [[Russian Turkestan]] in the west.

==History==
The very forms of Kharosthi Inscriptions have found have epithets like ‘priyadarsana priyadevama" used in several of the Kharosthi Inscriptions discovered by Sir A. Stein in Chinese Turkestan that remind us the Asokan formula “Devanampriyena Priyadarsina" (First Rock-Edict Mansehra). This unmistakably points to the Mauryan influence in this region. Prof. Hiralal Jain seems to be right in his opinion that the Indian Prakrit used in these inscriptions Is a variety of Paisaci.<ref>{{Cite book|page=415|url=http://archive.org/details/dli.calcutta.06445|title=Indian Historical Quarterly, Vol-13, Issue no.-1-4}}</ref>

Eastern [[Central Asia]] was historically referred to as the [[Western Regions]] under the control of the [[Han dynasty]] and [[Tang dynasty]] of China. Over the course of the history the Turkic people [[Uzbeks]] and [[Uyghurs]] conquered the [[Persian language|Persian]]-speaking [[Tajiks]] and established several small principalities in Central Asia, giving their name [[Turkestan]] (or Turkistan). They then ruled over the region (later fell under the overlordship of the [[Mongols]] including the [[Chagatai Khanate]] and the [[Dzungar Khanate]]) until they were subjugated by the Chinese [[Qing dynasty]] during the final phase of the [[Dzungar–Qing Wars]] in the 1750s. Thence the European name of Chinese Turkestan (or Chinese Turkistan),<ref>{{cite book | title = History of the World from the Earliest Period to the Present Time, Volume 1 | year = 1871 | pages = 16 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=At3YtG4Gbx8C&pg=PA16 |access-date=August 22, 2023 | last1 = Duyckinck | first1 = Evert Augustus }}</ref> similar to the name [[Russian Turkestan]] which was controlled by the [[Russian Empire]] and [[Afghan Turkestan]] in northern [[Afghanistan]].<ref>{{cite web | url = https://muse.jhu.edu/article/315206 | title = Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang (review) | access-date = October 1, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://ciaotest.cc.columbia.edu/olj/sa/sa_mar01rom01.html | title = India's Interests in Central Asia | access-date = October 1, 2023}}</ref>

==Usage==
The term “Chinese Turkestan” or “Chinese Turkistan” was commonly used by Europeans during the period of the Qing dynasty to specifically refer to the region (as part of [[Chinese Tartary]] that was ruled by Qing China), while the Chinese often called this region ''[[Tian Shan]] Nan Lu'' (Chinese: 天山南路), meaning the area in [[Xinjiang]] south of the Tian Shan Mountains. The term "Chinese Turkestan" (or "Chinese Turkistan") can also refer to Xinjiang as a whole in some sources,<ref name="revisited"></ref><ref name="xinjiang"></ref> and the term was also sometimes used by Qing officials in English-language writings. It gradually lost popularity in the 20th century worldwide after the fall of the Qing dynasty, although it was still being used in various publications during the eras when the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] and the [[People's Republic of China]] ruled the region.<ref>{{cite journal | title = The Annexation of Chinese Turkestan | year = 1935 | jstor = 4203088 | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4203088 |access-date=August 22, 2023 | last1 = Vakar | first1 = Nicholas | journal = The Slavonic and East European Review | volume = 14 | issue = 40 | pages = 118–123 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title = Bazaars of Chinese Turkestan | year = 1997 | isbn = 978-0-19-590270-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v5IMAQAAMAAJ |access-date=August 22, 2023 | last1 = Weng | first1 = Weiquan | publisher = Oxford University Press }}</ref> During the 20th century, Uyghur separatists and their supporters used [[East Turkestan]] as an appellation for the whole of Xinjiang (the [[Tarim Basin]] and [[Dzungaria]]) or for a future independent state in present-day [[Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region]], whereas others typically use the name "Xinjiang" to refer to the [[Autonomous regions of China|autonomous region]] of China. As a result, the term "Chinese Turkestan" (or "Chinese Turkistan") has largely been replaced by other terms nowadays, although it retains a certain degree of relevance.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7312/mill20454-003/pdf | title = Preface and Acknowledgements | doi = 10.7312/mill20454-003 | doi-broken-date = 2023-10-29 | access-date = October 1, 2023}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[China proper]]
* [[Chinese Tartary]]
* [[Altishahr]]
* [[East Turkestan]]
* [[Western Regions]]
* [[Xinjiang under Qing rule]]
* [[Protectorate of the Western Regions]]
* [[Protectorate General to Pacify the West]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Xinjiang topics}}
{{Central Asian history}}
{{Inner Asia}}
{{East Asian topics}}

[[Category:Geography of Xinjiang]]
[[Category:Historical regions of China]]
[[Category:Turkestan|Chinese]]

Chinese Turkestan - Revision history

Bharatwiki Socrates at 06:48, 10 December 2023