Certain Materials about Xinjiang Carried in Soviet Newspapers (Issue I)

[…]

Confidential

[To the] Secretary of the [Xinjiang Uyghur] Autonomous Region Party Committee and the Propaganda Departments of the Central Committee and the Northwest Bureau

Certain Materials about Xinjiang Carried in Soviet Newspapers

(Issue I)

Contents

1. Uyghur Culture, Past and Present

2. A Young Genius

3. Zi-ya Saimai-ti [sic] Appointed Chairman of the Uyghur Branch of the Kazakhstan Writers Association

4. A Letter from Xinjiang

Propaganda Department of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region Party Committee

22 August 1962

Uyghur Culture, Past and Present (Excerpts)

(M. Kai-bi-luo-fu [sic], Candidate in History Studies)

The Uyghurs have an ancient and highly developed agricultural and urban culture which has evolved over many centuries. “The majority of the Uyghurs settled down and engaged in agricultural activities in the region earlier than other Turks; they also abandoned [illegible] earlier than other Turks. They had literature before other Turks did, thereby becoming a highly cultured people residing in China and the rest of the world.” (A-You- Ya-mo-bo-fu-si-ji [sic])

The Uyghurs have a very high standard for architecture and painting. All paintings of significance in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China were the works of the ancient, outstanding, and hardworking Uyghurs.

The Uyghur script and Uyghur literature occupy a significant position in the treasure house of world literature. As early as the fourth century, the Uyghurs had literature written with their own script.

History proves that the rise and fall of Uyghur culture in the past was related to the Uyghurs’ lack of freedom, independence, and a national system of their own. For example, in 932, Yi-lai-ke-han [sic], one of the Uyghur kings, unified the Uyghurs and founded the Ka-la-ti-han Empire. It is during the period of the Ka-la-ti-han Empire under the rule of this Uyghur man that the Uyghurs created a number of literary works and academic books. The rule of the Mongols, who had an extremely low level of cultural development, hindered the development of the Uyghur people’s culture. Undoubtedly, if the Uyghurs had had a different fate in history, their culture would have reached a higher level.

The past three centuries represented the most painful chapter in the history of the Uyghur people. In the seventeenth century, East Turkestan was ruled by the nomadic Mongolian king, and its social development slumped. Oppression by the Mongols was replaced in the eighteenth century by the Qing Dynasty, which ruled the Han Chinese. As a result of this social situation and ethnic oppression, residents of East Turkestan eventually became one of the most backward peoples in East Asia.

The Uyghurs, who had a passion for freedom, could never bear the rule by the reactionary Han Chinese. According to Han Chinese documents, in the decades before liberation, the Uyghurs staged more than four hundred struggles against ethnic oppression. This is a good case in point.

Those decades were periods of time in which the Uyghurs resisted foreign oppressors and persevered in their struggle. Some of the people who took part in the rebellion were placed under protection on Russian soil.

The Uyghurs residing in Kazakhstan, Soviet Union, were the descendants of the Uyghurs who immigrated from Ili to Ye-ti-tai-su [sic] in Russia between 1881 and 1888. The Uyghur immigrants brought their culture, traditions, and techniques of turning wilderness into gardens…… [sic] to their new country.

Under the influence of the advanced Russian culture, the Uyghurs in the Soviet Union built schools. Their language was enriched and a number of Uyghur villages emerged. The villages had the same shape as Russian villages and did not have the traditional town walls typical of Eastern countries and [illegible]. There were also European-style residences and modern buildings in the villages. In particular, the Great October Revolution opened up infinite prospects for the economic and cultural development of the Uyghurs in the Soviet Union.

Today, the Uyghurs in Kazakhstan, Soviet Union, are marching towards a bright future, and the bright outlook is becoming increasingly apparent on their faces.

(Translated from Issues 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 of Banner of Communism (1962), Kazakhstan, Soviet Union.)

A Young Genius

The May issue of the Soviet magazine Women of Kazakhstan carried an article entitled “A Young Genius” written by Ke A-ya-bei-er-ge-ni-wa [sic]. The article featured A-mi-na-yu-su-fu [sic], who had been sent from the Xinjiang Autonomous Region to study in Kazakhstan, the Soviet Union. The magazine also carried a large photo of her (the magazine was of Format 16).

The article began with an introduction: A-mi-na-yu-su-fu worked for the Central Nationalities Song and Dance Ensemble in Beijing from 1952 through 1954. Afterwards, she worked for the Xinjiang Autonomous Region Song and Dance Ensemble and won a medal at the sixth Youth Festival in Moscow. After returning to China, she was sent to study in Tashkent. With a solid academic record, she performed with a Soviet ensemble of songs and dances in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and other places.

The article ended with the following words: “To those knowledgeable and talented young people, we are always [illegible]. Upon graduation from Tashkent in 1961, she volunteered to work for the Uyghur Song and Dance Ensemble in Almaty and was warmly welcomed by the ensemble, which had known her for a long time. At the ensemble, she designed a number of elaborate dances and taught her students how to dance. The “Grape Dance” designed by her is now performed by A-wa-han [sic] (this particular dance was designed by her husband A-ji-re-he-man [sic], who works for the Xinjiang Autonomous Region Song and Dance Ensemble).

(Translated from the May 1962 issue of Women of Kazakhstan)

Zi-ya Saimai-ti Appointed Chairman of the Uyghur Branch of the Kazakhstan Writers Association

Banner of Communism, a newspaper from Kazakhstan, the Soviet Union, reported on 14 November 1962 that the Uyghur Branch of the Kazakhstan Writers Association had been restructured and approved. The new branch consists of seven members, with writer Zi-ya Saimai-ti serving as its chairman. (Note: Zi-ya Saimai-ti was a far rightist and reactionary in Xinjiang who left for the Soviet Union in 1961.)

(Translated from the 14 January 1962 issue of Banner of Communism, Kazakhstan, the Soviet Union.)

A Letter from Xinjiang

This year’s second issue of Eastern Stars, a literary journal published in Kazakhstan, the Soviet Union, carried a poem eulogizing the 22nd Party Congress. The poem was written by A-bu-lie-zi Hai-shan-nuo-fu [sic], a solider in the second squadron of Altay’s armed police troops. The following is the translation of the text of his letter and poem published in Eastern Stars:

Comrade A-bu-lie-zi Hai-shan-nuo-, a solider of China’s armed forces, recently sent the following letter to our editorial office:

“The 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union is the greatest event in the world. The communist construction guidelines represent a torch held by working people all over the world. The Soviet people’s wholehearted and ambitious actions to build communism have won the admiration of all people in the world. With devoted love and friendly feelings, the entire Chinese nation congratulates the heroic march of the Soviet people down the path of communism. I would be on top of the world if my poem could capture a drop in the sea of the devoted love and friendly feelings.”

To the Motherland of the Victors

The Soviet Union is an invincible nation,

She is a great mentor for all people in the world,

Today, history witnesses—

The great 22nd Congress.

The voice of Lenin reverberates throughout the world.

The gate to communism has been opened,

The free and creative people witness the happiness of [illegible],

adding glory to the great system,

for the hard work and forbearance of Leninists.

A self-transformation is underway in the heart of the universe,

The great communist guidelines—

are just like a torch that gives life, radiating brilliant light,

People see it as a sun.

The edifice of communism, you’re so brilliant, so splendid,

The entire human race admires your strength,

Only you can turn the wheel of history,

Hence, the universe can only change as you say! …… [sic]

(Translated from the Issue 2, Eastern Stars (1962), Kazakhstan, the Soviet Union.)