Mosque “Consolidation” Campaign: Moving beyond Xinjiang into Gansu and Ningxia

In the recently released China: Mosques Shuttered, Razed, Altered in Muslim Areas report from Human Rights Watch, we learn that: The Chinese government is significantly reducing the number of mosques in Ningxia and Gansu provinces under its “mosque consolidation” policy, in violation of the right to freedom of religion, Human Rights Watch said today. Chinese … Continue reading Mosque “Consolidation” Campaign: Moving beyond Xinjiang into Gansu and Ningxia →

Quote of the Week: On the Train to Lhasa

The carriage soundscape was a veritable clash of the dialects; the Hui women gossiping in guttural, Central Asian-tinged Mandarin, the Hongkongers hiking through the octaves as they debated the issues of the day in tonal Cantonese. (Excerpted from the just-published Harmony Express by Thomas Bird)

Xizang, not Tibet: Name Rectification Underway

名不正，则言不顺 In China is Slowly Erasing Tibet's Name, we learn that: The Chinese government is gradually dropping the name "Tibet" in official English-language references in favor of the region's Mandarin Chinese name —"Xizang"— with experts saying the move is in line with Beijing policies aimed at erasing Tibetan culture . . . For more … Continue reading Xizang, not Tibet: Name Rectification Underway →

“Civilizations of the Silk Road” (translated excerpt): Princess Xijun’s Exile to the Western Regions

Mysteries of the Western Regions Pioneering Zhang Qian & Han Dynasty Explorers (Excerpted from H.K. Chang’s Civilizations of the Silk Road) Translated from 丝路文明 15 讲 byBruce Humes in collaboration with the author In 119 BCE, Zhang Qian (张骞) was entrusted with a second mission to the Western Regions (西域), mainly to the Kingdom of Wusun (烏孫) in the … Continue reading “Civilizations of the Silk Road” (translated excerpt): Princess Xijun’s Exile to the Western Regions →

Grassland logic, Agrilogistics and Hanspace Cosmologies — Robin Visser’s Disruptive “Questioning Borders”

Newly published Questioning Borders: Eco-Literatures of China and Taiwan by Robin Visser makes for fascinating reading, and it: . . . features works by Mongol, Tibetan, Taiwanese, Tao, Bunun, Yi, Bai, Kazakh, Uyghur, and Han writers set in rapidly transforming ecologies in Xinjiang, the Tibetan Plateau, Inner Mongolia, Southwest China, and Taiwan. Authors whose works are cited in detail … Continue reading Grassland logic, Agrilogistics and Hanspace Cosmologies — Robin Visser’s Disruptive “Questioning Borders” →

Uyghur Film-maker Who Studied in Turkey Prosecuted in China

In Uyghur film-maker claims he was tortured by authorities in China, the Guardian reports that Ikram Nurmehmet, a director known for his Uyghur protagonists in films such as The Elephant in the Car, recently had his day in court in Ürümqi: “I was held in a dark room for 20 days and physically tortured,” Nurmehmet reportedly said during the … Continue reading Uyghur Film-maker Who Studied in Turkey Prosecuted in China →

France Offers Fresh Look at Genghis Khan and the Mongols

The desire of the Chinese authorities to control the narrative regarding its borderland peoples has been dealt a blow with the opening of the exhibition, Genghis Khan: Comment les Mongols ont changé le monde at the Chateau des ducs de Bretagne in Nantes, France. In Blockbuster show on Genghis Khan opens in France after row with China, the Guardian reports: … Continue reading France Offers Fresh Look at Genghis Khan and the Mongols →