The Uyghur Experience: Connecting the Dots in September 2022

Three important publications are launching this month, offering insight into what it means to be Uyghur today: On Sep 15, Editions Jentayu (info@editions-jentayu.fr) will launch Littérature Ouïghour, a special issue dedicated to contemporary Uyghur writing in French translation. Authors include Memtimin Hoshur and his visionary short story on problematic mustaches; Perhat Tursun; Helide Isra'il; Gülnisa Erdal; … Continue reading The Uyghur Experience: Connecting the Dots in September 2022 →

Rahile Dawut: Defining the Uyghur Meshrep

The following description is excerpted from Uyghur Meshrep Culture and Its Social Function, by Sawut Pawan, Rahile Dawut, and Saadet Kurban, College of Humanities, Xinjiang University. Rahile Dawut (راھىلە داۋۇت, 热依拉 · 达吾提) a renowned expert in Uyghur folklore, was disappeared by the Chinese government in 2017 and has not been seen since. Uyghur Meshrep Culture A Meshrep is a traditional male … Continue reading Rahile Dawut: Defining the Uyghur Meshrep →

Meshrep Under the Moon has Morphed into Variety Shows under the Klieg Lights

In Historic Uyghur Culture is under Existential Threat, co-authored by Rian Thum and Musapir, we learn how the traditional meshrep has been transmogrified into a large-scale tourist spectacle rather than a community event: In Emet’s village of Tashmiliq, a typical meshrep began under the guidance of a local notable. Guests danced to an orchestra of two-stringed lutes, the banjo-like rabap, … Continue reading Meshrep Under the Moon has Morphed into Variety Shows under the Klieg Lights →

Confessions of a Jade Lord (excerpt): ‘Marry your mother to the villain who killed your father’

(Posted: Feb 2, 2022) This short excerpt from Alat Asem's Confessions of a Jade Lord (时间悄悄的嘴脸, 阿拉提·阿斯木著) intriguingly captures several key aspects of Uyghur culture, modern and ancient. To get his greedy hands on nine hefty chunks of priceless creamy-white, "mutton-fat" jade, Eysa and his gang administer a deadly beating to Xali, a fellow trader. Fearing arrest, Eysa flees … Continue reading Confessions of a Jade Lord (excerpt): ‘Marry your mother to the villain who killed your father’ →

Growing up Uyghur in Xinjiang: “Setting Sail in a Chinese-language World”

(Posted Dec 22, 2021) In China's Minority Fiction, Sabina Knight notes how China is pushing its ethnic minorities --- particularly the Uyghur in Xinjiang --- to master Mandarin: "The question of cultural survival haunts Patigül’s Bloodline《百年血脉》(2015). The novel situates the narrator—who, like the author, is half-Uyghur and half-Hui—within the matrix of the Han majority’s aggressive promotion … Continue reading Growing up Uyghur in Xinjiang: “Setting Sail in a Chinese-language World” →

Book Review of “The War on the Uyghurs”: How a People Became “Terrified”

An excerpt from Darren Byler’s review of Sean Roberts’ The War on the Uyghurs: Prior to the US declaration of the Global War on Terror, Uyghurs were described occasionally as “counterrevolutionaries” or as “separatists”, but never as terrorists. Working in concert with Chinese state security in a Beijing-based investigation, in the early 2000s US intelligence officials took up … Continue reading Book Review of “The War on the Uyghurs”: How a People Became “Terrified” →

“Sidik Golden MobOff”: Li Bai was Uyghur

An Excerpt from Sidik Golden MobOff by Alat Asem 斯迪克金子关机阿拉提·阿斯木著 First published in Peregrine, Issue 14, June 2013 Translated by Bruce Humes In our community, the only person who excelled at translating Uyghur into Chinese was Big Brother Sidik, and this was the inexhaustible source of his arrogance and aloofness. His colleagues and fellow students … Continue reading “Sidik Golden MobOff”: Li Bai was Uyghur →

Xinjiang-based Novel: Excerpt from Patigül’s “Bloodline”

An excerpt from Bloodline , a novel by Uyghur author Patigül set in Xinjiang (《百年血脉》帕蒂古丽著) Translated from the Chinese by Natascha Bruce Edited by Bruce Humes Growing Up In Da’nanpo (大南坡上的日子) We lived southeast of Da’nanpo, deep in the desert and on top of a steep slope, which meant all routes away from … Continue reading Xinjiang-based Novel: Excerpt from Patigül’s “Bloodline” →

Synopsis: “Confessions of a Jade Lord”

My co-translation of Uyghur author Alat Asem’s novel set in Xinjiang has now been published. Here is a brief synopsis of sorts, taken straight off the book’s back cover: Confessions of a Jade Lord 《时间悄悄的嘴脸》（阿拉提·阿斯木著) “Tell Eysa that he cannot live by drifting in the wind. He should return and live in his own … Continue reading Synopsis: “Confessions of a Jade Lord” →

The New Xinjiang: Traveling when Uyghur

In Navigating Xinjiang's Security Checkpoints, Darren Byler, anthropology PhD candidate at the University of Washington, relates his recent experiences in northwest China: Over the course of a week in cities across Xinjiang, I went through dozens and dozens of checkpoints. I saw young Uighur officers berate elderly Uighurs for not showing their IDs. I saw … Continue reading The New Xinjiang: Traveling when Uyghur →