The Life of Yakoob Beg; Athalik Ghazi, and Badaulet; Ameer of Kashgar

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James D. Boulger. The Life of Yakoob Beg; Athalik Ghazi, and Badaulet; Ameer of Kashgar

PREFACE

CHAPTER I. GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF KASHGAR

CHAPTER II. ETHNOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF KASHGAR

CHAPTER III. HISTORY OF KASHGAR

CHAPTER IV. THE CONQUEST OF KASHGAR BY CHINA

CHAPTER V. THE CHINESE RULE IN KASHGAR

CHAPTER VI. THE BIRTH OF YAKOOB BEG AND CAREER IN THE SERVICE OF KHOKAND

CHAPTER VII. THE INVASION OF KASHGAR BY BUZURG KHAN AND YAKOOB BEG

CHAPTER VIII. WARS WITH THE TUNGANI

CHAPTER IX. YAKOOB BEG'S GOVERNMENT OF KASHGAR

CHAPTER X. YAKOOB BEG'S POLICY TOWARDS RUSSIA

CHAPTER XI. YAKOOB BEG'S RELATIONS WITH ENGLAND

CHAPTER XII. YAKOOB BEG'S LAST WAR WITH CHINA, AND DEATH

CHAPTER XIII. THE CHINESE RECONQUEST OF KASHGAR

CHAPTER XIV. THE CHINESE FACTOR IN THE CENTRAL ASIAN QUESTION

APPENDIX

THE POSITION OF LOB-NOR

TREATY BETWEEN RUSSIA AND CHINA

TREATY BETWEEN ENGLAND AND CASHMERE

TREATY BETWEEN RUSSIA AND KASHGAR

TREATY BETWEEN ENGLAND AND KASHGAR

RULES FOR THE GUIDANCE OF THE JOINT COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED FOR THE NEW ROUTE TO EASTERN TURKESTAN

A STORY FROM KASHGAR

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The state of Kashgar, which comprises the western portion of Eastern or Chinese Turkestan, has been defined as being bounded on the north by Siberia, on the south by the mountains of Cashmere, on the east by the Great Desert of Gobi, and on the west by the steppe of "High Pamere." This description, while sufficiently correct for general speaking, admits of more detail in a work dealing at some length with that country. Strictly, the name Kashgar or Cashgar applies only to the city, and it was not until after the time of Marco Polo, when it was the most populous and opulent town in the whole region, that it became used for the neighbouring country. The correct name is either Little Bokhara or Eastern Turkestan, and the Chinese call it Sule. Recent writers have styled the territory of the Athalik Ghazi Kashgaria. It certainly extended through a larger portion of Chinese Turkestan than did any past native rule in Kashgar, the Chinese of course excepted. The definition given above of the limits of Kashgar states that on the north it is bounded by Siberia, but this is erroneous, for the extensive territory of Jungaria or Mugholistan intervenes. Jungaria under the Chinese was known as Ili from its capital, and now under the Russians is spoken of as Kuldja, another name for the same city. This very extensive and important district was included in the same government with Kashgar when the Chinese dominated in all this region from their head-quarters at Ili; but in the final settlement after the disruption of the Chinese power in 1863, while Kashgar fell to the Khoja Buzurg Khan, and the eastern portion of Jungaria, together with the cities of Kucha, Karashar, and Turfan south of the Tian Shan range, to the Tungani; Kuldja or Ili was occupied by the Russians. The frontier line between Kuldja and Kashgar is very clearly marked by the Tian Shan, and the same effectual barrier divides the continent into two well-defined divisions from Aksu to Turfan and beyond. Eastern Turkestan is, therefore, bounded on the north by the Tian Shan, and on the south the Karakoram Mountains form a no less satisfactory bulwark between it and Kohistan and Cashmerian Tibet. As has been said, on the west the steppe of Pamir and on the east the desert of Gobi present distinct and secure defences against aggression from without in those directions. There are few states in Asia with a more clearly marked position than that of which we have been speaking. Nature seems to have formed it to lead an isolated and independent existence, happy and prosperous in its own resources and careless of the outer world; but its history has been of a more troubled character, and at only brief intervals has its natural wealth been so fostered as to make it that which it has been called, "the Garden of Asia." This condition of almost continual warfare and disturbance during centuries, has left many visible marks on the external features of the country, and in nothing is this more strikingly evident than in the small population. A region which contains at the most moderate estimate 250,000 square miles, is believed by the highest authorities to contain less than 1,000,000 inhabitants. In breadth Kashgaria may be said to extend from longitude E. 73° to 89°, and in width from latitude N. 36° to 43°; but the ancient kingdom of Kashgar has been always considered to have reached only to Aksu, a town about 300 miles north-east of Kashgar. When the Chinese about fifty years ago conceded certain trade privileges to Khokand, they were not to have effect east of Aksu; this fact seems conclusive as to the recognized limits of the ancient dynasty of Kashgar. The capital of this district, which at one time has been a flourishing kingdom under a native ruler, at another a tributary of some Tartar conqueror, and then distracted by the struggles of his effete successors, and at a third time a subject province of the Chinese, has fluctuated as much as the fortunes of the state itself. Now it has been Yarkand, now Kashgar, and yet again, on several occasions, Aksu. The claims of Kashgar seem to have prevailed in the long run, for, although Yarkand is still the larger city, Yakoob Beg established his capital at Kashgar, and made that town known throughout the whole of Asia by the means of his government.

Kashgar is situated in a plain in the north of the province, and the small river on which it is built is known as the Kizil Su. Immediately beyond it the country becomes hilly and mountainous, until in the far distance may be seen the snow-clad peaks of the Tian Shan, and the Aksai Plateau. Although the population is barely 30,000, there is now an air of brisker activity in the bazaars and caravanserais of this capital than in any other city in the country. The trade carried on with Russia in recent years has given some life to the place; but few, if any, merchants proceed more inland than this, whether they come from Khokand or from Kuldja. The town stretches on both sides of the river, which is crossed by a wooden bridge; but there are no buildings of any pretensions for external beauty or internal comfort. The orda or palace of the Ameer, which is in Yangy Shahr, five miles from the city, is a large gloomy barrack of a place with several buildings within each other; the outer ones are occupied by the household troops and by the court officials, and the inner one of all is set apart for the family and serai of the ruler himself. In connection with this is a hall of audience, in which he receives in solemn state such foreigners as it seems politic for him to honour. In the old days, Kashgar used to be a strongly fortified position, but the only remains of its former strength are the ruins which are strewn freely all around. Kashgar is, therefore, an open and quite defenceless town, and lies completely at the mercy of any invader who might come along the high road from Aksu or Bartchuk, or across the mountains from Khokand or Kuldja; but at Yangy Shahr, about five miles south of Kashgar, Yakoob Beg constructed a strong fort, where he deposited all his treasure, and this may be taken to be the citadel of Kashgar as well as the residence of the ruler. Yangy Shahr means new city, and as a fortification erected by a Central Asian potentate with very limited means, it must be considered to be a very creditable piece of military workmanship. The Andijanis or Khokandian merchants who have at various times settled here, form a very important class in this town in particular, and it was they who more than any one else contributed to the success of the invasion of Buzurg Khan and Mahomed Yakoob. It is, however, said that these merchant classes had become to some extent dissatisfied with the late state of things, whether because Yakoob Beg did not fulfil all his promises, or for some other reason, is not clear. If Kashgar under its late rule was not restored to that prosperous condition which excited the admiration of Marco Polo, and the Chinese traveller, Hwang Tsang, before him, it may be considered to have been as fairly well-doing as any other city in either Turkestan, while life and property were a great deal more secure than in some we could mention.

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In 1758 and 176 °Chinese armies entered Khokand. Tashkent fell in the former year, and the capital in the latter. The Chinese then withdrew, after imposing a tribute upon Khokand. During the long reign of Keen-Lung – that is, down to 1795 – the tribute was regularly paid. After that year, however, the payment became irregular, and border warfare of frequent occurrence between the two neighbours. At last, in 1812, Khokand, then under an able prince, refused to pay tribute any longer, and the Chinese acquiesced in the repudiation. Nor did the change in the relations between China and Khokand stop here; for, a few years afterwards, the Chinese found it expedient to pay Khokand an annual sum to keep the Khoja family, whose representatives were residing in Khokand, from intriguing against them. The amount of the subsidy was £3,500 of our money. In addition to this, the Khan of Khokand was permitted to levy a tax on all Mahomedan merchandise sold in Kashgar through Andijan merchants. This tax was collected by the Aksakals before mentioned, and was a very profitable source of income for the impecunious khans. But even these concessions and perquisites did not satisfy the Mussulmans of Central Asia, who saw in Chinese moderation an evidence of weakness and decline. The Aksakals, in these years of Mahomedan revival, became political agents of the greatest importance. It was they who gave a point to all the discontent there might be in Kashgar; it was they who attributed to the Chinese the blame for whatever evils this world is never wholly free from; and it was they who agitated for the return of the old Khoja kings, who were always destined, in their eyes, to bring the most perfect happiness. With such causes at work both within and without their position, the Chinese had not to wait long before their authority was more openly challenged.

Sarimsak, the only member of the Khoja family surviving the massacre by the Chinese, had fled, as a child, into the impenetrable recesses of Wakhan. From thence, in later years, he had gone to settle in Khokand, where he married. This prince had three sons – Yusuf, Bahanuddin, and Jehangir, the youngest and best known. In 1816, the first outbreak against Chinese authority occurred, when a small rising took place in Tash Balik, a town to the west of Kashgar. This was speedily put down, and its leaders executed. It was but the forerunner of the storm.

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