The Muslim Uprisings and Yaqub Beg's Kingdom
Muslim revolts drive out the Qing, a Kokandi commander, Yaqub Beg, builds an Islamic state in Kashgaria recognised by the Ottomans and Britain, and the Qing reconquer the region and make it a province.
- Holy War in China: The Muslim Rebellion and State in Chinese Central Asia, 1864–1877 — Hodong Kim, Stanford University Press (2004)
- Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang — James A. Millward, Columbia University Press (2007)
- The Uyghurs: Strangers in Their Own Land — Gardner Bovingdon, Columbia University Press (2010)
In 1864, as the Hui Muslim rebellion spread through north-west China, Muslims across Xinjiang rose against Qing rule and killed or expelled Qing garrisons. Out of the chaos, Yaqub Beg, a military commander from the Central Asian khanate of Kokand, seized Kashgar and by 1870 ruled most of the region. He ran a strict Islamic state, received recognition and arms from the Ottoman sultan, and signed commercial treaties with Russia and Britain.
- Holy War in China: The Muslim Rebellion and State in Chinese Central Asia, 1864–1877 — Hodong Kim, Stanford University Press (2004)
- Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang — James A. Millward, Columbia University Press (2007)
In 1876–77 the Qing general Zuo Zongtang marched west, and Yaqub Beg died suddenly in 1877, probably of a stroke, as his state collapsed. In 1884 the Qing made Xinjiang a regular province, governed largely by Han officials from Hunan, and began promoting Chinese schooling and settlement, ending the old system of local beg rule.
- Holy War in China: The Muslim Rebellion and State in Chinese Central Asia, 1864–1877 — Hodong Kim, Stanford University Press (2004)
- Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang — James A. Millward, Columbia University Press (2007)
A free Muslim state in East Turkestan, recognised by the Ottoman sultan and the British, that showed the region could govern itself until the Qing reconquered it by force.
- Holy War in China: The Muslim Rebellion and State in Chinese Central Asia, 1864–1877 — Hodong Kim, Stanford University Press (2004)
- The Uyghurs: Strangers in Their Own Land — Gardner Bovingdon, Columbia University Press (2010)
Yaqub Beg was a foreign invader from Kokand backed by British and Russian imperialists; Zuo Zongtang's campaign recovered Chinese territory and defended national unity.
- Holy War in China: The Muslim Rebellion and State in Chinese Central Asia, 1864–1877 — Hodong Kim, Stanford University Press (2004)
- Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang — James A. Millward, Columbia University Press (2007)
Hodong Kim shows that Yaqub Beg's regime grew out of a genuine local Muslim uprising, but was run largely by outsiders from Kokand, was harsh and taxing, and was not popular with many local people.
- Holy War in China: The Muslim Rebellion and State in Chinese Central Asia, 1864–1877 — Hodong Kim, Stanford University Press (2004)
Why it matters today
Yaqub Beg's state is remembered by many Uyghur nationalists as a moment of independence and of ties to the wider Muslim world, especially the Ottomans. Its fall, and the creation of Xinjiang province in 1884, began the policy of integrating the region into China proper that continues today.