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Mongolian Warriors and Communist Soldiers: A Frontier Town in China Mongolian Warriors and Communist Soldiers: A Frontier Town in China
(about 9 hours later)
WENQUAN, China — Wenquan means “hot springs,” and the town, nestled in a fertile swath of Central Asia, certainly has its share. Alpine forests cloak the surrounding mountains. To the south is a wide lake where azure waters lap at stony shores. Horses and sheep roam the pastures.WENQUAN, China — Wenquan means “hot springs,” and the town, nestled in a fertile swath of Central Asia, certainly has its share. Alpine forests cloak the surrounding mountains. To the south is a wide lake where azure waters lap at stony shores. Horses and sheep roam the pastures.
But an abundance of natural beauty is not what brought the Mongolian warriors to this land of broad valleys in China, next to present-day Kazakhstan.But an abundance of natural beauty is not what brought the Mongolian warriors to this land of broad valleys in China, next to present-day Kazakhstan.
The Chahar made the long journey in horse and camel caravans in the 18th century, under orders from the Qianlong Emperor and his court in Beijing. Qianlong, the greatest of the Manchu rulers of the Qing dynasty, cobbled together a vast multiethnic Chinese empire through conquests and alliances. Mongolian khanates, armies and tribes fell under his rule, often after vicious battles. The Chahar made the long journey in horse and camel caravans in the 18th century, under orders from the Qianlong Emperor and his court in Beijing. Qianlong, one of the greatest of the Manchu rulers of the Qing dynasty, cobbled together a vast multiethnic Chinese empire through conquests and alliances. Mongolian khanates, armies and tribes fell under his rule, often after vicious battles.
Qianlong dispatched a Chahar army from near the Mongolian steppe to newly conquered territories along the empire’s northwestern rim, where the Chahar were to form a border garrison.Qianlong dispatched a Chahar army from near the Mongolian steppe to newly conquered territories along the empire’s northwestern rim, where the Chahar were to form a border garrison.
“My father was here from a young age,” said Xiu Yun, 48, a manager at a modest resort hotel built around the hot springs in the town center. “His parents were from here too. My family members are descendants of the Mongolians who came under the Qing. We Mongols are very proud of this history.”“My father was here from a young age,” said Xiu Yun, 48, a manager at a modest resort hotel built around the hot springs in the town center. “His parents were from here too. My family members are descendants of the Mongolians who came under the Qing. We Mongols are very proud of this history.”
She added: “I can speak Mongolian and read and write it. Most Mongolians here can do the same.”She added: “I can speak Mongolian and read and write it. Most Mongolians here can do the same.”
In recent years, Wenquan officials have begun highlighting the town’s Mongolian heritage. Street signs have both Chinese and Mongolian script. A new concrete mural on the main road next to the hot springs hotel depicts the ancient caravans that traveled west. A museum at the other end of the main street has a large map showing the three waves of Chahar migration. On one wall, a poem called “The Door of the Rainbow” pays tribute to that history.In recent years, Wenquan officials have begun highlighting the town’s Mongolian heritage. Street signs have both Chinese and Mongolian script. A new concrete mural on the main road next to the hot springs hotel depicts the ancient caravans that traveled west. A museum at the other end of the main street has a large map showing the three waves of Chahar migration. On one wall, a poem called “The Door of the Rainbow” pays tribute to that history.
For centuries, the Chahar claimed to have a seal from Genghis Khan, which conferred legitimacy. So their alliance with the Qing — they were incorporated into the banner system after a failed rebellion in 1675 — was important for the Manchu rulers. It bolstered Manchu standing in the eyes of other Mongolian tumen, or tribes.For centuries, the Chahar claimed to have a seal from Genghis Khan, which conferred legitimacy. So their alliance with the Qing — they were incorporated into the banner system after a failed rebellion in 1675 — was important for the Manchu rulers. It bolstered Manchu standing in the eyes of other Mongolian tumen, or tribes.
“From Genghis Khan to the emperors of the Yuan dynasty to the khans of the Chahar tumen, there was this single lineage,” said Oyunbilig Borjigidai, a professor of Manchu and Mongolian history at Renmin University of China in Beijing. “Its status and influence were much greater than those of the other tumen.”“From Genghis Khan to the emperors of the Yuan dynasty to the khans of the Chahar tumen, there was this single lineage,” said Oyunbilig Borjigidai, a professor of Manchu and Mongolian history at Renmin University of China in Beijing. “Its status and influence were much greater than those of the other tumen.”
Another Mongolian group, the Dzungars, ruled northwest Xinjiang, on the Central Asian frontier, before Qianlong decimated them in a famous series of campaigns. Qianlong then wanted to build garrisons on the borderlands, and so armies from the Chahar, Xibe and Solon ethnic groups were dispatched.Another Mongolian group, the Dzungars, ruled northwest Xinjiang, on the Central Asian frontier, before Qianlong decimated them in a famous series of campaigns. Qianlong then wanted to build garrisons on the borderlands, and so armies from the Chahar, Xibe and Solon ethnic groups were dispatched.
“They truly played an important role in helping the Qing court establish a foothold in the northwestern border area and develop it,” Mr. Oyunbilig said of the Chahar. “They have a reason to be proud.”“They truly played an important role in helping the Qing court establish a foothold in the northwestern border area and develop it,” Mr. Oyunbilig said of the Chahar. “They have a reason to be proud.”
Wenquan is part of the Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, the base of the Chahar in Xinjiang. (Their ancestral home is in present-day Inner Mongolia, where the majority of Chahar in China live.) The prefecture is one of several scattered enclaves that arose from Qing-era garrisons. Farther south, in the fertile Ili Valley, is another — that of the Xibe, who speak a language similar to Manchu and are one of China’s 56 official ethnic groups.Wenquan is part of the Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, the base of the Chahar in Xinjiang. (Their ancestral home is in present-day Inner Mongolia, where the majority of Chahar in China live.) The prefecture is one of several scattered enclaves that arose from Qing-era garrisons. Farther south, in the fertile Ili Valley, is another — that of the Xibe, who speak a language similar to Manchu and are one of China’s 56 official ethnic groups.
Wenquan is a quiet town beyond a pass north of Sayram Lake, the largest alpine lake in Xinjiang and where Kazakh herders graze sheep and offer horseback rides to tourists in summer. Wenquan has one short commercial strip — at one end is the hot springs hotel and at the other is the museum.Wenquan is a quiet town beyond a pass north of Sayram Lake, the largest alpine lake in Xinjiang and where Kazakh herders graze sheep and offer horseback rides to tourists in summer. Wenquan has one short commercial strip — at one end is the hot springs hotel and at the other is the museum.
Half the town is taken up by a bingtuan, a term for an agricultural production center that originated in the Mao era as a garrison project of the People’s Liberation Army. It is a modern-day variation on the mission of the Chahar.Half the town is taken up by a bingtuan, a term for an agricultural production center that originated in the Mao era as a garrison project of the People’s Liberation Army. It is a modern-day variation on the mission of the Chahar.
It is hard to tell where the town ends and the bingtuan begins. The two merge seamlessly. The bingtuan, the 88th Regiment of the Fifth Division, has streets, homes, schools, shops and office buildings.It is hard to tell where the town ends and the bingtuan begins. The two merge seamlessly. The bingtuan, the 88th Regiment of the Fifth Division, has streets, homes, schools, shops and office buildings.
While on a reporting trip to Xinjiang, I drove to Wenquan to spend a night here. I was curious about the town because my father, as a member of the Chinese Army, had been posted here from 1955 to 1957 to work in an earlier bingtuan, as an aide to the party chief.While on a reporting trip to Xinjiang, I drove to Wenquan to spend a night here. I was curious about the town because my father, as a member of the Chinese Army, had been posted here from 1955 to 1957 to work in an earlier bingtuan, as an aide to the party chief.
He bunked with two others in a room with a coal stove. The town had a dirt road lined with homes. There were no shops then. The hot springs bathhouse stood alone, not as part of a hotel, and my father enjoyed dips there. The mud-walled home where my father lived was uphill at one end of the road, on the grounds of the headquarters of the Fifth Regiment.He bunked with two others in a room with a coal stove. The town had a dirt road lined with homes. There were no shops then. The hot springs bathhouse stood alone, not as part of a hotel, and my father enjoyed dips there. The mud-walled home where my father lived was uphill at one end of the road, on the grounds of the headquarters of the Fifth Regiment.
“Every day, I would look at the mountains,” he told me. “Someone said, ‘You cross the mountains and you are in Russia.’ Kazakhstan was on the other side.”“Every day, I would look at the mountains,” he told me. “Someone said, ‘You cross the mountains and you are in Russia.’ Kazakhstan was on the other side.”
Wenquan is a palimpsest of military conquest. In a sense, my father and the handful of other ethnic Han soldiers posted here in the first decade of Communist Party rule were spiritual descendants of the Chahar.Wenquan is a palimpsest of military conquest. In a sense, my father and the handful of other ethnic Han soldiers posted here in the first decade of Communist Party rule were spiritual descendants of the Chahar.
Though there were Mongolians in the area back then, most people in town and in the surrounding hills were Kazakhs, and they remain the largest ethnic group in Wenquan. On occasion, my father would ride a horse for a day to visit nomads in the high pastures and spend a night or two in their felt yurts. He learned to speak some Kazakh.Though there were Mongolians in the area back then, most people in town and in the surrounding hills were Kazakhs, and they remain the largest ethnic group in Wenquan. On occasion, my father would ride a horse for a day to visit nomads in the high pastures and spend a night or two in their felt yurts. He learned to speak some Kazakh.
To visit Mongolians in the nearby prefecture seat of Bortala, my father and his comrades rode in a horse-drawn wagon. In Wenquan, there was no emphasis on Mongolian language or culture. After my trip, my father was surprised to hear of the displays of Mongolian culture I had seen.To visit Mongolians in the nearby prefecture seat of Bortala, my father and his comrades rode in a horse-drawn wagon. In Wenquan, there was no emphasis on Mongolian language or culture. After my trip, my father was surprised to hear of the displays of Mongolian culture I had seen.
Though the party’s ethnic policies are contentious, there has been a revived interest in some parts of China in the languages and traditions of smaller ethnic groups. Sometimes this has strong support by the national government, as in the case of the Manchus. In other instances, ordinary people or community officials drive the revival.Though the party’s ethnic policies are contentious, there has been a revived interest in some parts of China in the languages and traditions of smaller ethnic groups. Sometimes this has strong support by the national government, as in the case of the Manchus. In other instances, ordinary people or community officials drive the revival.
“There is this new sub-ethnic consciousness,” said Peter C. Perdue, a historian at Yale University who has studied the Qing conquest of Xinjiang. “The Chahar want to say they are a separate ethnic group, not mixed in with the other Mongolians there.”“There is this new sub-ethnic consciousness,” said Peter C. Perdue, a historian at Yale University who has studied the Qing conquest of Xinjiang. “The Chahar want to say they are a separate ethnic group, not mixed in with the other Mongolians there.”
“You hear about the Uighurs all the time there,” he added, referring to a Turkic-speaking group in Xinjiang. “The other minority people are also trying to regenerate a sense of their identity, in a somewhat different sense than the way the People’s Republic of China assigns ethnic labels to people.”“You hear about the Uighurs all the time there,” he added, referring to a Turkic-speaking group in Xinjiang. “The other minority people are also trying to regenerate a sense of their identity, in a somewhat different sense than the way the People’s Republic of China assigns ethnic labels to people.”
The evening I stayed in town, Mongolians, Kazakh, Han and Uighurs all showed up at the bathhouse in the hot springs hotel. In recent years, violence involving Uighurs and Han has erupted in oasis towns in southern Xinjiang, the Uighur heartland, and in the regional capital, Urumqi. There did not appear to be much tension in Wenquan.The evening I stayed in town, Mongolians, Kazakh, Han and Uighurs all showed up at the bathhouse in the hot springs hotel. In recent years, violence involving Uighurs and Han has erupted in oasis towns in southern Xinjiang, the Uighur heartland, and in the regional capital, Urumqi. There did not appear to be much tension in Wenquan.
Ms. Xiu, the hotel’s manager, has an uncle who writes Chahar poems for local newspapers and plays the topshur, a two-stringed instrument popular among western Mongolian tribes. The uncle, Madega, 66, runs a local company that makes the instrument. He lives with a daughter, Wuyunhua’er.Ms. Xiu, the hotel’s manager, has an uncle who writes Chahar poems for local newspapers and plays the topshur, a two-stringed instrument popular among western Mongolian tribes. The uncle, Madega, 66, runs a local company that makes the instrument. He lives with a daughter, Wuyunhua’er.
“The Chahar dialect is still widely spoken in Chahar families in Wenquan,” the daughter said. “But over all, I can’t say how well preserved the Chahar culture is in Wenquan.”“The Chahar dialect is still widely spoken in Chahar families in Wenquan,” the daughter said. “But over all, I can’t say how well preserved the Chahar culture is in Wenquan.”
For the last decade, the prefecture has held a summertime festival called Naadam, in which Mongolians celebrate traditional sports that include wrestling, archery and horse racing. Wenquan began hosting it about four years ago. Last year, officials changed the name from Naadam, a common Mongolian word for such a festival, to the Hot Springs Festival, in a bid to attract more tourists.For the last decade, the prefecture has held a summertime festival called Naadam, in which Mongolians celebrate traditional sports that include wrestling, archery and horse racing. Wenquan began hosting it about four years ago. Last year, officials changed the name from Naadam, a common Mongolian word for such a festival, to the Hot Springs Festival, in a bid to attract more tourists.
But in other ways, the festival has been expanding the spotlight on the area’s Mongolian heritage.But in other ways, the festival has been expanding the spotlight on the area’s Mongolian heritage.
At last summer’s event, Ms. Xiu said, “local Kazakhs and Mongolians sold costumes, handicrafts and relics for the first time, and this was popular with tourists.”At last summer’s event, Ms. Xiu said, “local Kazakhs and Mongolians sold costumes, handicrafts and relics for the first time, and this was popular with tourists.”