The Chinese Tatars (), or simply Tatars ( zh, s=塔塔尔族), are a
Turkic ethnic group in
Xinjiang
Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...
, China. They are one of the 56
ethnic groups officially recognized by the Chinese government.
, there are 3,544 Chinese Tatars living in Xinjiang, mostly in the cities of
Yining,
Tacheng, and
Ürümqi
Ürümqi, , is the capital of the Xinjiang, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwestern China. With a census population of 4 million in 2020, Ürümqi is the second-largest city in China's northwestern interior after Xi'an, also the ...
. The Daquan Tatar Ethnic Township of
Qitai County in
Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, which sits on the edge of the
Gurbantünggüt Desert, is the only subdivision designated for the Chinese Tatars.
Culture
The Chinese Tatars are descendants of
Volga Tatars and
Siberian Tatars, who migrated to Xinjiang from their native
Idel-Ural region and
Siberia
Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
of modern-day Russia. The Tatars have traditionally acted as mediators between the
Russians
Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...
and the native Muslim peoples of Xinjiang. The first wave of permanent Tatar settlement in Xinjiang began in 1851, primarily in cities such as
Ghulja (Yining). Tatars brought progressive ideas and new institutions into Xinjiang, where they cemented themselves in the cultural and political fabric of the region.
Jadid schools (including institutions for girls), mosques, and libraries catering to the Tatar community were opened in the second half of the 19th-century and in the first decades of the 20th-century. During this period, many intellectuals were brought from
Tatarstan
Tatarstan, officially the Republic of Tatarstan, sometimes also called Tataria, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is a part of the Volga Federal District; and its capital city, capital and largest city i ...
to staff the schools and colleges.
Chinese Tatars speak an archaic variant of the
Tatar language
Tatar ( ; or ) is a Turkic languages, Turkic language spoken by the Volga Tatars mainly located in modern Tatarstan (European Russia), as well as Siberia. It should not be confused with Crimean Tatar language, Crimean Tatar or Siberian Tatar ...
, free from 20th-century loanwords, and use the
Tatar Arabic alphabet, which was
phased out in the Soviet Union in the 1930s. Being surrounded by speakers of other Turkic languages, Chinese Tatar partially reverses the Tatar high vowel inversion.
Chinese Tatars are
Sunni Muslims. Most Tatars can speak Uyghur and often utilize the
Uyghur Arabic script
The Uyghur Arabic alphabet () is a version of the Arabic alphabet used for writing the Uyghur language, primarily by Uyghurs living in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. It is one of several Uyghur alphabets and has been the official alphabe ...
for writing.
Notable people
*
Burhan Shahidi
Burhan Shahidi (3 October 1894 – 27 August 1989) was a Chinese Tatar politician who occupied several high-level positions in Xinjiang, in the governments of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the People's Republic of Ch ...
(1894–1989), Chairman of the Xinjiang UAR Government
*
Habib Yunich (1905–1945), Education Minister of the Second East Turkestan Republic
*
Zunun Taipov (1917–1984), Lieutenant General of the People's Liberation Army
*
Asgat Iskhakov (1921–1976), Vice Chairman of the Xinjiang UAR Government
*
Margub Iskhakov (1923–1992), Lieutenant General of the People's Liberation Army
References
Citations
Sources
* Paul and Bernice Noll's Window on the World
''List of ethnic groups in China and their population sizes''
Further reading
*
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*
{{authority control
*Chinese
Xinjiang
Ethnic groups officially recognized by China
Muslim communities of China
Volga Tatars
Volga Tatar diaspora