a population of 5.95 million the Uygur nationalities in Xinjiang, the largest number of people. Though there are uygurs in almost every county in Xinjiang,90 percent live in the area of the Tarim Basin, South of the Tianshan Mountains near the ancient route of silk road.

The Uygur are an old nationality, and developed out of people known historically as the Northern DiDingling,Tiele and Huihu. In the third century, the Northern Dis lived in Shanxi, northern Shanxi and around Taihang Mountains together with people of Huaxia (an ancient name for China). The two peoples had close economic contacts. The Uygurs and Hans learned from one another and worked together for the unity of the country for many centuries. At certain times of civil war the Uygurs fought on the side of central authorities. The rebellion of An lushan and Shi siming in 775, for instance, was put down with the help of the Huihus. The Huihu people established the Kingdom of Kara in Western Regions during the endless disputes of the Five Dyanasties, but they still considered themselves under the overlordship of China.

The Taklakan desert,lying in the central Tarim basin, is known for its dry and windy climate. In the desert, oasis after oasis has been cultivated by the wise and industrious Uygurs. Those who visit the oases, are immediately attracted by the stetches of new houses surrounded by trees,clusters of grapes hanging heavy the vines, the Hami and watermelons, and acres of wheat. Beautiful Uygur songs and dances entertain guests from afar. Farmland is irrigated with melted snow water from the Tianshan,Kunlun and Karakorum mountains and with water from Karez, or underground wells and pipes. Taking advantage of the sandy soil, the Uygur raise thew world famous Turpan grapes and raisins, Hami and Shanshan melons, Korla pears, Kashi figs, Yecheng pomegranates (akrgilik), Hotan walnuts and watermelons, and fine varieties of rice, wheat and corn. They have grown cotton and mulberries since ancient times, along with sericulture and weaving. Silk from China’s central plains was shipped to the Western Regions in exchange for cotton and jade stones from Tarim.

During a long period feudal society, the Uygur nationality developed comparatively advanced handicraft industries such as spinning, cotton weaving, cotton ginning, cotton fluffing, iron and copper smelting, jade carving, dyeing and embroidery. The Uygurs made fur caps, leather boots and fur-lined coats, woolen felt, rugs, ropes, woven mats, water mills, and water -powered trip hammers(for husking rice), and were skilled in carpentry and bricklaying. They are known for their rugs and jade carving from Hota, small knives, embroidered caps from Kashi and sable fur from Kuqa. Cotton weaving and pinning were the most popular household sidelines.

Th Uygurs were one of the nationalities of Central Asia which had their own written language. They began to use the language of the Huihu and the Tujue under the rule of Tujue. The language of Huihu became an international language used by many nationalities in Central Asia after the fall of the Tujue Khanate. I t had been the official language of the kindom of Kara, Huihu in Gaochang, the Western Liao dynasty, the Jinzhang Khanate, the Chahetai Khanate and Tiemuer Empire. Edicts of Chenghis Khan and certificates of appointment of Chahetai Khanate,orders,letters,poems, and songs, history and stories were also written in the language of Huihu.

"those who know the Huihu language will never suffer from poverty." said one Arabic historian. Many books in the Huihu language have been discovered on the Old Silk Road in Tarim. The languages of the Mongols and Manchus developed from it.

The Uygur had both movable type and block printing by the 13th century. Archaeologists have found block-printed manuscript in the Huihu language from Turpan and Tuokrxun. A Frenchman took away several hundred of wooden movable type letters from the thousand Buddha caves of the Dunhuang Grottoes.

The Uygurs were for a long tome one of most culturally developed nationalities in Central Asia, in view of their written language and their location on the route of the Silk Road in Central Eurasia. There were many ancient Uygur scholors,scientists, writers and historians, and such distinguished writings as the Dictionary of Tujue Language complied by Mahmud Kashgari between 1072 and 1074, which is the most important encyclopedia for studies of Central Asia of this period. Knowledge,Root of Happiness by Yusup Has Hajip in the same century is an immortal masterpiece of philosophy and literature. The ABC of Truth compiled by Ahmat Yuknaki in the 12th cebtury is an outstanding poem in feeling and story.

During the Mongol Yuan Dunasty, the Uygur nationality made great contributions to the unity of the country, the expansion of production and the flowering of culture and science. Notables of the period include military theorists Ark Hiya and Barquk Art Tikin; the statement; Bruhiya, Lian Xixian and his son, Guan Yunshi, also a noted poet and writer ; Lianhuishan Hiya, a historian who compiled and revised the History of Liao Dynasty; Lu Mingshan, agronomist and writer of The Fundamentals of Agriculture, Sericuture, Clothing and Food,; Sinku Sali, a great translator who was a master of the Han, Wei wu, Mongolian, Tibetian and Sanskrit languages. After the Yuan Dynasty , the Uygurs also produced many famous writers, historians and scientists. Notable writings in Uygur includ peom "Flower and Spring" by Lutfi in the 15th century; the long lyrical "love and labor Poem" by Kirkiti(1634-1672); Lyrics by Zalili;

Traces of various religions, including Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Nestorianism, Manichaeism and Islam, can be found in Trim Basin since the Uygurs used to belive in them. Apart from Islam, which is still strong today, there are many relics of Buddhism. Thousand-Buddha caves can be found in Shanshan, Turpan, Yanqi, Kuqa,Baicheng and Kashi, on the Old Silk Road. The superb array of cave murals mirrors the splendid culture of this earlier period.

Most Ugyurs today are Muslims, and Islamic influence can be traced in Uygur architecture and customs. For instance, there are mosques almost everywherein urban and rural .Aidkah Mosque in Kashi is the most famous. part form mosques are also great number of tombs, the most famous being the tomb of Sutuk Bugrahan, Khan of the Kara Khanate who is belived to have been the first Uygur Muslim. The tomb of Apak Hoja, the head missionary of the Baishan Sect, is the most magnificent. Hoton prefecture has the largest number of ancient tombs. Troops representing Buddhist and Islamic forces fought there for 24 years, from the late 10 th the early 11th century, and both sides suffered great loss of life. Some leaders of the Islamic side who died in the war are buried there, and their tombs became famous. Mansions and Tombs of theHuihu and Emin pagoda in Turpan are notable architecture ites in the Islamic style, and are well study.

Travlers in the Tarim Basin are greeted with pleasant songs and dances under grape trellises and by orchards of apricots.Centuries ago the music od Gaochang, Guizi, Shule, and Yizhou from the Tarim Basin became very popular in central China among the court official and nobles of the Sui and Tang dynasties, and among ordinary people of various nationalities. One poem says that "A women married to a man of Hu(Non-Han nationalities living in the north and west in ancient times) will dress your hair and apply makeup as the women of Hu do, and you will love her music as well." Another peom says that every family in Luoyang was learning the songs and dances of the Hu. Those graceful dances still exsit. Uygur have developed them into Twelve Mukam, or the twelve grand suites , including poetry recited to a musical backgroud, ballads and dance music.

Because their strategic location on the Old Silk Road, the Ugyurs absorb the elements of both eastern and wetern culture and played important role in economic exchanges between east and west. A great number of Uygurs traveled and traded on the Silk Road. They loved the silks of central China since ancient times. The states in the area of the Tarim Basin derived considerable economic benefits from the Silk Road. Silks from central China were shipped to the Western Regions by carts, horses and camel caravans going westward:

Rain falls at dusk on the frontier town

wild geese fly flow

The new reeds grow

rising high and wild

Coutless camel bells ring over desolate sands,

Caravans travel to An xi city with rolls of silk.

products of the countries in the west such as woolen knitwear, jewelry, colored glazes

and spices were transported to central China through the Tarim Basin.

Now the Uygurs, along with other Chinese nationalities , are working to develop Xinjiang.

tour_operator2003@yahoo.com.cn

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