Historical background information of Xinjiang

In ancient history, many tribes and nationalities lived in Xinjiang. The ethnic groups of Xinjiang residents have only been clearly recorded since the Han Dynasty (26 BC-22 AD). At that time, there were mainly: Sai, Yue, Wusun, Qiang, Xiongnu and Han.

The Serbs were originally nomadic, starting from the Ili River and the Chu River valley in the east and reaching the Syr Darya River area in the west. Due to the exclusion of the Yue people, they moved westward, some of them retreated to the north bank of the Syr Darya River, and others went south to Pamir and scattered around the country. The Yue people lived in the vast area from Hexi Corridor to Tarim Basin during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), and the Qin Dynasty (221-26 BC) was the most powerful during the Han Dynasty. Around 176 BC, attacked by the Huns, they were forced to migrate to the Ili River basin, driving away the Serbs there and living there. Wusun, originally active in Hexi Corridor. At the end of the Qin Dynasty and the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the Yue people were attacked and attached to the Huns. Later, with the support of the Huns, they attacked the Yue people and drove them out of the Ili River basin. Qiang people originally lived in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River. During the Spring and Autumn Period (77 BC-476 BC) and the Warring States Period, some Qiang people migrated westward along Qilian Mountain and Kunlun Mountain via Hexi Corridor, thus leaving footprints in Xinjiang. Huns mainly entered Xinjiang around 176 BC. Han nationality is one of the ethnic groups that entered Xinjiang earlier. In 11 BC, the army of the Han Dynasty began to station fields in Luntai, Quli and other places, and later expanded to all parts of Xinjiang, and each station became the initial distribution area after the Han people entered Xinjiang. After the establishment of the Western Regions' Hufu in 6 BC, Han Chinese entered Xinjiang continuously, either for the official, the army or for business.

The Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties (AD 22-AD 589) was a period of great ethnic integration in China, with frequent migration of various ethnic groups, and many ancient ethnic groups entered Xinjiang, such as Rouran, Gaoche, Dada, Tugu and Hun. Rouran, a descendant of Donghu people (the ancient name of China), an ancient ethnic group in the northern grassland, rose in the Mongolian grassland at the beginning of the fifth century and established a powerful regime in 42 AD, competing with the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534 AD) for the Western Region. Gaoche, also known as Chile and Tiele, was originally nomadic in Lake Baikal and the basins of the Erhun and Tula rivers. In 487 AD, Afu Zhiluo, the leader of the Fu Luo Department of Gaoche Vice-President, and his brother Qiong Qi led more than 1, tribes (households) to move westward, and established Gaoche country in the northwest of the front part of Che Shi (now the old city of Jiaohe in Turpan). Da, which originated in Saibei (the area north of the Great Wall in ancient times), entered the Tarim Basin in the east and attacked the Yue people in the south at the end of the fifth century, established political power, and crossed the Pamirs, once controlling parts of southern Xinjiang. Tuguhun originated from Xianbei (the ancient name of China), and moved westward from Liaodong (generally referring to the area east of Liaohe River) in the early 4th century, and gradually controlled the nationalities such as Di (the ancient name of China) and Qiang in Gannan (southern Gansu), Sichuan and Qinghai, and established political power.

during the sui dynasty (581-618 ad) and the Tang dynasty (618-97 ad), Turks, Tubo and other ancient nationalities had an important influence on the historical process of Xinjiang. Turkic is an ancient nomadic people active in the grasslands of northwest and north China from the 6th century to the 8th century. In 552 AD, the first territorial gate of the Turks defeated Rouran, established political power centered on Mobei (the area north of the great desert on the Mongolian Plateau), and then split into two parts, fighting endlessly for the right to sweat. In the middle of the eighth century, the East and West Turkic khanates perished one after another, and their descendants merged into other ethnic groups. Tubo, the ancestor of Tibetans, rose in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau at the end of the 6th century. After occupying Qinghai, it began to compete with the Tang Dynasty for the Western Regions. In 755 AD, the "Anshi Rebellion" broke out in the Central Plains (rebellion launched by An Lushan and Shi Siming in the Tang Dynasty), and a large number of Tang Jun stationed in the western regions were transferred to the mainland, and Tubo took the opportunity to occupy parts of southern and northern Xinjiang.

in 84 ad, a large number of Uighurs entered Xinjiang. Uighur, formerly known as Uighur, is one of the departments of Tiele (the ancient name of China). Initially active in the Selenger River and the Erhun River basins, and later moved to the north of Tula River. In 744 AD, the developed Uighur established political power in Mobei, and sent troops twice to help the central government of the Tang Dynasty to quell the "Anshi Rebellion". In 84 AD, the Uighur Khanate collapsed due to natural disasters, infighting in the ruling clique and the attack of the ancient China clan, and most of its ministries migrated westward. One of them moved to today's Jimsar and Turpan areas, and later established the Gaochang Uighur Kingdom; Another one moved to the grassland in Central Asia, distributed from Central Asia to Kashgar, and established the Karahan Dynasty with the ethnic groups such as Geluolu and Yangmo. Since then, the area around the Tarim Basin has been ruled by the Uighur Kingdom of Gaochang and the Karahan Dynasty, and the local residents and the Uighurs who moved westward have merged with each other, which laid the foundation for the formation of the Uighurs later.

in 1124, the Liao dynasty (916-1125 ad) led the royal family Yeleshi to move westward, conquered Xinjiang, and established the Western Liao regime, from which a number of Khitans (the ancient name of China) entered Xinjiang. At the beginning of the 13th century, after Genghis Khan led his army into Xinjiang, he enfeoffed the places he conquered to his descendants. The Uighurs further assimilated and merged some Khitans and Mongols.

Wala, a general term for Moxi Mongolia in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), first distributed in the upper reaches of Yenisei River, and then continuously expanded to the middle reaches of Erqis River and Yili River basin. At the beginning of the 17th century, Junggar, Durbert, Heshuote and Turkute gradually formed. In the 177s, Junggar occupied the Ili River basin, became the master of the four ministries, and ruled southern Xinjiang.

after the 196s, the Qing government (1644-1911) deployed officers and men of Manchu, Xibo and Suolun (Daur) from the northeast to Xinjiang in order to further strengthen Xinjiang's border defense, and they became new members of Xinjiang's ethnic minorities. Later, Russia, Tatar and other nationalities moved to Xinjiang. By the end of the 19th century, there were 13 ethnic groups in Xinjiang, including Uygur, Han, Kazak, Mongolian, Hui, Kirgiz, Manchu, Xibe, Tajik, Daur, Uzbek, tatar and Russian, with Uygur as the main body, forming a new multi-ethnic distribution pattern.

In the second year after the outbreak of the Revolution of 1911, revolutionaries instigated an uprising in Yili and established the new Iraqi viceroy, which declared the end of the political rule of the Qing Dynasty in Yili. After the establishment of the government of the Republic of China, Xinjiang's defense has been continuously strengthened.

Xinjiang was peacefully liberated on September 25th, 1949. With the development of the national liberation situation and the upsurge of the revolutionary struggle of the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, Tao Zhiyue, the garrison commander of the Kuomintang in Xinjiang, and Bao Erhan, the chairman of the Xinjiang provincial government, announced an uprising, and the First Corps of the First Field Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army entered Xinjiang under the leadership of General Wang Zhen. On October 1, 1949, the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, together with the people of the whole country, ushered in the founding of the People's Republic of China.

To sum up, since the Han Dynasty established the "Western Regions' Capital Protection House" in Xinjiang in 6 BC, the central governments of China have exercised military and political jurisdiction over Xinjiang. Due to the strong and weak rule of past dynasties, the central government's jurisdiction over Xinjiang is also strong and weak. People of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang have actively maintained their relations with the central government and made their own contributions to the formation and consolidation of the Chinese nation.