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THE LIFE
OF
YAKOOB BEG;
ATHALIK GHAZI, AND BADAULET;
AMEER OF KASHGAR.
BY
DEMETRIUS CHARLES BOULGER,
MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY.
_WITH MAP AND APPENDIX._
LONDON:
W{M} H. ALLEN & CO., 13, WATERLOO PLACE, S.W.
1878.
_[All rights reserved.]_
LONDON:
PRINTED BY WOODFALL AND KINDER,
MILFORD LANE, STRAND, W.C.
THE LIFE
OF
YAKOOB BEG.
TO MY FATHER,
BRIAN AUSTEN BOULGER,
I Dedicate
THE FOLLOWING PAGES, AS SOME FAINT TOKEN
OF FILIAL AFFECTION AND GRATITUDE.
PREFACE.
The following account of the life of Yakoob Beg was written with a
twofold intention. In the first place, it attempts to trace the career
of a soldier of fortune, who, without birth, power, or even any great
amount of genius, constructed an independent rule in Central Asia, and
maintained it against many adversaries during the space of twelve years.
The name of the Athalik Ghazi became so well known in this country, and
his person was so exaggerated by popular report, that those who come to
these pages with a belief that their hero will be lauded to the skies
must be disappointed. Yakoob Beg was a very able and courageous man, and
the task he did accomplish in Kashgaria was in the highest degree
creditable; but he was no Timour or Babur. His internal policy was
marred by his severity, and the system of terrorism that he principally
adopted; and his external policy, bold and audacious as it often was,
was enfeebled by periods of vacillation and doubt. Yet his career was
truly remarkable. He was not the arbiter of the destinies of Central
Asia, nor was he even the consistent opponent of Russian claims to
supremacy therein. He was essentially of the common mould of human
nature, sharing the weaknesses and the fears of ordinary men. The
Badaulet, or "the fortunate one," as he was called, was essentially
indebted to good fortune in many crises of his career. He cannot, in any
sense, be compared to the giants produced by Central Asia in days of
old; and among moderns Dost Mahomed of Afghanistan probably should rank
as high as he does. Yet he gives an individuality to the history of
Kashgar that it would otherwise lack. The recent triumphs of the Chinese
received all their attraction to Englishmen from the decline and fall of
Yakoob Beg, the hero they had erected in the country north of Cashmere.
In the second place, the following pages strive to bring before the
English reader the great merits of China as a governing power; and this
object is really the more important of the two. It is absolutely
necessary for this country to remember that there are only three Great
Powers in Asia, and of these China is in many respects the foremost.
Whereas both England and Russia are simply conquering Governments, China
is a mighty and self-governing country. China's rule in Eastern
Turkestan and Jungaria is one of the most instructive pages in the
history of modern Asia, yet it may freely be admitted that the brief
career of Yakoob Beg gave an interest to the consideration of the
Chinese in Central Asia that that theme might otherwise have failed to
supply. The authorities used in the compilation of the facts upon which
the following pages have been erected are principally and above all the
official Report of Sir Douglas Forsyth, and the files of the _Tashkent_
and _Pekin Gazettes_ since the beginning of 1874. Mr. Shaw's most
interesting work on "High Tartary," Dr. Bellew's "Kashgar," and
Gregorieff's work on "Eastern Turkestan," have also been consulted in
various portions of the narrative. A vast mass of newspaper articles
have likewise been laid under contribution for details which have not
been noticed anywhere else.
In conclusion, the author would ask the English reader to consider very
carefully what the true lesson of Chinese valour and statesmanship may
be for us, because those qualities have now become the guiding power in
every Indian border question, from Siam and Birma to Cashmere. Mr.
Schuyler's "Turkestan," which still maintains its place as the leading
work on Central Asia, although not treating on the affairs of Kashgar,
has been frequently referred to for the course of affairs in Khokand;
but, in the main, Dr. Bellew's historical narrative in Sir D. Forsyth's
Report has been followed.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF KASHGAR 1
CHAPTER II.
ETHNOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF KASHGAR 14
CHAPTER III.
HISTORY OF KASHGAR 22
CHAPTER IV.
THE CONQUEST OF KASHGAR BY CHINA 41
CHAPTER V.
THE CHINESE RULE IN KASHGAR 54
CHAPTER VI.
THE BIRTH OF YAKOOB BEG AND CAREER IN
THE SERVICE OF KHOKAND 76
CHAPTER VII.
THE INVASION OF KASHGAR BY BUZURG KHAN
AND YAKOOB BEG 92
CHAPTER VIII.
WARS WITH THE TUNGANI 119
CHAPTER IX.
YAKOOB BEG'S GOVERNMENT OF KASHGAR 137
CHAPTER X.
YAKOOB BEG'S POLICY TOWARDS RUSSIA 173
CHAPTER XI.
YAKOOB BEG'S RELATIONS WITH ENGLAND 212
CHAPTER XII.
YAKOOB BEG'S LAST WAR WITH CHINA,
AND DEATH 236
CHAPTER XIII.
THE CHINESE RECONQUEST OF KASHGAR 268
CHAPTER XIV.
THE CHINESE FACTOR IN THE CENTRAL
ASIA QUESTION 277
APPENDIX.
THE POSITION OF LOB-NOR 303
TREATY BETWEEN RUSSIA AND CHINA 308
TREATY BETWEEN ENGLAND AND CASHMERE 315
TREATY BETWEEN RUSSIA AND KASHGAR 320
TREATY BETWEEN ENGLAND AND KASHGAR 322
RULES FOR THE GUIDANCE OF THE JOINT
COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED FOR THE
NEW ROUTE TO EASTERN TURKESTAN 330
A STORY FROM KASHGAR 334
YAKOOB BEG.
CHAPTER I.
GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF KASHGAR.
The state of Kashgar, which comprises the western portion of Eastern or
Chinese Turkestan, has been defined as being bounded on the north by
Siberia, on the south by the mountains of Cashmere, on the east by the
Great Desert of Gobi, and on the west by the steppe of "High Pamere."
This description, while sufficiently correct for general speaking,
admits of more detail in a work dealing at some length with that
country. Strictly, the name Kashgar or Cashgar applies only to the city,
and it was not until after the time of Marco Polo, when it was the most
populous and opulent town in the whole region, that it became used for
the neighbouring country. The correct name is either Little Bokhara or
Eastern Turkestan, and the Chinese call it Sule. Recent writers have
styled the territory of the Athalik Ghazi Kashgaria. It certainly
extended through a larger portion of Chinese Turkestan than did any past
native rule in Kashgar, the Chinese of course excepted. The definition
given above of the limits of Kashgar states that on the north it is
bounded by Siberia, but this is erroneous, for the extensive territory
of Jungaria or Mugholistan intervenes. Jungaria under the Chinese was
known as Ili from its capital, and now under the Russians is spoken of
as Kuldja, another name for the same city. This very extensive and
important district was included in the same government with Kashgar when
the Chinese dominated in all this region from their head-quarters at
Ili; but in the final settlement after the disruption of the Chinese
power in 1863, while Kashgar fell to the Khoja Buzurg Khan, and the
eastern portion of Jungaria, together with the cities of Kucha,
Karashar, and Turfan south of the Tian Shan range, to the Tungani;
Kuldja or Ili was occupied by the Russians. The frontier line between
Kuldja and Kashgar is very clearly marked by the Tian Shan, and the same
effectual barrier divides the continent into two well-defined divisions
from Aksu to Turfan and beyond. Eastern Turkestan is, therefore, bounded
on the north by the Tian Shan, and on the south the Karakoram Mountains
form a no less satisfactory bulwark between it and Kohistan and
Cashmerian Tibet. As has been said, on the west the steppe of Pamir and
on the east the desert of Gobi present distinct and secure defences
against aggression from without in those directions. There are few
states in Asia with a more clearly marked position than that of which we
have been speaking. Nature seems to have formed it to lead an isolated
and independent existence, happy and prosperous in its own resources and
careless of the outer world; but its history has been of a more troubled
character, and at only brief intervals has its natural wealth been so
fostered as to make it that which it has been called, "the Garden of
Asia." This condition of almost continual warfare and disturbance during
centuries, has left many visible marks on the external features of the
country, and in nothing is this more strikingly evident than in the
small population. A region which contains at the most moderate estimate
250,000 square miles, is believed by the highest authorities to contain
less than 1,000,000 inhabitants. In breadth Kashgaria may be said to
extend from longitude E. 73 deg. to 89 deg., and in width from latitude N. 36 deg.
to 43 deg.; but the ancient kingdom of Kashgar has been always considered to
have reached only to Aksu, a town about 300 miles north-east of Kashgar.
When the Chinese about fifty years ago conceded certain trade privileges
to Khokand, they were not to have effect east of Aksu; this fact seems
conclusive as to the recognized limits of the ancient dynasty of
Kashgar. The capital of this district, which at one time has been a
flourishing kingdom under a native ruler, at another a tributary of some
Tartar conqueror, and then distracted by the struggles of his effete
successors, and at a third time a subject province of the Chinese, has
fluctuated as much as the fortunes of the state itself. Now it has been
Yarkand, now Kashgar, and yet again, on several occasions, Aksu. The
claims of Kashgar seem to have prevailed in the long run, for, although
Yarkand is still the larger city, Yakoob Beg established his capital at
Kashgar, and made that town known throughout the whole of Asia by the
means of his government.
Kashgar is situated in a plain in the north of the province, and the
small river on which it is built is known as the Kizil Su. Immediately
beyond it the country becomes hilly and mountainous, until in the far
distance may be seen the snow-clad peaks of the Tian Shan, and the Aksai
Plateau. Although the population is barely 30,000, there is now an air
of brisker activity in the bazaars and caravanserais of this capital
than in any other city in the country. The trade carried on with Russia
in recent years has given some life to the place; but few, if any,
merchants proceed more inland than this, whether they come from Khokand
or from Kuldja. The town stretches on both sides of the river, which is
crossed by a wooden bridge; but there are no buildings of any
pretensions for external beauty or internal comfort. The _orda_ or
palace of the Ameer, which is in Yangy Shahr, five miles from the city,
is a large gloomy barrack of a place with several buildings within each
other; the outer ones are occupied by the household troops and by the
court officials, and the inner one of all is set apart for the family
and _serai_ of the ruler himself. In connection with this is a hall of
audience, in which he receives in solemn state such foreigners as it
seems politic for him to honour. In the old days, Kashgar used to be a
strongly fortified position, but the only remains of its former strength
are the ruins which are strewn freely all around. Kashgar is, therefore,
an open and quite defenceless town, and lies completely at the mercy of
any invader who might come along the high road from Aksu or Bartchuk, or
across the mountains from Khokand or Kuldja; but at Yangy Shahr, about
five miles south of Kashgar, Yakoob Beg constructed a strong fort, where
he deposited all his treasure, and this may be taken to be the citadel
of Kashgar as well as the residence of the ruler. Yangy Shahr means new
city, and as a fortification erected by a Central Asian potentate with
very limited means, it must be considered to be a very creditable piece
of military workmanship. The Andijanis or Khokandian merchants who have
at various times settled here, form a very important class in this town
in particular, and it was they who more than any one else contributed to
the success of the invasion of Buzurg Khan and Mahomed Yakoob. It is,
however, said that these merchant classes had become to some extent
dissatisfied with the late state of things, whether because Yakoob Beg
did not fulfil all his promises, or for some other reason, is not clear.
If Kashgar under its late rule was not restored to that prosperous
condition which excited the admiration of Marco Polo, and the Chinese
traveller, Hwang Tsang, before him, it may be considered to have been as
fairly well-doing as any other city in either Turkestan, while life and
property were a great deal more secure than in some we could mention.
Situated about half-way on the road to Yarkand is Yangy Hissar, a town
which has always been of importance both as a military position and as a
place of trade. It has greatly fallen into decay, however, but still
possesses a certain amount of its former influence from being a military
post, and from the exceptional fertility of the neighbouring country.
Yarkand, about eighty miles as the crow flies, and 120 by road, to the
south-east of Kashgar, is still the most populous of all the cities of
Eastern Turkestan. It lies in the open plain on the Yarkand river, and
its walls, four miles in circuit, testify to its former greatness. Under
the Chinese it was quite the most flourishing town in the region, and
even now Sir Douglas Forsyth estimates that it contains 40,000 people,
while the surrounding country has nearly 200,000 more. The fruit gardens
and orchards, which extend in a wide belt round it, give an air of
peculiar prosperity to the country, and quite possibly induce travellers
to take a too sanguine view of the resources of the country. In addition
to the abundance of fruit and grain produce that is brought into the
city for sale, there is a large and profitable business carried on in
leather. Yarkand has almost a monopoly of this article, and the
consumption of it is very great indeed. The Ameer himself took large
quantities yearly for his army, for, in addition to that required for
boots and saddles, many of his regiments wore uniforms of that
substance.
But, although Yarkand is the chief market-place of the richest province,
and although its population is thriving and energetic, there is a
general _consensus_ of opinion that it has become much less prosperous
and much more of a rural town since the transference of the seat of
government to Kashgar, and the disappearance of Chinese merchants with
the Chinese ruler. A very intelligent merchant of the town replied as
follows to questions put to him, as to the Chinese and native rulers,
and it will be seen that it was especially favourable to the claims of
the Chinese as the better masters.
"What you see on market-day now, is nothing to the life and activity
there was in the time of the Khitay. To-day the peasantry come in with
their fowls and eggs, with their cotton and yarn, or with their sheep
and cattle and horses for sale, and they go back with printed cotton, a
fur cap, or city made boots, or whatever domestic necessaries they may
require, and always with a good dinner inside them; and then we shut up
our shops and stow away our goods till next week's market-day brings
back our customers. Some of us, indeed, go out with a small venture in
the interim to the rural markets around, but our great day is market-day
in town. It was very different in the Khitay time. People then bought
and sold every day, and market-day was a much jollier time. There was no
Kazi Rais, with his six Muhtasib, armed with the _dira_ to flog people
off to prayer, and drive the women out of the streets, and nobody was
bastinadoed for drinking spirits and eating forbidden meats. There were
mimics and acrobats, and fortune-tellers and story-tellers, who moved
about amongst the crowd and diverted the people. There were flags and
banners and all sorts of pictures floating at the shop fronts; and there
was the _jallab_, who painted her face and decked herself in silks and
laces to please her customers." And then, replying to a question whether
the morals were not more depraved under this system than under the
strict Mahomedan rule of the Athalik Ghazi, the same witness went on to
say--"Yes, perhaps so. There were many rogues and gamblers too, and
people did get drunk and have their pockets picked. But so they do now,
though not so publicly, because we are under Islam, and the shariat is
strictly enforced."
This very graphic piece of evidence gives a clearer picture of the two
systems of government, than perhaps paragraphs of explanatory writing;
and, to return to the immediate subject before us, it shows that Yarkand
has deteriorated in wealth and population since the Chinese were
expelled from it fifteen years ago.
Khoten is situated 150 miles south-east of Yarkand, and about ninety
miles due east of Sanju. It lies on the northern base of the Kuen Lun
Mountains, and is the most southern city of any importance in Kashgaria.
Under the Chinese, it was one of the most flourishing centres of
industry, and as the _entrepot_ of all trade with Tibet it held a
bustling active community. The Chinese called it Houtan, and even now it
is locally called Ilchi. In addition to the wool and gold imported from
Tibet, it possessed gold mines of its own in the Kuen Lun range, and was
widely celebrated for its musk, silk, and jade. It likewise has suffered
from the departure of the Chinese; and the energy and wealth of that
extraordinary people have found, in the case of this city also, a very
inadequate substitute in the strict military order and security
introduced by Yakoob Beg.
Ush Turfan, New Turfan, is a small town on the road from Kashgar to
Aksu, and is not to be confounded with the better known Turfan which is
situated in the far east on the highway to Kansuh. This latter town is
called Kuhna Turfan, or Old Turfan, to distinguish it from the other.
Ush Turfan, without ever having been a place of the first importance,
derived very considerable advantage from its position on the road
followed by the Chinese caravans, and Yakoob Beg converted it into a
strong military position by constructing several forts there.
Aksu, one of the old capitals of Kashgar, may fairly be called the third
city of the state, although it has, perhaps, more than any other
declined since the expulsion of the Khitay. Before that event took place
there was a road across the mountains to Ili, by the Muzart glacier, and
relays of men were kept continually employed in maintaining this
delicately constructed road in a state fit for passage both on foot and
mounted. But all this has been discontinued for many years now, and not
only is the road quite impassable, but it would require much labour and
more outlay to restore it to its former utility. In the neighbourhood of
this town there are rich mines of lead, copper, and sulphur. These
have, practically speaking, been untouched in recent years. Coal is also
the ordinary fuel among the inhabitants; and both in intelligence as
well as in worldly prosperity, the good people of Aksu used to be
entitled to a foremost position among the Kashgari. As a consequence of
the blocking up of the Muzart Pass, the old trade with Kuldja has
completely disappeared, and all communications with this Russian
province are now carried on by the Narym Pass to Vernoe. This change
benefits the city of Kashgar, but is a decided loss to Aksu. Aksu may
still justly rank as an important place, and under very probable
contingencies may regain all the ground it has lost. In conclusion, we
may say that Yakoob Beg has converted its old walls and castles into
fortifications, which are said to be capable of resisting the fire of
modern artillery.
We have enumerated six cities--Kashgar, Yangy Hissar, Yarkand, Khoten,
Ush Turfan, and Aksu--and these constitute the territory of Kashgar
proper. At one time, indeed, it was called Alty Shahr, or six cities,
from this fact. In addition to these may be mentioned, in modern
Kashgaria, Sirikul, or Tashkurgan, in the extreme south-west, which is
principally of importance as the chief post on the frontier of
Afghanistan. Near Sirikul are Badakshan and Wakhan, and it has been
asserted that Shere Ali, of Afghanistan, viewed with a suspicious eye
the presence of Kashgar in this quarter. It is quite certain that he
would not have tolerated that further advance along the Pamir, which
Yakoob Beg seemed on several occasions inclined to make. Sirikul
commands the northern entrance of the Baroghil Pass, and has
consequently been often mentioned in recent accounts of this road to
India.
Maralbashi, or Bartchuk, a military post of some strength, is
strategically important, as being placed at the junction of the roads
from Kashgar and Yarkand, which lead by the bed of the Yarkand river to
Kucha. But it possesses greater interest for us, as being the chief
town of the district inhabited by the extraordinary tribe of the Dolans.
These people are in the most backward state of intelligence that it is
possible to imagine human beings to be capable of. In physical strength
and stature they are, perhaps, the most miserable objects on the face of
the earth, but their social position is still more deplorable. Some of
their customs are of the most disgusting character, and their dwellings,
such as they are, are of the rudest kind and subterranean. Travellers
who have seen them in the larger cities, say that all the rumours that
have been circulated about them do not exaggerate the true facts of the
case; and the most pitiable part of the matter is, that they have become
so resigned to their degraded position, that they are averse to any
measure calculated to improve their existence. They have been compared
to the Bhots of Tibet, but these latter are quite superior beings in
comparison with them. They are treated with contempt and derision by all
the neighbouring peoples.
Kucha is, or rather was, another very flourishing city which has never
recovered the loss of Chinese wealth, and the subsequent disturbances
during the Tungan wars. At one time Kucha had at the least 50,000
people, and it was not less famed than Aksu for the resources and
ingenuity of its people. But now it is almost a deserted city. The
greater part of the old town is a mass of ruins, and during the nine
years that have elapsed since the Tungani were crushed by the Athalik
Ghazi, scarcely anything has been done to repair the damage caused in
those very destructive wars.
Korla, Kouralia, or Kouroungli, as it has been named, and Karashar, two
towns which lie to the east of Kucha, have likewise never revived from
the period of anarchy and bloodshed, through which the whole of this
district has passed; but even the state of these places contrasts
favourably with the far worse ruin wrought at Turfan. Turfan, perhaps
more than any other, profited by the trade with China, for, although it
may not itself have been as rich as either Aksu or Kucha, it derived a
certain source of income as the rendezvous of all the caravans
proceeding either east or west, or north to Urumtsi and Chuguchak. Very
often a delay of several weeks took place, before merchants had arranged
all the details for crossing the Tian Shan to Guchen, or for proceeding
on to Hamil through the desert, and Turfan flourished greatly thereby.
Now its streets are desolate, the whole country round it is represented
to be a desert, and all its former activity and brightness have
completely disappeared. Yakoob Beg had extended his rule a short
distance east of Turfan, to a place called Chightam, but Turfan may be
styled his most eastern possession.
We have now given a somewhat detailed description of the chief cities of
Kashgaria, and in doing so we have distinctly intended thereby to convey
the impression to the reader that it is only these and their suburbs
that were at all productive under the late _regime_. To those who have
been to Kashgar, nothing has remained more vividly impressed on their
mind, than the exceedingly prosperous appearance of the farms in the
belt of country from Yarkand to Kashgar; but at the same time this
wealth of foliage and of blossom has only made the barrenness of the
intervening and surrounding country more palpable. The farms are
certainly not small in extent, but rather isolated from each other, and
surrounded by orchards of plums, apples, and other fruit trees, in which
they are completely embowered. A Kashgarian village is not a main
street with a line of cottages and a few large farms; but it is a
conglomeration of farmsteads covering a very extensive area of country,
and presenting to the eye of a stranger rather a thinly peopled district
than a community of villagers. Again, although the soil is naturally
fertile, the system of agriculture is of an exhaustive character, and it
seems probable that only a small portion of the land on each farm is at
all productive. But these settlements, which present an exterior of
rural happiness and simplicity, are but oases in an enormous extent
of barren country. If each proprietor seems to possess more land than
he can require, and if the fertile soil produces bountifully that
which is unskilfully sown therein, the total amount of land under
cultivation is still very limited indeed. Worse still, the soil is
gradually exhausted, and as the system of sowing but one kind of grain
seems to have taken deep root among the people, it is to be feared that
it may be perpetuated without hope of recovery. There is a constant
difficulty to be overcome, too, on account of the meagre supply of
water. The general aspect of the region is barren, a bleak expanse
stretches in all directions, and in the distance on three sides the
outlines of lofty ranges complete the panorama. The scarcely marked
bridle track that supplies the place of a highway in every direction
except where the Chinese have left permanent tokens of their presence,
offers little inducement to travellers to come thither; nor must these
when they do come expect anything but the most imperfect modes of
communication and of supply that a backward Asiatic district can
furnish. If we wish to imagine the scene along the road from Sanju to
Yarkand, we have only to visit some of the wilder of the Sussex Wealds
to have it before us in miniature. The spare dried-up herbage may be
still more spare, and the limestone may be more protruding on the
Central Asian plain; and the wind will certainly remind you that it
comes either from the desert or from the mountain regions; but you have
the same undulating, dreary expanse that you have above Crowborough. The
miserable sheep watched by some nomad Kirghiz will alone forcibly remind
you that you are far away from the heights of the South Downs. In the
far distance you will see the cloud-crested pinnacles of the Sanju Devan
or of the Guoharbrum, and then the traveller cannot but remember that he
is in one of the most inaccessible regions in the world. But if these
southern roads are scarcely worthy of the name, the great high road from
Kashgar to Aksu, Kucha, Korla, Karashar, and Turfan is a masterpiece of
engineering construction. It need not fear to brave comparison with
those of imperial Rome herself, and remains an enduring monument to
Chinese perseverance, skill, and capacity for government. In China
itself there are many great and important highways, but there the task
was facilitated by the possession of great and navigable rivers. In
Eastern Turkestan no such assistance was to be found, and consequently
this road, along which was conducted all the traffic that passed from
China to Jungaria, Kashgar, Khokand, and Bokhara, had to be maintained
in the highest state of efficiency. To do this we cannot doubt was a
most expensive undertaking, and, not mentioning such an exceptional work
as the Muzart Pass, one that required a very perfect organization to
accomplish with the success that for more than a century marked it.
The great drawback in the geographical position of Kashgar, is the want
of a cheap and convenient outlet by water. The country itself suffers in
a less degree from the same cause, but with a more perfect system of
irrigation, the rivers, such as the Artosh, &c., which in spring carry
down the mountain snows, might be made to give a more extended supply
throughout western Kashgar at all events. The climate is equable, and
the people suffer from no very prevalent disease, except in the more
mountainous parts, and in Yarkand, where goitre is of frequent
occurrence. The people themselves seem to be frugal and honest, but
indeed there are so many races to be met with in this "middle land,"
that no general description can be given of them all. The Andijanis, or
Khokandian merchants, are the most prosperous class in the community,
and they appear to be, from all accounts, possessed of more than an
average amount of business capacity in the arts of buying and selling.
The Tarantchis are the descendants of Kashgarian labourers imported by
the Chinese into Kuldja in 1762, and there is still both in the army and
in the state a large number of Khitay remaining, who were permitted to
pursue in secret the observances of their religion. The other races are
ill disposed towards them, and attribute all the vices they can think of
to their doors. But these Khitay managed to efface themselves in the
country, and although they formed a very important minority among the
males, they never appear to have been regarded in the light of a
possible danger when their brethren from China should draw near. In
addition to the native Kashgari, and these two important elements just
mentioned, there are numerous immigrants from the border states,
particularly from Khokand, to the people of whom Yakoob Beg naturally
manifested especial favour. We have now given at some length a
description of the geographical features of Kashgar, and are about to
follow it up with an ethnological description as well as a historical
statement of the past features of the same region. It is hoped that
these preliminary chapters will clear the way from some obscurity for a
correct appreciation of the career of the late Athalik Ghazi.
Kashgaria may be said to be a portion of Asia which possesses some great
advantages of position and very considerable resources, but by a
singularly hard fortune, except for the brief period of Chinese rule in
modern times, it has been so distracted by intestine disturbances that
it has retrograded further and further with each year. It is quite
possible that its natural wealth has been too hastily taken for granted,
and that it does not possess the necessary means of restoring itself in
some degree to its former position. This is quite possible, but the best
authorities at our disposal seem to point to a more promising
conclusion, and to justify us in assuming that the position, natural
resources, and general condition of Kashgar will enable a strong and
settled rule to raise it into a really important and flourishing
confederacy.