A Visual History of the Culture of China's Ethnic Minorities, Volume 4: Northwest Volume (Part 1)

Author: Chen Gaohua Yang Shengmin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-08-01
Features: This book is the fourth volume of the Illustrated History of Chinese Ethnic Cultures. The geographical area covered is the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwestern China. North and south of the Tianshan Mountains, there are both nomadic and agricultural ethnic groups; there are both the "Northern Kingdom" and oases. Through the legends of the Queen Mother of the West and the ancient cities swallowed by the desert, one can see the historical traces of the Sai people, the Yuechi, the Usun, and the Western Turks, as well as the splendor of the ancient states of Loulan, Shanshan, Gaochang, Kucha, and Yutian. The westward migration of the Uyghurs and the Islamicization of the Khara-Khanid Dynasty brought a transformation to the cultural customs of northwestern China. The cultures created by the northwest ethnic groups such as the Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kirghiz, Tajiks, Sibo, Uzbeks, Tatars, and Russians shine brightly in the treasure trove of Chinese ethnic cultures.