Burhan Shahidi
Encyclopedia
Burhan Shahidi (October 3, 1894 – August 27, 1989) was a political leader in Xinjiang
, China
during the 20th century.
n province of Kazan
to a family whose ancestors had fled from Aksu
, an oasis town in southern Xinjiang, after a failed peasant uprising during the Qing Dynasty
. His ancestors today would be considered ethnic Uyghur
though Burhan grew up as an ethnic Tatar. His family was poor and he received little schooling in his early years. In 1912, after the Qing Dynasty was overthrown, he accompanied Tatar merchants to Dihua (now Urumqi
) in Xinjiang and worked as an apprentice and store-clerk In 1914, he was able to apply and receive Chinese citizenship from the Republic of China
on account of his family's ancestry. He spoke Uyghur
, Mandarin Chinese, Russian
, Turkish
and some Arabic and acted as the interpreter for Yang Zengxin
, the leader of Xinjiang at the time
In 1929, he was sent to Weimar Germany by Xinjiang's next leader Jin Shuren
, and studied political-economy in Berlin
. He returned to Xinjiang in 1933 and held a number of roles in the provincial government including manager of a land development company. He played a key role in the Xinjiang Nationalities Congress of 1934. At this Congress, the ethnonym
Uyghur was adopted to describe the majority Turkic Muslims in the oases of the Tarim Basin
.
, to the Soviet Union
to serve as a consular official in the border district of Zaysan
. The following year, he was recalled by Sheng, branded a "troskeyite" and imprisoned until 1944. While in prison, Burhan wrote a Uyghur-Chinese-Russian Dictionary and translated Sun Yat-sen
's Three People's Principles into Uyghur.
He was released by Wu Zhongxin
, the Chinese Nationalist official who replaced Sheng Shicai. In 1946, Burhan became the vice-chairman of a provincial coalition government formed between the Chinese Nationalists and the revolutionaries who had founded the Second East Turkestan Republic (Second ETR)
in the "Three Districts". He was considered a political moderate between the Nationalist Chinese and Second ETR members of the coalition.
In 1947, Burhan was transferred to Nanjing
and became an official in the central government under Chiang Kai-shek
. Later that year, he led a Xinjiang performance troupe to Taiwan and toured Keelung
, Taipei
, Taichung
, and Kaoshiung. The tour came shortly after the 2-28 Incident, which left many islanders hostile to mainlanders. Burhan gave speeches that appealed to national unity.
In 1948, he returned to Xinjiang and became the president of the Xinjiang Academy, the precursor to the Xinjiang University
. He favored Chinese nationalism and disagreed with Turkic nationalist positions of Muhammad Amin Bughra
. In January 1949, he replaced Masud Sabri
as the chairman of Xinjiang Provincial Government. Sabri was anti-Soviet and opposed the Soviet-backed Ehmetjan Qasim (Akhmedjan Kasimov), who was the vice-chairman of the provincial government. He helped stabilize the province's finances, which was ravaged by the spread of inflation throughout Nationalist China, by restoring the local currency.
In September of that year, he negotiated with Deng Liqun, the Chinese Communist representative sent by Mao Zedong
to the province during the waning days of the Chinese Civil War
. On September 26, Burhan joined Nationalist general Tao Zhiyue in announcing the surrender of the province to the People's Liberation Army
, paving the way for the "peaceful liberation" of Xinjiang. A week later, the People's Republic of China (PRC)
was founded in Beijing.
Burhan was a co-founder and the first chairman of the Islamic Association of China. In this capacity, he became an able diplomat in the PRC's outreach to the Islamic world. In February 1956, he led a cultural and religious delegation on a tour of Egypt
, Sudan
, Ethiopia
, Syria
and Lebanon
. As a direct result of his diplomatic work, Egypt under President Gamal Abdel Nasser
in May 1956 became the first country in Middle East
to recognize the PRC and sever ties with the Republic of China on Taiwan. It was the first country to recognize Beijing in six years and the recognition broke the diplomatic blockade imposed by the West. In July, he returned to the region leading China's hajj
mission to Saudi Arabia
, where he met King Fahd and visited King Hussein of Jordan
, though neither country had diplomatic relations with the PRC. On the same trip, he also met with President Nazim al-Kudsi
of Syria and Amir Muhammad al-Badr
of North Yemen
. Both countries switched their recognition to the PRC in 1956.
On November 4, 1956, Burhan and Hu Yaobang
, Guo Moruo
helped lead a massive public rally and parade in Beijing
with over 400,000 people in Tiananmen Square
to support Egypt and denounce Anglo-French imperialism in the Suez Crisis
. In the spring of 1959, he led a delegation to Iraq
to support Prime Minister Abd al-Karim Qasim who had overthrown the Iraqi monarchy the previous year and founded a pro-socialist republic.
Burhan supervised Chinese Muslim participation in the hajj until the Cultural Revolution
, when he was accused of being a collaborator and a foreigner, and imprisoned for eight years. Afterwards, he was rehabilitated and served as a vice-chairman of the second, third, fifth, sixth and seventh Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
National Committee. His memoir, Fifty Years in Xinjiang was published in 1984.
He died in 1989 and is buried in the foothills of the Tian Shan
in Xinjiang.
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
during the 20th century.
Early life
Burhan Shahidi was born in 1894 in the RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n province of Kazan
Kazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
to a family whose ancestors had fled from Aksu
Aksu
Aksu , is a city in the Chinese autonomous region of Xinjiang and the capital of Aksu Prefecture...
, an oasis town in southern Xinjiang, after a failed peasant uprising during the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
. His ancestors today would be considered ethnic Uyghur
Uyghur people
The Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today, Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China...
though Burhan grew up as an ethnic Tatar. His family was poor and he received little schooling in his early years. In 1912, after the Qing Dynasty was overthrown, he accompanied Tatar merchants to Dihua (now Urumqi
Ürümqi
Ürümqi , formerly Tihwa , is the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, in the northwest of the country....
) in Xinjiang and worked as an apprentice and store-clerk In 1914, he was able to apply and receive Chinese citizenship from the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
on account of his family's ancestry. He spoke Uyghur
Uyghur language
Uyghur , formerly known as Eastern Turk, is a Turkic language with 8 to 11 million speakers, spoken primarily by the Uyghur people in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of Western China. Significant communities of Uyghur-speakers are located in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and various other...
, Mandarin Chinese, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
and some Arabic and acted as the interpreter for Yang Zengxin
Yang Zengxin
Yang Zengxin , born in Mengzi, Honghe, Yunnan in 1859, was the ruler of Xinjiang after the Xinhai Revolution in 1911 until his assassination in 1928.-Life:...
, the leader of Xinjiang at the time
In 1929, he was sent to Weimar Germany by Xinjiang's next leader Jin Shuren
Jin Shuren
Jin Shuren , governor of Xinjiang, succeeded Yang Zengxin after Yang was assassinated in 1928. Jin ruled Xinjiang for about half a decade, and his reign was characterized by corruption and suppression. Under his rule, both ethnic and religion conflicts were greatly deepened, resulting in numerous...
, and studied political-economy in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. He returned to Xinjiang in 1933 and held a number of roles in the provincial government including manager of a land development company. He played a key role in the Xinjiang Nationalities Congress of 1934. At this Congress, the ethnonym
Ethnonym
An ethnonym is the name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms and autonyms or endonyms .As an example, the ethnonym for...
Uyghur was adopted to describe the majority Turkic Muslims in the oases of the Tarim Basin
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is a large endorheic basin occupying an area of about . It is located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China's far west. Its northern boundary is the Tian Shan mountain range and its southern is the Kunlun Mountains on the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The...
.
Role in Xinjiang politics during the Republic of China
In 1937, he was dispatched by the next governor, Sheng ShicaiSheng Shicai
Sheng Shicai was a Chinese warlord who "ruled" Xinjiang province from April 12, 1933 to August 29, 1944....
, to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
to serve as a consular official in the border district of Zaysan
Zaysan (town)
Zaysan is a town in the East Kazakhstan Province of Kazakhstan, the center of Zaysan District. It is situated near the southeastern corner of Lake Zaysan at an altitude of 660 meters above sea level....
. The following year, he was recalled by Sheng, branded a "troskeyite" and imprisoned until 1944. While in prison, Burhan wrote a Uyghur-Chinese-Russian Dictionary and translated Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese doctor, revolutionary and political leader. As the foremost pioneer of Nationalist China, Sun is frequently referred to as the "Father of the Nation" , a view agreed upon by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China...
's Three People's Principles into Uyghur.
He was released by Wu Zhongxin
Wu Zhongxin
Wu Zhongxin, or Wu Chung-hsin was a General and government official of the Republic of China. He was associated with the CC Clique.-Career:*1932 - 1933 Chairman of Anhui Provincial Government...
, the Chinese Nationalist official who replaced Sheng Shicai. In 1946, Burhan became the vice-chairman of a provincial coalition government formed between the Chinese Nationalists and the revolutionaries who had founded the Second East Turkestan Republic (Second ETR)
Second East Turkestan Republic
The Second East Turkestan Republic, usually known simply as the East Turkestan Republic , was a short-lived Soviet-backed Turkic people's republic which existed in the 1940s in three northern districts of Xinjiang province of the Republic of China, what is now the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous...
in the "Three Districts". He was considered a political moderate between the Nationalist Chinese and Second ETR members of the coalition.
In 1947, Burhan was transferred to Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
and became an official in the central government under Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
. Later that year, he led a Xinjiang performance troupe to Taiwan and toured Keelung
Keelung
Keelung City is a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. It borders New Taipei and forms the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, along with the Taipei and New Taipei. Nicknamed the Rainy Port for its frequent rain and maritime role, the city is Taiwan's second largest seaport...
, Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, Taichung
Taichung
-Demographics:Taichung’s population was an estimated 1,040,725 in August 2006. There are slightly more females in the city than males.24.32% of residents are children, while 16.63% are young people, 52.68% are middle-age, and 6.73% are elderly....
, and Kaoshiung. The tour came shortly after the 2-28 Incident, which left many islanders hostile to mainlanders. Burhan gave speeches that appealed to national unity.
In 1948, he returned to Xinjiang and became the president of the Xinjiang Academy, the precursor to the Xinjiang University
Xinjiang University
Xinjiang University is one of the major universities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China, and is a national key university...
. He favored Chinese nationalism and disagreed with Turkic nationalist positions of Muhammad Amin Bughra
Muhammad Amin Bughra
Muhammad Amin Bughra also Muḥammad Amīn Bughra , Муххамад Эмин Бугро, was a Turkic Muslim leader, who planned to set up an independent state, the First East Turkestan Republic....
. In January 1949, he replaced Masud Sabri
Masud Sabri
Masud Sabri , also known as Masʿūd Ṣabrī , , was a Uyghur political leader in Xinjiang and Governor of Xinjiang during the Ili Rebellion...
as the chairman of Xinjiang Provincial Government. Sabri was anti-Soviet and opposed the Soviet-backed Ehmetjan Qasim (Akhmedjan Kasimov), who was the vice-chairman of the provincial government. He helped stabilize the province's finances, which was ravaged by the spread of inflation throughout Nationalist China, by restoring the local currency.
In September of that year, he negotiated with Deng Liqun, the Chinese Communist representative sent by Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
to the province during the waning days of the Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
. On September 26, Burhan joined Nationalist general Tao Zhiyue in announcing the surrender of the province to the People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
, paving the way for the "peaceful liberation" of Xinjiang. A week later, the People's Republic of China (PRC)
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
was founded in Beijing.
Political roles in the People's Republic of China
On December 17, 1949, the Xinjiang Provincial People's Government was established and Burhan became the chairman. Saifuddin Azizi was the deputy chairman. He joined the Chinese Communist Party at the end of the year. In 1952, he headed the preparatory committee to create the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). In 1955, Azizi became the first chairman of the XUAR, and Burhan's role in the Xinjiang government lessened.Burhan was a co-founder and the first chairman of the Islamic Association of China. In this capacity, he became an able diplomat in the PRC's outreach to the Islamic world. In February 1956, he led a cultural and religious delegation on a tour of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. As a direct result of his diplomatic work, Egypt under President Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of...
in May 1956 became the first country in Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
to recognize the PRC and sever ties with the Republic of China on Taiwan. It was the first country to recognize Beijing in six years and the recognition broke the diplomatic blockade imposed by the West. In July, he returned to the region leading China's hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
mission to Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, where he met King Fahd and visited King Hussein of Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, though neither country had diplomatic relations with the PRC. On the same trip, he also met with President Nazim al-Kudsi
Nazim al-Kudsi
Nazim al-Kudsi, also spelled "Koudsi", "al-Qudsi" or "al-Cudsi" , was a Syrian politician and head of state . He was born in and raised in Aleppo...
of Syria and Amir Muhammad al-Badr
Muhammad al-Badr
H.M. Muhammad Al-Badr was the last king of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen and leader of the monarchist regions during the North Yemen Civil War...
of North Yemen
North Yemen
North Yemen is a term currently used to designate the Yemen Arab Republic , its predecessor, the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen , and their predecessors that exercised sovereignty over the territory that is now the north-western part of the state of Yemen in southern Arabia.Neither state ever...
. Both countries switched their recognition to the PRC in 1956.
On November 4, 1956, Burhan and Hu Yaobang
Hu Yaobang
Hu Yaobang was a leader of the People's Republic of China who served as both Chairman and Party General Secretary. Hu joined the Chinese Communist Party in the 1930s, and rose to prominence as a comrade of Deng Xiaoping...
, Guo Moruo
Guo Moruo
Guo Moruo , courtesy name Dingtang , was a Chinese author, poet, historian, archaeologist, and government official from Sichuan, China.-Family history:Guo, originally named Guo Kaizhen, was born on November 10 or 16, in the small town of Shawan...
helped lead a massive public rally and parade in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
with over 400,000 people in Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen Gate located to its North, separating it from the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the third largest city square in the world...
to support Egypt and denounce Anglo-French imperialism in the Suez Crisis
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
. In the spring of 1959, he led a delegation to Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
to support Prime Minister Abd al-Karim Qasim who had overthrown the Iraqi monarchy the previous year and founded a pro-socialist republic.
Burhan supervised Chinese Muslim participation in the hajj until the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, when he was accused of being a collaborator and a foreigner, and imprisoned for eight years. Afterwards, he was rehabilitated and served as a vice-chairman of the second, third, fifth, sixth and seventh Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference [], shortened as 人民政协, Rénmín Zhèngxié, i.e. "People's PCC"; or just 政协, Zhèngxié, i.e. "The PCC"), abbreviated CPPCC, is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China...
National Committee. His memoir, Fifty Years in Xinjiang was published in 1984.
He died in 1989 and is buried in the foothills of the Tian Shan
Tian Shan
The Tian Shan , also spelled Tien Shan, is a large mountain system located in Central Asia. The highest peak in the Tian Shan is Victory Peak , ....
in Xinjiang.