Slavery in China
Encyclopedia
Slavery in China has taken various forms throughout history. Never as absolute as its Muslim or European models, Chinese slavery still often viewed its objects as "half-man, half-thing" . Slavery was repeatedly abolished as a legally-recognized institution, including in a 1909 law fully enacted in 1910, although the practice continued until at least 1949.
, at which point it has been estimated that about 5 percent of the population was enslaved.
were turned into eunuch
slaves of the Qin dynasty
state to do forced labor, for projects like the Terracotta Army
. The Qin government confiscated the property and enslaved the families of those who received castration as a punishment for rape.
Slaves were deprived of their rights and connections to their families.
, although domestic servants retained their status.
Men punished with castration during the Han dynasty
were also used as slave labor.
Deriving from earlier Legalist
laws, the Han dynasty set in place rules that the property of and families of criminals doing three years of hard labor or sentenced to castration were to have their families seized and kept as property by the government.
either abolished all slavery or trade in slaves. The swift collapse of his dynasty led to the restoration of both.
Chinese law segregated slaves and freemen into different classes, slaves were classified as criminals. Only criminals and foreigners were allowed to be enslaved in China. Miscegenation between foreign slaves and Chinese women was banned.
Military expeditions in Korea, Mongolia, Central Asia, and India by Tang armies captured foreigners as slaves. After executing the men, Tang dynasty armies enslaved captive women and livestock to either go to the imperial court or allied tribes.
Persians were kidnapped by pirates and kept in captivity on Wan-an, Hainan island, before being sold. Samanids in Transoxania sold Turks to the Chinese.
Free Chinese could not be legally sold as a slave unless they willingly sold themselves. If they did not sell themselves, the person who sold them would be executed. However, all other peoples were subject to enslavement without their permission. Southern aboriginals constituted the largest number of slaves. Other peoples sold as slaves to Chinese included Turks, Persians, and Korean women, who were sought after by the wealthy. China suffered from shortages of women for marriage, which led to Korean women being sold in Chinese slave markets to compensate for this. The Chinese demand for young Korean slave girls as concubines created a lucrative market for pirates on the seas surrounding Korea, where they were sold in Shandong
, China. The Chinese Governor of Shandong
banned the trade in 692.
A massive market in the trade of southern aboriginal slave girls also existed, Chinese officials attempted to ban it and denounced it, to no effect, as it continued. Indian, Malay, and Black African slaves were also sold to the Chinese. Their skin was noted to be dark, their hair wavy or curly.
Tang law considered slaves to be chattel without the same rights as people. Free women could not marry male slaves.
Yuan dynasty
implemented a great expansion of slavery in China and restored harsher terms of service. However, because the Chinese were more integrated into the culture, such "slaves" often proved so invaluable they came to possess a great deal of power themselves, including slaves of their own. During insurrections and slave revolts, such disloyalty often led to their property being targeted first, even before the Mongols' themselves.
officially killed all slaves within China, although the practice continued.
The Java
ns sent 30000 black slaves as tribute to the Ming Dynasty in 1981.
When the Ming dynasty
crushed the Miao Rebellions (Ming Dynasty)
in 1460, they castrated 1,565 Miao boys, which resulted in the deaths of 329 of them, they were then turned into eunuch
slaves. This event occurred during the rule of the Zhengtong Emperor
(Yingcong or Ying Tsung). Since 329 of the boys died, even more were needed to be castrated.
The 1630s saw numerous slave revolts, prompting laws limiting the number of slaves per household.
they gradually introduced reforms turning slaves and serfs into peasants. The Kangxi Emperor
freed all the Manchu's hereditary slaves in 1685, and the Yongzheng Emperor
aimed to emancipate others during the 1720s.
The end of slavery elsewhere following the British emancipation led to increasing demands for cheap Chinese laborers, known as "coolie
s". Mistreatment ranged from the near-slave conditions maintained by some crimps and traders in the mid-1800s in Hawaii
and Cuba to the relatively dangerous tasks given to the Chinese during the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad
in the 1860s.
abolished slavery and prostitution in the territory under his control in the 1850s and '60s.
Mongols, Han Chinese, and Hui Chinese Muslims were the main victims of slave trading in Xinjiang.
Free Chinese, such as Han Chinese
and Hui Chinese Muslims
(tungans) were all categorized as merchants regardless of profession. The other portion of the Chinese population were military soldiers or Han Chinese or Hui enslaved to Turkestani begs
.
A Manchu historian Ji Dachen claimed that the Qing dynasty sent slaves to Turpan to build the karez for the Lukchun King and that the slaves mixed with the Uyghurs of Turpan, calling them a "mixed breed".
Slave raiders from Khoqand did not distinguish between Hui Muslim and Han Chinese, enslaving any Chinese they could in Xinjiang.
Turkic Muslims were also enslaved to begs after wars with Khwajas and Khoqand.
The Qing dynasty procured 420 women and girl slaves, all of them Mongol to service Oirat Mongol bannermen stationed in Xinjiang in 1764.
Many Torghut
Mongols boys and girls were sold to Central Asian markets or on the local Xinjiang market to native Turkestanis. Officials in Xinjiang engaged in this illegal trade, which was banned by the government.
Chinese Muslim
(Tungans) Sufis who were charged by the Qing dynasty
government with practicing xiejiao (heterodox religion), were punished by exile to Xinjiang and being sold as slaves to other Muslims, such as the Sufi begs
.
Under the "fundamental laws" of China, one section is titled "Wizards, Witches, and all Superstitions, prohibited." The Jiaqing Emperor
in 1814 A.D. added a sixth clause in this section with reference to Christianity. It was modified in 1821 and printed in 1826 by the Daoguang Emperor
. It sentenced Europeans to death for spreading Christianity among Han Chinese and Manchus (tartars). Christians who would not repent their conversion were sent to Muslim cities in Xinjiang, to be given as slaves to Muslim leaders and bey
s.
While free Chinese merchants generally did not engage in relationships with East Turkestani women, some of the Chinese male slaves belonging to begs, along with Green Standard soldiers, engaged in affairs with the East Turkestani women. Some Muslim owners had children with Chinese women slaves.
After being freed, many slaves such as Gilgitis in Xinjiang cities like Tashkurgan, Yarkand, and Karghallik, stayed rather than return Hunza in Gilgit
. Most of these slaves were women who married local slave and non slave men and had children with them. Sometimes the women were married to their masters, other slaves, or free men who were not their masters. There were ten slave men to slave women married couples, and 15 master slave women couples, with several other non master free men married to slave women. Both slave and free Turki and Chinese men fathered children with Hunza slave women. A free man, Khas Muhammad, was married with 2 children to a woman slave named Daulat, aged 24. A Gilgiti slave woman aged 26, Makhmal, was married to a Chinese slave man, Allah Vardi and had 3 children with him. The Hunzas are Ismaili
Muslims
The Hunzas were tributaries and allies to China, acknowledging China as suzerain. When the Hunzas raided the Kirghiz, they sold Kirghiz slaves to Chinese.
Badakhshi
merchants sold attractive Chitral
girls in Yarkand, China, for 20-25 pounds sterling, and this trade was facillated by Chinese officials. Others from Kunjoot, Gilgit
, and Kafiristan
were also enslaved and sold in Yarkand. The girls were sold by their parents.
The Qianlong Emperor had banned slavery in Xinjiang in 1778 or 1779, but it continued along with the administration of the Begs. Most foreign slaves in Xinjiang were Shia Mountain Tajiks.
The Tajiks of Xinjiang practiced slavery, selling some of their own as a punishment. Submissive slaves were given wives and settled with the Tajiks. They were considered property and could be sold anytime. Their slaves came from numerous sources, enslaving Sunni captives such as Kirghiz in retaliation for Kirghiz slave raids, or from Kunjud, Gilgit, Chitral. The Tajiks also sold some slaves to Bukhara
. The Sunnis called them Rafidites and did not consider them Muslim.
Shia Muslims were sold as slaves in Khotan. The Muslims in Xinjiang ignored Islamic rules, selling and buying Muslims as slaves. Due to the enslavement of Indian subjects to the British crown from Kashmir being sold in the Xinjiang slave markets, Sir George Macartney was sent to free them, in the process, he freed 2,000. In 1897, Slavery was abolished in Xinjiang. Macartney bought many slaves and freed them, not only Indians, but others as well. Several Xinjiang officials were then prompted to take actions freeing more slaves after Macartney's visit.
Slavery and castration were used as punishments against rebels.
Ma Jincheng (1864–1890), the grandson of Ma Hualong
, was sentenced to castration and slavery in Kaifeng since Ma Hualong participated in the Dungan revolt (1862–1877) against the Qing dynasty.
Yaqub Beg's son and grandsons were castrated by the Chinese in 1879 and turned into eunuchs to work in the Imperial Palace.
Shang Dynasty
Slavery was established in China by at least the Shang dynastyShang Dynasty
The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper" in the Yellow River valley...
, at which point it has been estimated that about 5 percent of the population was enslaved.
Qin Dynasty
Men sentenced to castrationCastration
Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which a male loses the functions of the testicles or a female loses the functions of the ovaries.-Humans:...
were turned into eunuch
Eunuch
A eunuch is a person born male most commonly castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences...
slaves of the Qin dynasty
Qin Dynasty
The Qin Dynasty was the first imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 221 to 207 BC. The Qin state derived its name from its heartland of Qin, in modern-day Shaanxi. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the 4th century BC, during the Warring...
state to do forced labor, for projects like the Terracotta Army
Terracotta Army
The Terracotta Army or the "Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses", is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China...
. The Qin government confiscated the property and enslaved the families of those who received castration as a punishment for rape.
Slaves were deprived of their rights and connections to their families.
Han Dynasty
One of Emperor Gao's first acts was to manumit agricultural workers enslaved during the Warring States periodWarring States Period
The Warring States Period , also known as the Era of Warring States, or the Warring Kingdoms period, covers the Iron Age period from about 475 BC to the reunification of China under the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC...
, although domestic servants retained their status.
Men punished with castration during the Han dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
were also used as slave labor.
Deriving from earlier Legalist
Legalism (Chinese philosophy)
In Chinese history, Legalism was one of the main philosophic currents during the Warring States Period, although the term itself was invented in the Han Dynasty and thus does not refer to an organized 'school' of thought....
laws, the Han dynasty set in place rules that the property of and families of criminals doing three years of hard labor or sentenced to castration were to have their families seized and kept as property by the government.
Xin Dynasty
As part of his land reform laws, Wang MangWang Mang
Wang Mang , courtesy name Jujun , was a Han Dynasty official who seized the throne from the Liu family and founded the Xin Dynasty , ruling AD 9–23. The Han dynasty was restored after his overthrow and his rule marks the separation between the Western Han Dynasty and Eastern Han Dynasty...
either abolished all slavery or trade in slaves. The swift collapse of his dynasty led to the restoration of both.
Three Kingdoms
During the Three Kingdoms period, a number of statuses intermediate between freedom and slavery developed, but none of them is thought to have exceeded 1 percent of the population.Tang Dynasty
Tang Law held that free people could not be enslaved, slaves who were sold had to be previously held as slaves in order to be legally sold. A large amount of slave trading took place on Silk Road markets during this time, several examples show Sogdian slave girls being sold by Sogdian merchants to Chinese.Chinese law segregated slaves and freemen into different classes, slaves were classified as criminals. Only criminals and foreigners were allowed to be enslaved in China. Miscegenation between foreign slaves and Chinese women was banned.
Military expeditions in Korea, Mongolia, Central Asia, and India by Tang armies captured foreigners as slaves. After executing the men, Tang dynasty armies enslaved captive women and livestock to either go to the imperial court or allied tribes.
Persians were kidnapped by pirates and kept in captivity on Wan-an, Hainan island, before being sold. Samanids in Transoxania sold Turks to the Chinese.
Free Chinese could not be legally sold as a slave unless they willingly sold themselves. If they did not sell themselves, the person who sold them would be executed. However, all other peoples were subject to enslavement without their permission. Southern aboriginals constituted the largest number of slaves. Other peoples sold as slaves to Chinese included Turks, Persians, and Korean women, who were sought after by the wealthy. China suffered from shortages of women for marriage, which led to Korean women being sold in Chinese slave markets to compensate for this. The Chinese demand for young Korean slave girls as concubines created a lucrative market for pirates on the seas surrounding Korea, where they were sold in Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
, China. The Chinese Governor of Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
banned the trade in 692.
A massive market in the trade of southern aboriginal slave girls also existed, Chinese officials attempted to ban it and denounced it, to no effect, as it continued. Indian, Malay, and Black African slaves were also sold to the Chinese. Their skin was noted to be dark, their hair wavy or curly.
Tang law considered slaves to be chattel without the same rights as people. Free women could not marry male slaves.
Song Dynasty
The Song's warfare against northern and western sing-songing neighbors produced many captives on both sides, but reforms were introduced to ease the transition from bondage to freedom.Yuan Dynasty
The Mongol and largely MuslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Yuan dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
implemented a great expansion of slavery in China and restored harsher terms of service. However, because the Chinese were more integrated into the culture, such "slaves" often proved so invaluable they came to possess a great deal of power themselves, including slaves of their own. During insurrections and slave revolts, such disloyalty often led to their property being targeted first, even before the Mongols' themselves.
Ming Dynasty
Upon his defeat of the Yuan dynasty, the Hongwu EmperorHongwu Emperor
The Hongwu Emperor , known variably by his given name Zhu Yuanzhang and by his temple name Taizu of Ming , was the founder and first emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China...
officially killed all slaves within China, although the practice continued.
The Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
ns sent 30000 black slaves as tribute to the Ming Dynasty in 1981.
When the Ming dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
crushed the Miao Rebellions (Ming Dynasty)
Miao Rebellions (Ming Dynasty)
The Miao Rebellions were a series of Rebellions of the aboriginal Miao and other aboriginal tribes of southern China. The Ming Dynasty crushed the rebels with overwhelming force...
in 1460, they castrated 1,565 Miao boys, which resulted in the deaths of 329 of them, they were then turned into eunuch
Eunuch
A eunuch is a person born male most commonly castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences...
slaves. This event occurred during the rule of the Zhengtong Emperor
Zhengtong Emperor
Zhu Qizhen was an emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He ruled as the Zhengtong Emperor from 1435 to 1449, and as the Tianshun Emperor from 1457 to 1464....
(Yingcong or Ying Tsung). Since 329 of the boys died, even more were needed to be castrated.
The 1630s saw numerous slave revolts, prompting laws limiting the number of slaves per household.
Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty initially oversaw an expansion in slavery and states of bondage like the booi aha. However, within China properChina proper
China proper or Eighteen Provinces was a term used by Western writers on the Qing Dynasty to express a distinction between the core and frontier regions of China. There is no fixed extent for China proper, as many administrative, cultural, and linguistic shifts have occurred in Chinese history...
they gradually introduced reforms turning slaves and serfs into peasants. The Kangxi Emperor
Kangxi Emperor
The Kangxi Emperor ; Manchu: elhe taifin hūwangdi ; Mongolian: Энх-Амгалан хаан, 4 May 1654 –20 December 1722) was the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the first to be born on Chinese soil south of the Pass and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, from 1661 to 1722.Kangxi's...
freed all the Manchu's hereditary slaves in 1685, and the Yongzheng Emperor
Yongzheng Emperor
The Yongzheng Emperor , born Yinzhen , was the fifth emperor of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and the third Qing emperor from 1722 to 1735. A hard-working ruler, Yongzheng's main goal was to create an effective government at minimal expense. Like his father, the Kangxi Emperor, Yongzheng used military...
aimed to emancipate others during the 1720s.
The end of slavery elsewhere following the British emancipation led to increasing demands for cheap Chinese laborers, known as "coolie
Coolie
Historically, a coolie was a manual labourer or slave from Asia, particularly China, India, and the Phillipines during the 19th century and early 20th century...
s". Mistreatment ranged from the near-slave conditions maintained by some crimps and traders in the mid-1800s in Hawaii
Kingdom of Hawaii
The Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...
and Cuba to the relatively dangerous tasks given to the Chinese during the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad
Central Pacific Railroad
The Central Pacific Railroad is the former name of the railroad network built between California and Utah, USA that formed part of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" in North America. It is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad. Many 19th century national proposals to build a transcontinental...
in the 1860s.
Taiping
Among his other reforms, Hong XiuquanHong Xiuquan
Hong Xiuquan , born Hong Renkun, style name Huoxiu , was a Hakka Chinese who led the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing Dynasty, establishing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom over varying portions of southern China, with himself as the "Heavenly King" and self-proclaimed brother of Jesus Christ.-Early...
abolished slavery and prostitution in the territory under his control in the 1850s and '60s.
Xinjiang
TorghutTorghut
The Torgut are one of the four major subgroups of the Four Oirats. The Torghut ruling dynasty traced its descent to the Kereit ruler Wang Khan's bodyguards....
Mongols, Han Chinese, and Hui Chinese Muslims were the main victims of slave trading in Xinjiang.
Free Chinese, such as Han Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
and Hui Chinese Muslims
Hui people
The Hui people are an ethnic group in China, defined as Chinese speaking people descended from foreign Muslims. They are typically distinguished by their practice of Islam, however some also practice other religions, and many are direct descendants of Silk Road travelers.In modern People's...
(tungans) were all categorized as merchants regardless of profession. The other portion of the Chinese population were military soldiers or Han Chinese or Hui enslaved to Turkestani begs
Baig
- History & Origins:The name Baig originates from a Turkic clan called Barlas . They played a pivotal role in Turko-Persian empires in Central Asia, Middle East and South Asia....
.
A Manchu historian Ji Dachen claimed that the Qing dynasty sent slaves to Turpan to build the karez for the Lukchun King and that the slaves mixed with the Uyghurs of Turpan, calling them a "mixed breed".
Slave raiders from Khoqand did not distinguish between Hui Muslim and Han Chinese, enslaving any Chinese they could in Xinjiang.
Turkic Muslim slaves
Turkic Muslims were also enslaved to begs after wars with Khwajas and Khoqand.
Mongol slaves
The Qing dynasty procured 420 women and girl slaves, all of them Mongol to service Oirat Mongol bannermen stationed in Xinjiang in 1764.
Many Torghut
Torghut
The Torgut are one of the four major subgroups of the Four Oirats. The Torghut ruling dynasty traced its descent to the Kereit ruler Wang Khan's bodyguards....
Mongols boys and girls were sold to Central Asian markets or on the local Xinjiang market to native Turkestanis. Officials in Xinjiang engaged in this illegal trade, which was banned by the government.
Hui Chinese Muslim slaves
Chinese Muslim
Hui people
The Hui people are an ethnic group in China, defined as Chinese speaking people descended from foreign Muslims. They are typically distinguished by their practice of Islam, however some also practice other religions, and many are direct descendants of Silk Road travelers.In modern People's...
(Tungans) Sufis who were charged by 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....
government with practicing xiejiao (heterodox religion), were punished by exile to Xinjiang and being sold as slaves to other Muslims, such as the Sufi begs
Baig
- History & Origins:The name Baig originates from a Turkic clan called Barlas . They played a pivotal role in Turko-Persian empires in Central Asia, Middle East and South Asia....
.
Other slaves
Under the "fundamental laws" of China, one section is titled "Wizards, Witches, and all Superstitions, prohibited." The Jiaqing Emperor
Jiaqing Emperor
The Jiaqing Emperor was the seventh emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and the fifth Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1796 to 1820....
in 1814 A.D. added a sixth clause in this section with reference to Christianity. It was modified in 1821 and printed in 1826 by the Daoguang Emperor
Daoguang Emperor
The Daoguang Emperor was the eighth emperor of the Manchurian Qing dynasty and the sixth Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1820 to 1850.-Early years:...
. It sentenced Europeans to death for spreading Christianity among Han Chinese and Manchus (tartars). Christians who would not repent their conversion were sent to Muslim cities in Xinjiang, to be given as slaves to Muslim leaders and bey
Baig
- History & Origins:The name Baig originates from a Turkic clan called Barlas . They played a pivotal role in Turko-Persian empires in Central Asia, Middle East and South Asia....
s.
The clause stated: "People of the Western Ocean, [Europeans or Portuguese,] should they propagate in the country the religion of heaven's Lord, [name given to Christianity by the Romanists,] or clandestinely print books, or collect congregations to be preached to, and thereby deceive many people, or should any Tartars or Chinese, in their turn, propagate the doctrines and clandestinely give names, (as in baptism,) inflaming and misleading many, if proved by authentic testimony, the head or leader shall be sentenced to immediate death by strangulations : he who propagates the religion, inflaming and deceiving the people, if the number be not large, and no names be given, shall be sentenced to strangulation after a period of imprisonment. Those who are merely hearers or followers of the doctrine, if they will not repent and recant, shall be transported to the Mohammedan cities (in Turkistan) and given to be slaves to the beys and other powerful Mohammedans who are able to coerce them. . . . All civil and military officers who may fail to detect Europeans clandestinely residing in the country within their jurisdiction, and propagating their religion, thereby deceiving the multitude, shall be delivered over to the Supreme Board and be subjected to a court of inquiry."
Intermarriage Between Slaves
While free Chinese merchants generally did not engage in relationships with East Turkestani women, some of the Chinese male slaves belonging to begs, along with Green Standard soldiers, engaged in affairs with the East Turkestani women. Some Muslim owners had children with Chinese women slaves.
After being freed, many slaves such as Gilgitis in Xinjiang cities like Tashkurgan, Yarkand, and Karghallik, stayed rather than return Hunza in Gilgit
Gilgit
Gilgit is a city in northern PakistanGilgit may refer to other terms related with the area of the city:* Gilgit River* Gilgit Valley* Gilgit District* Gilgit Agency * Gilgit Airport...
. Most of these slaves were women who married local slave and non slave men and had children with them. Sometimes the women were married to their masters, other slaves, or free men who were not their masters. There were ten slave men to slave women married couples, and 15 master slave women couples, with several other non master free men married to slave women. Both slave and free Turki and Chinese men fathered children with Hunza slave women. A free man, Khas Muhammad, was married with 2 children to a woman slave named Daulat, aged 24. A Gilgiti slave woman aged 26, Makhmal, was married to a Chinese slave man, Allah Vardi and had 3 children with him. The Hunzas are Ismaili
Ismaili
' is a branch of Shia Islam. It is the second largest branch of Shia Islam, after the Twelvers...
Muslims
Miscellaneous
The Hunzas were tributaries and allies to China, acknowledging China as suzerain. When the Hunzas raided the Kirghiz, they sold Kirghiz slaves to Chinese.
Badakhshi
Badakhshan
Badakhshan is an historic region comprising parts of what is now northeastern Afghanistan and southeastern Tajikistan. The name is retained in Badakhshan Province which is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, in the far northeast of Afghanistan, and contains the Wakhan Corridor...
merchants sold attractive Chitral
Chitral
Chitral or Chetrar , translated as field in the native language Khowar, is the capital of the Chitral District, situated on the western bank of the Kunar River , in Pakistan. The town is at the foot of Tirich Mir, the highest peak of the Hindu Kush, high...
girls in Yarkand, China, for 20-25 pounds sterling, and this trade was facillated by Chinese officials. Others from Kunjoot, Gilgit
Gilgit
Gilgit is a city in northern PakistanGilgit may refer to other terms related with the area of the city:* Gilgit River* Gilgit Valley* Gilgit District* Gilgit Agency * Gilgit Airport...
, and Kafiristan
Kafiristan
Kāfiristān or Kāfirstān was a historic name of Nurestan , a province in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan and Pakistan, prior to 1896. This historic region lies on, and mainly comprises, basins of the rivers Alingar, Pech , Landai Sin, and Kunar, and the intervening mountain ranges...
were also enslaved and sold in Yarkand. The girls were sold by their parents.
The Qianlong Emperor had banned slavery in Xinjiang in 1778 or 1779, but it continued along with the administration of the Begs. Most foreign slaves in Xinjiang were Shia Mountain Tajiks.
The Tajiks of Xinjiang practiced slavery, selling some of their own as a punishment. Submissive slaves were given wives and settled with the Tajiks. They were considered property and could be sold anytime. Their slaves came from numerous sources, enslaving Sunni captives such as Kirghiz in retaliation for Kirghiz slave raids, or from Kunjud, Gilgit, Chitral. The Tajiks also sold some slaves to Bukhara
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
. The Sunnis called them Rafidites and did not consider them Muslim.
Shia Muslims were sold as slaves in Khotan. The Muslims in Xinjiang ignored Islamic rules, selling and buying Muslims as slaves. Due to the enslavement of Indian subjects to the British crown from Kashmir being sold in the Xinjiang slave markets, Sir George Macartney was sent to free them, in the process, he freed 2,000. In 1897, Slavery was abolished in Xinjiang. Macartney bought many slaves and freed them, not only Indians, but others as well. Several Xinjiang officials were then prompted to take actions freeing more slaves after Macartney's visit.
Slavery as punishment
Slavery and castration were used as punishments against rebels.
Ma Jincheng (1864–1890), the grandson of Ma Hualong
Ma Hualong
Ma Hualong , was the fifth leader of the Jahriyya, a Dungan Sufi order in northwestern China. From the beginning of the Dungan Revolt in 1862, until his surrender and death in 1871, he was one of the main leaders of the revolt.-Biography:Ma Hualong became the leader of the Jahriyya ca...
, was sentenced to castration and slavery in Kaifeng since Ma Hualong participated in the Dungan revolt (1862–1877) against the Qing dynasty.
Yaqub Beg's son and grandsons were castrated by the Chinese in 1879 and turned into eunuchs to work in the Imperial Palace.