East Turkestan

alternative East Turkistan · alternative Eastern Turkestan

1. A geographic region in northwestern China; in modern usage, a synonym of Xinjiang used by the East Turkestan independence movement.

   It is the administrative hq. of the dist. Altai [Chinese Aerhtai or Ashan], by which name the town is sometimes called, and which formed part (1944-50) of the East Turkestan Republic.

   1952, “Sharasume”, in Leon E. Seltzer, editor, The Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World, Morningside Heights, NY: Columbia University Press, →OCLC, page 1745, column 2

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   It seems to me that I entered the hills, from the Indian side, at Barakau on the 25th of June last; that I reached the ‘top’ on the Depsang plains on the 14th of this month; and that to-day I have emerged on the Central Asian side of the hills into the plains of Eastern Turkestan.

   [1876 [1874 September 27], J. Scully, “A Contribution to the Ornithology of Eastern Turkestan”, in Allan Hume, editor, Stray Feathers: A Journal of Ornithology for India and its Dependencies, volume IV, Calcutta: Calcutta Central Press, →OCLC, page 59

   It is the opinion of an important school of archeologists that the earliest products of metallurgy in bronze and iron successively progressed to the western world from the far East — a progress that in each case carried with it a revolution in civilizations. We do not know whether this region saw the birth of the metallurgy of those elemental substances which — beginning with copper and tin and progressing through bronze to iron and steel and the use of coal — marks the birth of civilization and its great revolutions. If it was not the birthplace of this art, and if it was a distributing center, it is a long step nearer to any far eastern source, whether this was China, East Turkestan, India, or Persia.

   1905, Raphael Pumpelly, Explorations in Turkestan, with an account of the basin of eastern Persia and Sistan, page 16

   The introduction of Mohammedanism occurred during the seventh century. Mohammedanism has its largest following in the northwestern portion of the empire, and it has once or twice threatened the peace of the government in that region, especially in the dependency of East Turkestan.

   1906, James Whitford Bashford, China and Methodism, page 31

   Within the independent government of the East Turkestan Republic, while Sabid-da-Mulla insisted upon defending the Old City of Kashgar to the death, Mahum and Nias wanted to quit the Old City for the time being, withdraw to Ying-chi-sha, and plan a second uprising.

   1946, Military Information: Sinkiang Rebellions 1931-1937, page 9

   After Lou-lan, however, the Qum darja river and, north of this, the parallel mountain range of Quruq-tagh again seem to offer some guidance, when choosing the northern route through East Turkestan.

   1962, Bertil Almgren, Geographical Aspects of the Silk Road Especially in Persia and East Turkestan, number 34, Stockholm: Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, page 96