Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang
by James A. Millward (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars (37)
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Contents
List of Illustrations
List of Maps and Figures
Preface and Acknowledgements
Preface to the Second Edition
Maps
1. Ancient Encounters (earliest times-8th century)
2. Central Eurasia Ascendant (9th-16th centuries)
3. Between Islam and China (16th-19th centuries)
4. Between Empire and Nation (late 19th-early 20th century)
5. Between China and the Soviet Union (1910s-1940s)
6. In the People's Republic of China (1950s-1980s)
7. Between China and the World (1990s-2000s)
8. Colonialism, Assimilationism and Ethnocide (2000s-2020s)
Appendix: Xinjiang Historical Timeline
General Bibliography
Index
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Xinjiang, the vast northwestern region comprising one sixth of the PRC today, borders on India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakstan, Russia and Mongolia. Since antiquity it has stood at the crossroads between China, India, the Mediterranean and Russia. In recent decades its historic silk road linkages have grown increasingly global, with issues of energy, development, separatism and terrorism bringing the region into the news. James Millward draws on primary sources and scholarly research in several European and Asian languages to provide the first general account in English of the history of Xinjiang and its peoples from earliest times to the present.
He discusses Xinjiang’s world historical role as a commercial entrepot and cultural conduit by which Buddhism, Christianity and Islam entered China and its interactions with Tibetan, Mongol and other Inner Asian empires as well as with Chinese dynasties. Eurasian Crossroads also examines the competing Chinese and Turkic nationalist visions of the region’s status in modern times and the recurring dissent and rapid development under the PRC. Within the broad perspective of this book it emerges that the factors underlying historical change in the region – its natural environment and geography, its physical location at the overlap of cultural realms and its legacy of ethno-linguistic diversity – remain as relevant to Xinjiang’s future as to its past.
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Print length
510 pages
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Product description
Review
Eurasian Crossroads remains the best introduction to the history of this region. It draws out key phenomena and questions for each period, building from ecology and archaeology to ethnic politics. This edition includes an accessible analysis of contemporary events in context. This book was once pathbreaking--today it is essential.--Eric Schluessel, author of Land of Strangers: The Civilizing Project in Qing Central Asia
About the Author
James A. Millward is professor of intersocietal history at the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. His books include The Silk Road: A Very Short Introduction (2013) and Beyond the Pass: Economy, Ethnicity and Empire in Qing Xinjiang, 1759-1864 (1998).
Product details
ASIN : B09GKGSMG8
Publisher : Hurst Publishers
Accessibility : Learn more
Publication date : 15 September 2021
Language : English
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From other countries
Zeros
5.0 out of 5 stars A neglected area that finally gets it's overdue attention.
Reviewed in the United States on 4 December 2017
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This is the only available book in English that details the history of Xinjiang. The author, James Millward, is a scholar of Central Asian Studies and the Silk Road, so this is a expertly crafted book. There is extensive notes, pictures, and maps throughout the book along with a concise timeline and a wonderful biblography for further reading. The book pays much more attention to modern Xinjiang which is very enlightening but I believe the chapters of pre-modern Xinjiang are more fascinating and informative as the medieval Eastern Steppes are lacking historical resources. This is a unique book that fills a desperate gap in Central Asian history and does a invaluable service to the history of Xinjiang.
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Gabriel Stein
5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely interesting and very topical
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 August 2022
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
An extremely interesting book about a part of the world that is relatively unknown, but has a fascinating history. It is also becoming increasingly relevant as the Chinese authorities are de facto implementing a policy of genocide against the non-Han population.
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mun-keat phoong
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 August 2016
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good as said.
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Jeff
5.0 out of 5 stars Learn about the Uyghurs in depth
Reviewed in the United States on 27 August 2022
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The book gives a good overview of Central Asian history and an in-depth look at the Uyghurs and their problems in China. The author admits that Central Asian history is very complicated, but he writes clearly enough to make it understandable.
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China Letter
4.0 out of 5 stars Crossroads of the world!
Reviewed in the United States on 17 September 2011
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In terms of a topic I do not think anyone could have chosen one harder than a history of Xinjiang. To research it and then to make it into a readable and informative book is something Mr Millward has achieved admirably.
Xinjiang, or, more precisely, the area know known as Xinjiang has truly been at the crossroads of East and West, North and South, and as such has been subject to a considerable number of diverse and fluctuating influences. The rapidity and fluidity of change is, to my mind at least, unparalleled in the history of any region in the world.
As such, the research alone to put this book together would have required considerable skill.
Is it a definitive history of Xinjiang? No, it is not. Does it have faults? Yes, it does. But these are not criticisms because I honestly believe such a book that does not exhibit some of these characteristics could not be written. Given that the region has been at the crossroads of civilisations source material is written in many languages, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Swedish et al. And much of it remains hidden in vaults owned by the previous U.S.S.R. and the current Communist People's Republic of China.
Nonetheless, Mr Millwards's offering is very well done and for anyone a little interested in this fantastic land and the people that have lived in it and passed through it, this book is an ideal starting point in a never ending journey of discovery.
A forewarning ... Every single person and peoples, places or events with anything to do with the region has hundreds of different names and spelling variations and, for the novice, this is extremely daunting at first, but persevere it is worth it!
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Linus
1.0 out of 5 stars The Author May Like to Reverify His Facts
Reviewed in the United States on 13 October 2017
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While claiming to give a satellite camera view of Sinkiang and neighbouring areas, the author for some inexplicable reason chooses to be guided by erroneous ancient Chinese texts for the geographical description of the area, when it is fully known that many of these texts do not capture reality they purport to be describing and are currently of little geographical value. Chou En-lai attempted to draw inspiration from these texts during discussions with Nehru on the Sino-Indian boundary question in New Delhi in 1960. James Millward, the author, without reference to modern geographical literature, confuses the Kunlun Mountains, which skirt the southern rim of the Tarim Basin, with the Karakoram Mountains, which lie several miles to the south of these, in a manner similar to what Chou had tried some 47 years earlier. By doing so, Millward may have unwittingly lent himself open to criticism that in his professional work he appears to be guided more by some age old Chinese text than hard scientific evidence.
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Wesley Teraoka
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on 31 October 2016
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