From the Margins to the Centre

The Uyghur Challenge in Beijing

Bibliographic Data

ID8093063
AuthorsNimrod Baranovitch (0000-0002-1358-5357, corresponding author)
Year2003
Volume175
Pages726-750
Publication date2003-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe China Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0009-4439 • E-ISSN: 1468-2648
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0305741003000420
OpenAlexW2098669041
LanguageEN
Citations received19

Recent literature on Uyghur identity in China makes clear that Uyghurs today not only have perceptions and narratives relating to their identity which challenge official ones, but also that these are expressed publicly in literature, art and everyday practice. However, to date this agency has been highlighted only in the context of the Uyghurs' native-place, Xinjiang, while the little that has been written on representations of Uyghur identity in nationally distributed media and culture suggests that Uyghurs are still completely marginalized and voiceless. This article challenges this view by shifting the focus to Uyghurs who migrated to Beijing and by showing that they have been able to achieve an independent public voice that extends not only beyond Xinjiang but also beyond China. The article explores the role that Uyghur artists and entrepreneurs, and Xinjiang restaurants in Beijing play in challenging the orthodox representations of Uyghur identity in China and argues that although there are only a few thousand Uyghurs in the city they play a significant role in the negotiation of Uyghur identity, representation and nationalism. The article also challenges the widely held view that internal migrants in China are silent and politically powerless

Aesthetics · Agency (philosophy · Beijing · China · Context (archaeology · Geography · Identity (music · Media studies · Narrative · Nationalism · Negotiation · Political science · Politics · Representation (politics · Social science · Sociology · China's Ethnic Minorities and Relations · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies · Gender Studies · Law