Abdurehim Tileshüp Ötkür (
Uyghur: ئابدۇرېھىم ئۆتكۈر, May 1923 – October 1995) was a popular
Uyghur author and poet who is considered the "father of modern Uyghur poetry".
Early life
Ötkür was born in
Kumul,
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwes ...
to a merchant family.
His mother died when he was one year old and his father followed when he was four.
Before his death, his father Tileş Begim gave Ötkür to his friend Osman Hacı for adoption.
Hacı, who didn't have a child of his own, was a prominent resident of Kumul who ensured his adopted son had a good education.
Ötkür's completed his schooling between
Gansu
Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province.
The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibe ...
,
Uqturpan
Uqturpan County, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency or Uchturpan County (SASM/GNC romanization#Uyghur, transliterated from ; ), also Wushi County (), is a county in the Xinjiang, Xinjian ...
, and
Ürümqi
Ürümqi ( ; also spelled Ürümchi or without umlauts), formerly known as Dihua (also spelled Tihwa), is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of the People's Republic of China. Ürümqi developed its ...
, having to move due to the unrest caused by the
Kumul Rebellion
The Kumul Rebellion (, "Hami Uprising") was a rebellion of Kumulik Uyghurs from 1931 to 1934 who conspired with Hui Chinese Muslim Gen. Ma Zhongying to overthrow Jin Shuren, governor of Xinjiang. The Kumul Uyghurs were loyalists of the Kumul ...
.
He started his studies at a religious school, took lessons from his adopted father's mother-in-law Marihan Hanım, and studied at a gymnasium under Soviet-educated intellectuals in Ürümqi.
Hanım told him folk tales, proverbs, and riddles, which would have a great impact on his literary life.
At the gymnasium, he read Russian authors like
Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
and
Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
and Turkic writers like
Ğabdulla Tuqay
Ğabdulla Tuqay (tatar. ''عبد الله توقای,'' – ) was a Tatar poet, critic, publisher, and towering figure of Tatar literature. Tuqay is often referred to as the founder of the modern Tatar literature and the modern Tatar literary l ...
.
He first started publishing poetry in the school newspaper.
He graduated from the Faculty of Pedagogy at
Xinjiang University
Xinjiang University (XJU) ( ug, شىنجاڭ ئۇنىۋېرستېتى, ; zh , s = 新疆大学 , p = Xīnjiāng Dàxué ) is one of the major universities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China and is a national k ...
in 1942.
Career
Following graduation, Ötkür worked as a teacher, a school administrator, a journalist, and a newspaper editor. He was the assistant editor-in-chief of the ''Altay'' magazine in the late 1940s.
He picked up old and new Turkic languages and read of classical Turkic literature and prosody through journals published in nearby Turkic-speaking countries.
He also read works in Russian and Arabic and learned Chinese.
His fluency in multiple languages let him work as a translator for government offices and publications like ''Şincan Géziti''.
Ötkür was arrested in 1944 and detained for a year for his support of the
Three Districts Revolution
The Ili Rebellion () (Üch Wiläyt inqilawi) was a Uyghur separatist movement backed by the Soviet Union against the Kuomintang government of the Republic of China in 1944. After the start of the rebellion, the rebels established the Provis ...
.
Following the
incorporation of Xinjiang into the People's Republic of China
The incorporation of Second East Turkestan Republic/Xinjiang into the People's Republic of China in 1949, known in Chinese historiography as the Peaceful Liberation of Xinjiang, refers to the takeover of the Republic of China's Xinjiang Provinc ...
in 1949, the freedom of poets and writers was restricted.
The repressive environment might have prevented him from publishing any poetry books between 1949 and 1968.
But other sources state that he might have been imprisoned for long periods in that timespan.
From 1979 to his death, Ötkür worked as a scholar and administrator in the Institute of Literature Studies at the Academy of Philosophy and Social Sciences,
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwes ...
.
In 1988, was appointed as a Vice Chairman of the ''Society of
Kutadgu Bilig
The ''Kutadgu Bilig'' or ''Qutadğu Bilig'' (; Middle Turkic: ), is an 11th century work written by Yūsuf Balasaguni for the prince of Kashgar. The text reflects the author's and his society's beliefs, feelings and practices with regard to quite ...
Studies''.
Legacy
On March 20, 2019, Harvard president
Lawrence Bacow
Lawrence Seldon Bacow (; born August 24, 1951) is an American lawyer, economist, author and university administrator, and the current and 29th president of Harvard University. He took office on July 1, 2018, succeeding Drew Gilpin Faust. Before ...
recited a stanza of Ötkür's poetry during his speech promoting the values of free speech and academic freedom at Peking University, one of China's top universities.
His recitation of Ötkür's poetry was significant given the
Chinese government's repression of Uyghurs.
Works
Ötkür first published his poems in 1940.
The poems "Tarim Boyliri" (Along
Tarim) and "Yürek Mungliri" (Melodies of the heart) were very popular.
His last novels, "Iz" (The Track) and "Oyghanghan Zimin" (The Awakened Land), became some of the most popular novels among
Uyghur people
The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghu ...
for their social and historical significance. His novel "Iz" was condensed into a poem of the same name.
* Qeshqer Kéchisi,
Ürümchi: Xinjiang People's Press, 1980.
* Iz (novel)
Ürümchi: Xinjiang People's Press, 1985.
* Ömür Menzilliri, Ürümchi: Xinjiang Youths Press, 1985.
* Oyghanghan Zimin (novel trilogy)
Poetry
;Uchrashqanda (The Encounter)
The song "Uchrashqanda (The Encounter)" was later sung by famous Uyghur dutar player and folk singer Abdurehim Heyit.
References
External links
Iz (Poem)Uyghur & English Translation of Otkur Poem
A Selection of Poems(Uyghurs)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otkur, Abdurehim
1923 births
1995 deaths
People from Hami
Uyghur poets
20th-century Chinese novelists
20th-century Chinese translators
Xinjiang University alumni
20th-century Chinese poets
Chinese newspaper editors
Uyghur-language poets