In the 1933 Battle of Kashgar (), Gen.
Ma Zhancang
Ma Zhancang (, Xiao'erjing: ) was a Hui Chinese Muslim general of the New 36th Division (National Revolutionary Army), who served under Generals Ma Zhongying and Ma Hushan. At the Battle of Kashgar (1933), he repulsed an attack of Uighurs led b ...
signed a secret agreement with the daotai of Kashgar,
Ma Shaowu
Ma Shaowu (1874–1937; Xiao'erjing: ) was a Hui born in Yunnan, in Qing Dynasty China. He was a member of the Xinjiang clique during the Republic of China.
Family history
The Jahriyya Sufi leader Ma Yuanzhang was related to the leader of ...
, and his
Chinese Muslim
Islam has been practiced in China since the 7th century CE.. Muslims are a minority group in China, representing 1.6-2 percent of the total population (21,667,000- 28,210,795) according to various estimates. Though Hui Muslims are the most nume ...
troops joined the
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctiv ...
garrison inside the yamen in Kashgar and helped them repulse Uighur and Kirghiz attacks led by
Abdullah Bughra
Abdullah Bughra ( ug, (Kona Yëziq) ئابدۇللا بۇغرا, عبد الله بغرا; zh, c=阿不都拉·布格拉, p=Ābùdūlā·Bùgélā; died 1934) was a Uighur Emir of the First East Turkestan Republic. He was the younger brother of ...
. Turkic Uighur and Kirghiz forces led by the Uighur
Timur Beg
Timur Beg ( ug, تیمور بیگ), also known as Timur Sijan (division general), was a Uighur rebel military leader in Xinjiang in 1933. He was involved in the 1933 Battle of Kashgar and participated before in Turpan Rebellion (1932). He asso ...
had been attacking Chinese Muslim villages and pillaging them.
During the fighting Timur Beg was shot and then beheaded by Ma Zhancang's forces, his head being put on display at the Idgah mosque. When more Chinese Muslim troops arrived, they reinforced the Chinese garrison inside Kashgar. Osman Ali, the Kirghiz rebel, attempted to attack the yamen, but was driven back with heavy losses. He then proceeded to loot the city.
On September 26, 1933, the Syrian Arab
Tawfiq Bay
Tawfiq Bay, or Sayyid Ahmad Tawfiq Bay Sharif Efendi (Tevfik Pasha), ( ar, سيد احمد توفيق باي شريف أفندي; ) was a Syrian Arab traveler who had been in the service of King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia, eventually traveling to ...
led a Turkic force against the Chinese Muslims in Kashgar new city. Ma Zhancang repulsed the attack after very heavy fighting, and wounded Tawfiq Bay.
During the battle the Kirghiz prevented the Uighurs from looting the city, mainly because they wanted to loot it themselves. They stole the belongings of, and started murdering, the Chinese's concubines and spouses who were women of Turkic origin and Chinese people themselves.
References
Kashgar 1933
History of Xinjiang
1933 in China
Kashgar 1933
Kashgar
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