Then and Now: Ethnic Conflict in Xinjiang
By James Wehn
Reports and photographs of the deadly clash between Uighur and Han Chinese have headlined international news the last several days. However, these are not the first images of ethnic conflict to have come out of Xinjiang. During the Qing dynasty, Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799; reigned 1736-1799) issued an edict on July 13, 1765, commanding that a series of sixteen copperplate prints be made to commemorate his conquest of this region. The engraved prints, made in “the European style” by French artists, highlight pivotal battles and scenes of enemy surrender.
The image shown above is a detail from one of these prints, titled La Grande victoire de Qurnam (The Great Victory at Qurnam). It depicts a battle on February 3, 1759, when General Fude and six hundred Qing soldiers successfully liberated General Zhouhui’s camp, which had been besieged for months by an army of five thousand Muslim men. In this scene the Qing are armed with bows and arrows and wear short, round caps, while the Muslims wear tall hats with wide brims and fight with spears.
