Paper abstract:

This paper examines how forced labor mobilization in late Qing East Turkestan (1877-1911) shaped the relationship between Xiang Army colonial governance and Musulman (Turkic-speaking Muslim) communities across the region. Extensive materials from the Turpan Prefectural archive reveal that the conscription of Musulmans into various labor programs was necessary for the maintenance of Qing civil and military power in the Northwest. Throughout the late Qing period, local Xiang Army officials forged alliances with local Muslim elites to forcibly dispatch poor Musulmans to gather firewood and fodder, transport materials across long distances, and engage in dangerous mining work to provide the Xinjiang government with essential raw materials. These institutions turned many poor Musulmans into government wage laborers and facilitated the involuntary transfer of Musulman workers across East Turkestan. The scale of these programs was immense and constituted one of the primary ways through which Musulmans constructed their relationship with the new colonial government.