Kaşgar Artuş Şehrindeki Su I tan Satuk Bugiahan'ın Türbesi Kaşgarlı Mahmut'un Resmi

Kendi Diliyle Mahmut Kaşgarh

1937'de Doğu Türkistan'ın, eski kültür merkezi Kaşgar'da doğdum, ilk tahsilime Kaşgar'da. başladım. Sonra 1947'de Doğu Türkistan İli vilâyetinin Gölci şehrine hicret ettik. Burada ilk, orta ve lise tahsilimi yaptım. Daha sonra 1952'de üniversite sınavını başararak Doğu Türkistan (Sincan) Üniversitesi'nin Edebiyat Fakültesi'nin Uygur Dili ve Edebiyatı Bölümü'nde tahsile başladım.

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1956'da Temmuz ayında bölüm birincisi olarak mezun oldum. Ve aynı bölümde asistan olarak göreve başladım. Yüksek lisansı a\nı yerde tamamladım. 1978'de yardımcı doçent oldum. 1980'de doçentlik unvanını kazandım. 59'dan 82 Ağustosuna kadar öğretim üyesi olarak çalıştım. 1982'de Ağustos ayında Türkiye'deki akrabalarımızın daveti üzerine eşim ve çocuklarımla birlikte Türkiye'ye geldim. 1983'den başlayarak İstanbul Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Türk Dili ve Edebiyatı Bölümü'nde misafir öğretim görevlisi olarak göreve başladım. Bölüm Başkanı Prof. Dr. Mehmet Kaplan ve Eski Türk Dili Anabilim Dalı Başkanı Prof. Dr. Muharrem Ergin Bey'in tavsiye ve yardımlarıyla göreve başladım. 1993'e kadar bu üniversitede Çağdaş Türk Lehçeleri dersini okuttum. 1986'de bu üniversitenin eski Türk Dili Bölümü'nde yeniden doktora imtihanına girdim ve kazandım. 1991'de. Doçent doktorluk unvanımın denkliği gerçekleşti. 1996 yılında Profesör oldum. Yayınlanmış kitaplarım şöyle: 1965'de "Doğu Türkistan Üniversitesi'nde Kompozisyon Tekniği" kitabım ya-\mlandi. 1962'de Şimdiki Zaman Uygur Dili Grameri" kitabım yayınlandı. 1978'de "Cenk Şarkıları" isimli şiir kitabım, 1978'de Uygur Halk Edebiyatı kitabım yayınlandı. 1981'de Çince (Uygur edebiyatından seçmeler) adlı kitabım, 1982'de ise Pekin'de Dolunay Şiir ve Destanlar" kitabım, 1992'de Orkun Yayınevi tarafından "Modern Uygur Türkçesi Grameri" kitabını, 1998'de "Çağdaş Uygur Türkleri'nin Edebiyatı" kitabım, 1999'da "Arman" (Arzu) adındaki şiir ve "destanlar kitabım yayınlanmıştır.

(;„ I, ' 'il /i

İNGİLİZCE MAKALELER ENGLISH ARTICLES

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EASTERN TÜRKİSTAN TURFAN ¦- ,. v ¦;«,.

' The city of Turfan, ancient and famous, located on the ancient "Silk Road", has been described as "the green garden in an ocean of fire".

Turfan is just south of the Bughda Range, one of the outlying spurs of the Tengri mountain system. it is surrounded on ali sides by high mountains, and is itself 160 meters below sea-level. it is justly called a "sunken plain".

Travelers have described Turfan also as, "the umbilical depression of Asia".

Combined with its suburbs and nearby towns of Pichan and Toqsun, the total population of the city of Turfan is 360,000 The majority of the inhabitants are Uygur Turks.

Turfan is also famous as being the main site of the ancient Uygur Turkish civilization.

The climate within the Turfan Depression is a harsh conti-nental climate. The summers are very hot and very dry. The tem-perature is almost never belovv 40 degrees Centigrade (about 104 F.). Sometimes it rises to about 4547 C. The vvinters are cold and dry. it never snovvs. During summer, the temperature of the earth rises to about 75 C. Eggs placed on hot sand have become hard-boiled, and slices of meat have been so cooked.

These qualities have led to Turfan being known in Chinese as, "The City of Fire", and "The Blazing Mountain".

in spite of this severe climate, the Turfan Depression is really a "green garden in an ocean of fire". The low plain is covered with forests, orchards, vine-yards, and gardens full o/various fruits and vegetables. The melons-and vvatermelons of Turfan are specially wonderful.

Turfan is 198 km. west of Urumchi, the capital of Eastern Türkistan. As a person takes a bus from Urumchi and starts on *u™ ;„,,,-„,:>,, t^,,,Qt-rl Turfan hp rp.allv Hop.s fp.p.l as if ho were

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plunging into a fıery furnace. One who comes here for the first time finds it difficult to imagine how human beings or plants could live in such an environment.

When one sees the marvellous greenness right in the middle of this furnace-like dry heat, one's wonder is redoubled. Orchards and vegetable and fruit gardens in which a vast variety of fruits are growing, vine-yards stretching in every direction, as far as the eye can see, and everywhere melons and watermelons, enormous ones, in their myriads.

What is the secret of this contrasting situation? The secret lies in the system of underground water canals. This is a system of irrigation, an invention of Turkish genius in agricultural irrigation, confined to this one place.

Ali agriculture in Turfan depends on irrigation. About 40 % of the water comes down from the Bughda range. it is brought down to the low plain by various streams and canals. The remaining 60 % is underground water, ingeniously arranged to flow in underground galleries, in various levels, and flowing up to the surface at certain spots, by its own natural flow. Not pumped up at ali. This system, called the "Qariz" system, both saves effort and energy, and prevents loss by evaporation. This system has been in operation for centuries.

Everything has been most ingeniously and scientifically calculated. And thus, it has become possible to have intensely green gardens, perpetually green and fertile, right in the center of the hottest and dryest desert.

Cash crops (such as a superior quality of long-fibred cotton), are also grown in Turfan. But the chief glory of this place is melons, watermelons and grapes.

Melons and grapes from Turfan are vvorld-famous. Giant melons (each up to 40 kilos-85 pounds), have 3 qualities; They are very sweet, very juicy, and have a wonderful perfume. Melons from Turfan are a luxury item in distant cities, each slice \vrapped up. separately, and sold for high sums, slice by slice. in Turfan (and also other places in Eastern Türkistan), melons are also dried and eaten dry. They are sliced thin, and dried skilfully in the intense heat. They are exported in dry form, too. Just as elsewhere there are dry apricots, ete.

There are many varieties of melons in Turfan, but these ali fail into two mam elasses: Summer melons and Autumn melons.

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Summer melons are eaten during the summer. Autumun melons are eaten ali through winter. Sometimes people keep these right tül the new season's produce is ripe. it. does not lose its taste or its flavour in ali that time.

Some famous varieties of melons from Turfan: Kökçe, Qizil Kökçe, Mijgan, Begzade, Sari Sapaq, Aysi Khan Kökçe... The variety is great.

Turfan grapes are very famous, too, and are also exported to distant lands. Some of the kinds of grapes from Turfan: Kishmish, Biçaki, Ak Sayva, Çizil Sayva, Qara Üzüm, Gonja.

But alas, this land is now in the grip of communist China. And ali foreign trade is in their hands, and ali profits go to

them!*

Tovvns of Eastern Türkistan. Turfan

Voice of Eastern Türkistan

1984 Ntr. 3, İstanbul . ' "

* Voice of Eastern Türkistan , V. 3, 1984

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THE FORMATION OF MODERN UİGHUR LİTERATÜRE AND CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS

The Uighurs, who have created a very rich culture and literatüre, are one of the oldest Turkic speaking peoples. Their homeland is the area generally known as Eastem Turkestan. Today Eastern Turkestan is under Chinese rule and is officially called the Sinkiang-Uighur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China.

The majority of the Uighurs live in Eastern Turkestan, and according to the 1982 census their number was 6,300,000, but the real number is much higher than that. The second largest Uighur population is in the CIS. They have mostly settled in Kazakhstan, Kyrghyzstan, Uzbekistan and Türkmenistan, in 1989 their number was 262,199. Another 100,000 Uighurs live in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Australia and The People's Republic of Mongolia.

The pre- and post-Islamic classical literatüre of the Uighurs, especially the periods of old Uighur, Karakhanid, Khvvarizmian and Chaghatai, are quite well-known in the West, but about modern Uighur literatüre only sketchy information is available.

At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries

worldwide changes and developments took place. They vvere the

: result of the increase in the national independence movements

\ against imperialism, the struggle against feudalism, oppression

and ignorance.

The development of the ideas related to freedom, independence, democracy, innovations, and industrial and techno-logical progress.

The victory achieved in the Turkish independence War under the leadership of Atatürk set an example for the other mational independence movements around the world, including the one in Turkestan. The movements of jadidism, reawakening and national progress, began to find ardent supporters in Turkestan. These

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changes and developments have naturally been reflected in literatüre. Intellectual poets and writers produced their works in favour of such ideas as freedom, justice, democracy, progress and innovation, and against the ideas of oppression, injustice, ignorance and superstition. Thus, a new period began in Uighur literatüre. The formation of the new Uighur literatüre was influenced by such trends as the development of important tra-ditions encountered in the folk and classical Uighur literatures, the influence of the literatures of the other Turkic peoples and other nations. As a result, a new literatüre, new in form, langua-ge, imagery and style began to be created. Some of the writers were educated in Turkey and Egypt. Abdulkadir Azizi was such a writer. He and other intellectuals who shared the same opinions, used jadidism as a step to free the nation from the oppression of the Chinese governor generals and their Uighur collaborators, the feudal landlords. As a result of this struggle, some reforms vvere undertaken. First, the type and language of education at madrasas (religious schools) was changed. Arabic and Persian vvere replaced by Uighur as the language of instruction; secondly, the old method of education vvhich was not compatible with Uighur daily life and practices was chenged. New text books for new subjects such as mathematics, physics, geography, history and grammar were prepared and used in the schools. A new school was opened in Artush in 1914 by the committee which was headed by Ahmet Kemal who had been invited from

Turkey.

New printing houses (three in Kashgar and one in Khulja) were opened between 1899-1920, and many books on different subjects were published. Kutluk Haji Shevki published a nevvspaper called Ang in Kashgar in 1918. The Chinese government stopped its publication for a while, but Kutluk Haji Shevki published another nevvspaper called Yeni Hayat in 1933. The nevvspaper I li Dihanliri was published in ili in 1927 and the nevvspaper Şinjan (Şarki Turkistan) vvas published in Urumchi in 1933.'

The jadidist movement, vvhich started vvith attempts under the active leadership of Abdulkadir Aziz, played an important role in the birth of the nevv Uighur literatüre.

Abdulkadir Aziz vvas born in Artush in 1862. He vvas a true nationalist and a reformer. He vvrote eight books on different topics: Sarip Nahvi, Morpoloji ve Sintaksis. ilmi-i Tecvit, 'Kıraat

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ilmi' ilmi-i Hisap, Adaid-i Zururiye and Yash Ösmürlerge Neslihet. in his work entitled Adaid-i Zururiye, he asked 'How can one obtain strength, fame and respect?' and then answered, 'By knowledge, skill and unity'.

Kutluk Haji Shevki (born in 1876 and killed by the Governor

General Sheng Shih-Tsai in 1937) was a poet, vvriter and

journalist. He wrote a poem entitled 'Kashgar' to show the rich

' cultural heritage of the Uighurs and to awaken the self-respect

and national consciousness of his people:

Gormegil Keşkerni kam bu ceyda merdanlar yatur. Hezreti Sultan Sutuk-Bograyi kaanlaryatur ¦¦;/;.

Helk üçün Kurban bolup düşmen bilen Kilgan Köreş, Ol şehidu Kehriman' Alp arslanlar yatur. ¦*•¦'

in another poem, entitled 'Mother Tongue' he powerfully expressed his feelings about his mother tongue and the importance of its preservation and enrichment.

Ana til bilgen kişining izzetin kilgum kilür. Ana tilni agzıdın altun birip algum kilür. Another leader of modern Uighur literatüre is the patriotic poet Mehmet Ali Tevfik (b. 1901). After hearing the news about the murder of Abdulkadir Aziz by government forces, he wrote a poem called 'Okudi Ashti'. When he heard that he would be arrested by the authorities, he crossed the border into Western Turkestan in 1921, then went to Turkey in 1932: He later graduated from a teacher training college in istanbul. When the national independence struggle started in Eastern Turkestan in 1923, he returned to his homeland and vvorked for the success of the movement. in his poem called 'Kurtuluş Yolunda' he wrote: •; Kurtuluş yolida sudek akti bizning kanımız Sen üçün EY Yurtımız bolsun pida bu canimiz.

He was murdered by the Chinese Governor General, Sheng shih-Tsai in 1937.

Writers, poets and politics

The national revolts and awakening movements of the 1920s and 1930s were also reflected in literatüre. Many vvriters and poets expressed their feelings about the political situation. Among them are: Nemet Helpet, Merup Seidi, Helil Settari, Lozi Mehmet (of Turfan), and Nezer Hoca (of İli). Abdulhalik uygur has a special place in this group. ,,, ..

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• Ey fakir Uygur oygan uy kung yeter. '¦,•.'' s' Sendemal yok, emdi ketse can keter. , .,. ;¦.,¦¦ Bu olümdin ozüngni kutkaz misanğ *

• Ah... senin halinğ heter, halinğ heter.

These lines, vvritten by A. Halik in Turfan in 1921, express > the sincere feelings of a patriotic poet who is worried about the independence of his people. Abdulhalik Uygur (b. 1904) received a s good education in different schools. He knew Arabic, Persian, Mongolian, Chinese and Russian. He also travelled extensively in Asia and Europe, sometimes together with his father who was a businessman. His personal observations of systems in different countries helped him to compare and evaluate the conditions that existed in Eastern Turkestan. As a result, he expressed his ideas for freedom and democracy while opposing oppression and backwardness in his poems:

v Uygunup ketti caham magrip ile meşrik tamam ., ,..,¦¦

• Men tihi süt uykusıda çüş körüp yatarimen... : < ¦ Baskılar kökte uçup, suda üzüp ketti uzak ..;

,s men misal yalanğ-ayak dessep tiken manğarimen ; ¦

i);: İlmi pendin yok hever bastı ğeplet hevp-heter ¦ . •:: Halımız kuldm beter, kandak çidap turarimen

' He actively participated in the revolts, and formed a 17-man committee in 1932, He was caught with other members of the committee and executed in Yeni Şehir Turfan.

Modern Uighur literatüre may be divided into three periods. in the first period (1915-40) in addition to the previously men-tioned writers, Armiye Ali (1906-72) (his works are Veten Muha-; bbiti, Yürek Sözi and Perhad-Shirin); Ahmet Ziyayı (b. 1913) (his works are Kara Künler, Rabia Şeydin, Zaper Hatiresi, Tan Paciesi, ladakh Yolida Kervan, Tozimas çiçekler); Abdüleziz Mehsum (1899-1983); and Lutpullah Mutellip (1922-45) should be mentioned.

The important literary figures of the second period (1940-50) are Zunnun Kadiri (b. 1911) who wrote the books Gunchen, Gulinsa, Toy (plays), Magdır Ketkende, Rodipay, Muellimnin Hiti (short stories), Chinikish (novel); Teyip Jan Ali (b. 1930) who published the following collections of poetry: Shark Nahshisi,

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Tichlik Nahshisi, Tügmen Nahsha, Vetenimni Köyleymen, Zepmu Chiraylik Keldi Bahar. Teyip Jan Ali is now the vice-president of the Writers Union of the People's Republic of China; Turgun Almaş (b. 1924) who wrote the books Tarım shamallisi. Tang Seher (poems), Pichak (play) and Hon tarihi (history book); Abdurahim ötkür (b. 1923) who has several poetry collections including Keshger Keçisi and a novel entitled İz; ibrahim Turdi; Elkam Ahmet; Abliznazir; Tajidin Kadiri; Muhammed Rehim and Kurban Emin.

in the third period (1950-80) the following writers and poets excelled: Ershiddin Tatluk, Turdi Samsak, Abdolkerim Hoca, Zoridin Sabir, Kayyum Turdi, Sultan Mahmut, Muhammed Jan Sadik, Jebbar Ahmet, Mehemmed Ali Zünun, Ehad Turdi, Boğda Abdullah, Abdulhamid Sabir, Mahmut Zayit, Tursunay Hüseyin, Dilber Kayum.

The following characteristics distinguish modern Uighur literatüre from the Chaghatai literatüre: Language: The Chaghatai language which was used in the creation of Chaghatai. Literary works had many lexical and spoken Turkic dialects.

Modern Uighur literatüre, on the other hand, which began to be formed at the beginning of the 20th century, is bâsed on the modern Uighur literary language. Many lexical items and grammatical forms used in Chaghatai were dropped in modem Uighur.

Theme: The majority of the works produced in the framework of Chaghatai literatüre were religious and didactic in nature; some of them described important events, wars and traditional love stories. in modern Uighur literatüre, the epic and lyric works that deal with current events began to be seen more and more. New ideas such as freedom, democracy, social re forms and innovations are frequently encountered in them.

Genre and style: We see new genres and forms in the new Uighur literatüre that had not been used previously, i.e. plays, short stories, novels and poems vvritten with syllabic metre. Ziyayi's play Rabia Şeydin, Lutpullah Mutellip's novel Davanlar A Manda, Alim Ahum's novel Eğir Künler, and Abdurahim Ötkür's novel İz are among important examples of these new genres. Free verse which was used in the old Uighur literatüre and forgotten in the Chaghatai period began to be used again under the influence of western poetry. ., .«><,<,:%^;/fM;'f "'¦¦¦¦

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As we know, the Communists took över in China in 1949. After the establishment of the Sinkiang-Uighur Autonomous Region, writers there were allowed and encouraged to produce works that dealt with reforms, v/orkers, peasants and elass struggle. Outstanding works, hovvever, could not be produced because of certain controls and limitations making them conform to the principles of [the] Communist ideology. Uighur literatüre continued with poems and short stories, most of vvhich were vvritten in praise of the system. Literatüre was forced to become a means of propaganda for short-term political goals. Betvveen 1950-80, Uighur v/riters could not produce their works freely. Their genuine ideas and feelings were not printed. When they produced works that dealt with historical realities and national feelings they vvere labelled 'Nationalist' 'Separatist' Turkist' 'Anti-revolutionary', and they were imprisoned. Some poets vvere treated badly by the authorities just for using such words as: The Tien-shan Mountains', 'The Tarim River', 'my country' or 'my homeland' in their poems. The situation became even worse during the Cultural Revolution. Many vvriters and poets vvere punished, imprisoned and exiled for allegedly being 'Pan-Turkist', 'Nationalist' or 'Separatist'. As a result of these aetions, Uighur literatüre suffered greatly.

After the death of Mao Zedung (1976), because of the policies of liberalization and establishment of good relations with the West, some changes vvere seen, especially after 1980. The new administration of China has allovved a slightly freer market economy. in order for China to develop friendly relations with Turkey and the Islamic Arab countries and to reduce the influence of the then Soviet Union in Eastern Turkestan, religious practices and works vvere given more freedom. The mosques were reopened. Many Uighurs who lived in Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia vvere allovved to visit their relatives in Eastern Turkestan. The Uighurs who vvanted to visit Mecca vvere allovved to perform their pilgrimages. A softening in the policies of national education and national culture tovvards the minorities vvas also observed. As a result of these aetions, the literary and cultural activities began to be revived in Eastern Turkestan. Before 1980 there vvere three printing houses for Uighur-Language publications:

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m

Mİİllİıtıİı

Sinjyan Helik Neshriyati, The Uighur Section of the Pekin Milletler Neshriyati and Şinjyan Helik Maarf Neshriyati mostly published Uighur translations of [the] Chinese works. Since 1980, new printing houses such as: Şinjyan Tibbi Neshriyati, Şinjyan Yaşlar ve Ösmürler Neshriyati, Şinjyan Pen-Teknik Neshriyati, Şinjyan Katnash Neshriyati, and Kashgar Uygur Neshriyati have been opened. A number of literary journals such as: Tarim, Köprük Miras, Bulak, Cholpan, Dünya Edibiyati, İli Deryası (İli), Kashgar Edebiyat-Saniti (Kashgar), Turpan, Kumul Edibiyati (Kumul), Bostan (Korla) Tenri, Tog (Urumçi), and Ependi (Urumchi) have appeared since then, and thus Uighur writers and poets have found it easier to publish their works.

Historical themes became very popular among Uighur writers after 1980. in order to increase and strengthen national pride and consciousness, Uighur writers picked out important historical events and personalities and used them in their works. Here are some examples:

• Abdullah Talip's novel Kaynam Orkishi, vvhich was published in 1981, is based on the life and struggle of the nationalist poet Lutpullah Mutellip, who participated in the 1944 uprising.

• Abdurrahman Kahhar's novel /// Derya Dolkunliri is about the uprising that took place in the İli region betvveen 1944-49.

• Mehmet Şaniyaz's novel, entitled Abdulhalik Uygur, described the national struggle of the poet A. Uygur. ,

Other works that treat similar topics are: Hevir Tömür's novel Mola Zeyd'in Kissesi; Tiyipcan Hadis' short story 'Planvan Keldi'; the novel of the young Uighur writer Gayret Abdullah entitled Tash Abide; Mehmet Ali Zunun's dramas Rabia-Seydin and Amannisa Khan; Turti Samsak's novel vvhich was published in 1986 entitled Ahirettin Kelgenler, Ahmet Ziyayi's long epic poem called 'Rabia-Seydin'; Ehtem Ömer's novel Ah Rahmsiz Darya; Tohtaci Rozi's epic poem 'Nuzugum'; Abdurahim Ötkür's novel İz, Seyfeddin AZİZİ's long novel, Satuk Bughra Khan, ete.

Among these works, the last two have drawn more public attention. A. Ötkür's novel İz deals with the political and historical events that took place in Eastern Turkestan, mostly in Komul, betvveen 1912 and 1944. The heroes of the novel are Tümür Helfe

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Amankul and Hoja Niaz Haji. Yang Tseng-hsin and Nezer Veng are the representatives of the forces of evil and oppression. Tümür Helfe is a historical personality who defeated the joint forces of the Chinese government and Kumul principality and is one of the genuine heroes of the Uighur historical scene who gave the Uighur people courage and national consciousness.

Seyfeddin Azizi's novel, entitled Satuk Bughra Khan, is truly a historical novel. As understood from its title, it deals with the events that took place during the reign of the Karakhanid Sultan Satuk Bughra Khan. Since the Karakhanid period is regarded by many as the golden age of Uighur history and Satuk Bughra Khan, who promoted the adoption of the Müslim faith among his people, as the most important Sultan, it is not surprising that his reign was chosen by the writer as the setting for his novel.

Another important subject for the post 1980 literary works are the events of the Cultural Revolution (1966-76). That period is portrayed as the darkest and most ruthless of recent history and the Chinese chauvinist policies that were applied in Eastern Turkestan and elsev/here are severely criticized in the literary

\vorks.

Zordun Sabir's novel entitled İzdinish, which was published in 1983, and the long poem of Mehemmet Jan Rasjdin, entitled 'Jahil', are these sorts of works.