In its review of the influence of Chinese Buddhism in the archaeological studies of the Mo'er Temple site in Xinjiangand the "relationship between Xinjiang and China," the Economist cited the view of Professor James Millward of Georgetown University in an attempt to prove that "China's relationship with Xijiang" was one of an unstable military colonization and that Xinjiang was a Chinese colony.

According to Millward, Chinese ancient dynasties established military footholds in what is now Xinjiangfrom time to time with limited influence over a long period of time; it was not until the QingDynasty (1616–1911)that Xinjiang was fully"colonized," and that is what the Communist Party of China inherited when it came to power in 1949. At the same time, Millward questioned the narrative of the archaeological findings of the Mo'er Temple, arguing that the archaeology of the temple demonstrates the global impact of the Silk Road and does not imply that Xinjiang was part of China culturally or politically.

Professor James Millward is an expert in Chinese and Eurasian history. He specializes in the history of Xinjiang in the Qing Dynasty. He was president of the Central Eurasian Studies Society, and one of the representatives of the school of New Qing History. His publications include Beyond the Pass: Economy, Ethnicity and Empire in Qing Central Asia, 1759-1864, Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang, and The Silk Road: A Very Short Introduction. Millward is also an important participant in the China-U.S. Dialogue on Rule of Law and Human Rights, with a special focus on the history of Xinjiang and human rights issues. I discussed with him in 2021 and 2023 at the Dialogue, so I am familiar with his academic stance and reasoning.

Millward analyzes Xinjiang issues from the perspective of military colonialism, which is academically representative in the Western academic community and is the result of the Western colonialist tradition and perception. Explaining Xinjiang issues in terms of military colonialism is a simplistic application of Western colonialist theories, and has serious misleading and political consequences:

First, it leads to a crisis of legitimacy in China's sovereignty over Xinjiang, and undermines the integrity of the sovereignty of China in the name of decolonization and the right to self-determinationof peoples; second, it defines China as a colonial empire and uses the "standardized transition" from empire to nation-state to explain the evolution of Xinjiang's political status, thus supporting the so-called Xinjiang independence (a proposition of a handful of people attempting to split Xinjiang from China).

This simplistic application of Western colonial theories and implicit inducement of political intentions poses a serious threat to China's sovereignty, security and interests of development, and is also reactionary and destructive to the Chinese nation.

No colonialism in China

There is no colonialism in China, but rather a great unity of the community of the Chinese nation.

Colonialism is a product of Western development, a method of Western conquest of other peoples and nations. It is based on the theory of the superiority of Western civilization and the theory of hegemonic power, which is inconsistent with Chinese historical and cultural traditions and the history of the political order of the Chinese nation.

The formation of China's vast territory and the Chinese nation is not based on colonial expansion and military conquest, but on the basis of Chinese culture and the exchange, interaction, and integration among all ethnic groups, which is a model of a large-scale ethnic, and political community naturally formed in an equal, peaceful, and pluralistic manner in the history of human civilization.

The West could not understand or were even jealous of the historical and political continuity of China's great unity. The use of the so-called theoretical framework of their colonialism to evaluate China's great unity, is inevitably misplaced and misleading. The Chinese Buddhism style and pluralistic cultural features of the Mo'er Temple site, are a microcosm of China's great unity, and a marker of inclusiveness of the community of the Chinese nation, rather than a remnant of colonialism.

Historical fact and jurisprudential consensus

That Xinjiang is part of China not only holds true in the sense of Chinese culture and the community of the Chinese nation, but is also a historical fact and a jurisprudential consensus firmly established in the process of forming the political, economic, social, and cultural community.

The archaeological evidence of the Mo'er Temple provides strong evidence of the multicultural integration of the various ethnic groups in the history of Xinjiang, and multicultural integration is the cultural driving mechanism and normative foundation of the community of the Chinese nation.

Pan Yue, Director of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission, specifically mentioned in his article titled "Unity in diversity in Xinjiang" that,"Xinjiang and the Central Plains belonged to the same political community, which was the inevitable result of the development of economic, social, and cultural communities." Based on the formation process of the community of the Chinese nation which was clearly not a colonial coercion or conquest as the Roman Empire or British Empire, Pan's remark demonstrated the fact that Xinjiang belongs to China.

Cultural community as a strong bond

The process of the formation of the community of the Chinese nation was not based on military coercion, but on cultural community as a strong bond, and the enduring ties between the culture of Xinjiang and that of the Central Plains were gradually strengthened along the Chinese history.

Prof. Millward particularly mentioned that China's military control over Xinjiang in ancient times was weak or even on-and-off. As long as the military control were strong, it would have the right to rule; and as long as the military control were weak, it would lose the right to rule. Unfortunately, he fails to see the cultural commonality beyond the military control.

The cohesion and growth of the community of the Chinese nation, especially the identification of the border regions (Xinjiang included) and the ethnic groups living there as partsof China, was not based on military control, but was fostered by the commonality of the Chinese culture and the harmonious interaction among multiple cultures. Judging the legitimacy of the right to rule from a purely military-colonial point of view was a typical Western colonial perspective that cannot explain the historical and legal logic of Xinjiang's integration into the community of the Chinese nation.

Based on historical facts of cultural integration, Pan Yue demonstrated that even with intermittent military control, the cultural, economic, and social ties between Xinjiang culture and the Central Plains culture have never been severed; instead, the commonalities have grown as time went by. The sovereignty and administration of the central government of the People's Republic of China over Xinjiang is not an inheritance of the so-called colonial legacy, but a continuation and advancement of the community of the Chinese nation.

From "Western Regions" to "Xinjiang"

The change in the name of the region from "Western Regions" to "Xinjiang" and its constitutional status reflects the institutional process of Xinjiang's integration into the community of the Chinese nation, and the continued political will of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang to belong to China and the national rationale for China's sovereign administration of Xinjiang.

The long history of Xinjiang, known in ancient times as the "Western Regions," is a history of ethnic unity and national unification, as well as a history of struggle against different forms of separatist and interventionist forces at different times. During the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China (1912-1949), the Chinese nation began a new phase of modernization and nation-state building, and there was a historical shift from self-being to self-consciousness.

As an important part of this process, the Western Regions was renamed as "Xinjiang" and was established as an administrative province. Through the Imperial Edict of the Abdication of the Qing Emperor and the constitutional provisions of the Republic of China, Xinjiang became an important part of modern China.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the regional name "Xinjiang" was adopted and it became an autonomous region under the system of regional ethnic autonomy, realizing national liberation with the rest of the country as well as equality among all ethnic groups, and ushering in a new era of unity, progress and modernization for all ethnic groups in Xinjiang.

Bridgehead along the Silk Road

Xinjiang plays the role of a bridgehead of Chinese culture along the Silk Road, and continues to serve as a unique hub for exchange, mutual learning and convergence of different cultures, which perfectly demonstrates the feature of Xinjiang culture—unity in diversity.

Prof. Millward attempts to dissolve the principal position of Chinese culture in the feature of unity in diversity by emphasizing multiple participants of the Silk Road, cultural diversities along the Road, and the Western dominance in globalization. He also emphasizes the role of Indian Buddhism in Xinjiang in order to oppose the interpretation of archaeological discovery of the Mo'er Temple as new evidence of the diversified and integrated Chinese culture.

Millward's view is a one-sided and misleading interpretation of Xinjiang's cultural patterns, and echoes the views expressed in the Commentaries of Radio Free Asia. Xinjiang's unique position as a hub on the Silk Road linking Eastern and Western cultures as well as all ethnic groups living here does not mean that Xinjiang is outside of China, but rather that it serves as a window for cultural exchange and mutual learning between China and the rest of the world. Today, Xinjiang has assumed a new historical mission of building the core area of the Belt and Road initiative.

The author is Tian Feilong, vice Dean and associate professor at the Law School of Minzu University of China.

Liu Xian /Editor    Chen Yutang /Translator

Yang Xinhua /Chief Editor    Ren Qiang /Coordinator

Liu Li /Reviewer

Zhang Weiwei /Copyeditor    Tan Yujie /Image Editor

The views don't necessarily reflect those of DeepChina.