Kurban Tulum

Kurban Tulum (Uyghur: قۇربان تۇلۇم; Chinese: 库尔班·吐鲁木; 1883 – 26 May 1975), also known as Uncle Kurban (库尔班大叔), was a Uyghur farmer and electrician who lived in the oasis town of Keriya, in Xinjiang, China.[1][2] The government of the People's Republic of China promotes him as a symbol of unity between the Uyghurs and Han Chinese.[3]

This article is about a person whose name includes a patronymic. The article properly refers to the person by his given name, Kurban, and not as Tulum.

Kurban Tulum
An old bearded Uyghur man shakes hands with a middle-aged Chinese man
Kurban Tulum with Mao Zedong in 1958
Born1883 (1883)
Keriya, Xinjiang, Great Qing
Died26 May 1975(1975-05-26) (aged 91–92)
Hotan, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China
Occupation(s)Farmer, electrician, and politician
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese库尔班·吐鲁木
Traditional Chinese庫爾班·吐魯木
Chinese nickname
Simplified Chinese库尔班大叔
Traditional Chinese庫爾班大叔
Literal meaningUncle Kurban
Uyghur name
Uyghurقۇربان تۇلۇم‎

Biography

According to a local cadre, prior to the arrival of the Chinese Communist Party, Kurban was a peasant who worked as a seasonal labourer for Uyghur landlords. During the land reforms of 1952, Kurban received land and various other properties.[1] He is said to have visited Ürümqi, the capital of Xinjiang, by riding a donkey, to show his appreciation for the People's Liberation Army's role in liberating his area.[3] He tried to hitchhike to Beijing, the Chinese capital, but was unsuccessful.[1]

In May 1958, he was chosen as a member of an agricultural delegation from Xinjiang to Beijing. The delegation reached Beijing on 18 June and met with Chinese leader Mao Zedong on 28 June 1958.[1]

He was elected as a delegate to the 2nd National People's Congress in 1959 and the 4th National People's Congress in 1975.[4]

Legacy

Monuments of Kurban's handshake with Mao stand in the town centres of Keriya and Hotan (Tuanjie Square), the birth and death places of Kurban, respectively.[3]

A song named "Where Are You Going, Uncle Kurban?" (库尔班大叔您去哪儿?) and a film titled Uncle Kurban Visits Beijing (库尔班大叔上北京) were produced in 2002. He is a well-known figure in China as his name appears in state-produced school textbooks.[3]

A 2019 TV series titled Uncle Kurban and His Descendants (库尔班大叔和他的子孙们) dramatised the overthrow of his landlord and his descendant's career in becoming an officer in the People's Liberation Army Navy.[5]

See also

References

Citations
  1. Hayes & Clarke 2015, p. 102.
  2. Moore, Malcolm (8 August 2008). "China tightens grip on western province Xinjiang". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 December 2019. In the middle of the square, giant statues of Chairman Mao and Kurban Tulum, an Uighur farmer and electrician who crossed the Taklamakan desert to meet China's premier.
  3. "Kurban Tulum meets Mao Zedong". centralasiatraveler.com. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  4. 新疆自治区党委统战部 (30 December 2016). "库尔班•吐鲁木与八枚证章背后的故事". The United Front Work Department of CPC Central Committee. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  5. Teixeira, Lauren (3 October 2019). "China's Entertainment Future Is Guns, Trains, and Loving the Party". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 27 November 2019. Xinjiang, currently the target of a massive crackdown, is also the setting for Uncle Kurban and His Descendants, a drama on the list that once more dusts off the story of Kurban Tulum.

Sources
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