A study on the correspondence between the Kazakh Khanate and the Qing Dynasty has been published in Japan. In an interview, the author of the study, Duysenali Abdylasimuly, shares his insights on the details of the research.
The historical letters between the Kazakh Khanate and the Qing Dynasty were researched and published in Japan. The 452-page study, based on rare Kazakh-language documents preserved in Chinese archives, reveals the role of the Kazakh Khanate in international relations and its diplomatic ties from a new perspective.
These letters are considered invaluable historical documents and part of the Kazakh written heritage, contributing greatly to the enrichment of domestic history with new sources. In the interview, Professor Duysenali Abdylasimuly, a Doctor of Historical Sciences and the author of the study “Unique Letters of the Kazakh Khanate to the Qing Dynasty,” talks about his research.
– Recently, your work was published, congratulations. What inspired you to study the letters the Kazakh Khanate sent to the Qing Dynasty?
– I was born and raised in the Ili region of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China. After finishing middle school, I enrolled in the Central University for Nationalities in Beijing. After completing the full course, I was admitted to the graduate program, where I continued my studies. My dissertation focused on letters and documents written during the time of the Kazakh Khanate.
Later, I continued my education in Japan, first studying for a year at Nagoya University and then passing an exam to enter the doctoral program in History and Cultural Studies at Kyoto University. I became particularly interested in documents sent by the Kazakh Khanate to Tsarist Russia and the Qing Dynasty, which became the topic of my doctoral dissertation titled “Historical and Documental Research on Kazakh Archival Documents of the 18th-19th Centuries.” Among these, I focused on unique historical documents sent by the Kazakh Khanate to the Qing Dynasty.
– Where are these letters stored, and what challenges did you face in finding them?
– These documents are primarily stored in China’s First Historical Archive. Currently, we can only view them in microfilm. Since these letters are tucked away among copies of memorials written by local officials from areas such as Ili and Tarbagatai to the Qing emperor, finding them one by one in the archive is a time-consuming and laborious task. The challenge is that their exact locations are not specifically marked, and you have to go through the entire microfilm.
Fortunately, our research results have allowed us to completely identify the microfilm numbers of these Kazakh documents, so now it is no longer necessary to sift through the entire archive.
– What were some of the most interesting or unexpected findings during your research?
– Almost all of the Kazakh documents I found were fascinating, and there are no unimportant or unnecessary ones. The Kazakh people have been engaged in livestock farming for centuries. Even during the time of the Kazakh Khanate and to this day, they have not strayed from this lifestyle. This nomadic way of life meant that it was difficult for written records to survive, and almost none of them have been preserved until today.
In this context, Kazakh writings found in the archives of neighboring countries are priceless, more valuable than gold. From any angle, these documents help shed light on the dark pages of our history.
– What was the purpose of the correspondence between the Kazakh Khanate and the Qing Dynasty, and what were the main issues addressed in the letters?
– During the reign of Khalkha Khan, there were constant fierce battles between the Kazakhs and the Dzungars. These were tragic years for the Kazakh people, but during this period, the Kazakh army significantly weakened the Dzungar forces. After the death of Khalkha Khan, the Qing Dynasty sent troops to the region, and they succeeded in dismantling the Dzungar Khanate.
As the Qing forces took control of the Dzungar lands, they bordered Kazakh territory, and direct relations were established. This corresponds to the year 1757 in the Kazakh calendar. That autumn, the Kazakh sultans, Abulkhair and Abylpayiz, sent ambassadors to the Qing imperial court in Beijing. This year marks the 268th anniversary of this event. After this, most of the correspondence between the two sides was focused on political and economic relations. On one hand, trade relations flourished, and on the other hand, incidents such as cattle thefts and people fleeing across the border frequently arose.
This type of correspondence was sent by Kazakh emissaries to Qing officials in Ili and Tarbagatai, along with their memorials to the Qing emperor. These documents eventually found their way into the Qing archives, and the letters that have been discovered today are part of this collection.
– How do these documents describe the role of the Kazakh Khanate in international relations?
– Historically, it has been customary to regard these documents as individual records of a specific khan or sultan. However, it is important to study them at the level of the Kazakh Khanate as a whole. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the term “Kazakh Khanate” entering scientific circulation. In early 18th century Manchu documents, the phrase “Kazakh state” was used, which shows that neighboring powers recognized the Kazakhs as a state or kingdom.
Since these documents were sent by the Kazakh Khanate, it is crucial to study them as diplomatic letters of the Khanate rather than as individual records of rulers. Most of the documents are related to trade, border conflicts, cattle rustling, and people fleeing across borders, thus they can be used to describe the international relations between the Kazakh Khanate and the Qing Dynasty.
– What distinguishes the Kazakh Khanate’s diplomatic correspondence with the Qing Dynasty from that with other neighboring states?
– The letters sent by the Kazakh Khanate to the Qing Dynasty have unique characteristics compared to correspondence with other neighboring states. Most of these letters were sent by Kazakh leaders, such as Khan Abulkhair and Sultan Abylpayiz, who ruled over central and eastern Kazakhstan. The Abylpayiz family sent the largest number of letters, accounting for about 70% of the total correspondence.
This was due to the fact that their clan governed the tribes located near the Qing Dynasty’s border, so they often sent envoys to the Qing officials and maintained frequent diplomatic contact. The Tursun Khan family and Nuraly, the Khan of the Junior Horde, also sent letters.
– How important are these letters for modern Kazakh history research?
– As mentioned earlier, written documents are extremely scarce in Kazakh history, which has hindered comprehensive research. While oral traditions such as legends and genealogies are useful, written records are much more valuable for historical study. The letters that were written in Kazakhstan are especially precious, and many of them are now preserved in the archives of neighboring countries like Russia and China. They have been increasingly studied in recent years, and our newly published book is a testament to that. It presents 160 pieces of correspondence found in the Chinese archives.
Interestingly, some of the documents sent to the Qing Dynasty were written in the Tott-Mongol language. Some of these have already been officially published, but the book does not include those.
Thus, these ancient Kazakh-language archival documents have paved the way for the development of domestic historical research. The history of the Kazakh Khanate is now being reconsidered and reassessed based on these new sources.
– The book was published in Japan. Why Japan?
– I have been in Japan for more than a year and have been conducting research here. Japan is one of the leading countries in the field of humanities, and significant studies related to the Kazakh Khanate began in the 1960s. The famous historian Mr. Soguchi Toru played a major role in this research. Even though it was not possible to quote original documents at the time, he relied heavily on Chinese-language sources from the Qing Dynasty period.
The study of the Kazakh Khanate’s correspondence with the Qing Dynasty has been my main research topic for many years. This book, based on previous scientific studies, presents new insights and includes all the Kazakh documents discovered in Chinese archives. The 452-page book is a valuable contribution to the development of domestic history research. It was published with financial support from the Institute of Asian and African Languages and Cultures at the University of Tokyo. I would like to express my special gratitude to Dr. Noda Jin, the director of the institute.
– Thank you for your interview!
