In a soft berth car on the express train from Beijīng to Orúmqi (Wūlǔ-mùqí) in the Xīnjiǎng Uygur Autonomous Region, an American ethnologist, Gail Griffith (G), is standing in the corridor looking out the window at the passing scenery. Lí Ming (L), a cadre in the Ministry of Foreign Trade, steps out of the neighboring compartment, a glass of tea in his hand. L: Zǎoshang hǎo! G: Zǎoshang hǎo! Nín guìxìng? L: Wō xing LÍ, zài Beijīng wō Jiàn- guo nín. G: Zài Bǎijīng? Shénme dìfangr? L: Qīyuè sìhào wǎnshang, zài Měigué Dàshiguǎn. G: À! Qīyuè sihào, nèitiān yōu nàme duō rén, wō bú jìde le. Nín zài nǎr gōngzuò a? L: Wàimàobù. Nèitiān, Wàimàobùde gànbu qùle bù shǎo, nín bú hui Jide le. Wō hǎoxiàng Jìde nín shi gǎo yúyánxuéde. G: Bù zhī shi yǔyánxué, wō hái yán-Jiū mínzú wèntí, zhōngzú wèntí. L: O’. Dào Xīnjiǎng qù yánjiū mínzú wèntí ma? G: Bù, wō shi xiǎng duō liǎojiě yidiǎnr Wéiwúer wénhuà hé Zhōng-dōng wénhuàde guǎnxi. L: Ò! Zhèi kǎ shi yíge fǔzáde wèntí, wō bú shi lìshī xuéjiā, guǎnyú zhèige ne, wō zhīdaode bú tài duō. G: Nīmen zōng bī wōmen zhīdaode duō, Jiù qīng nín JiǎngJiang ba. L: Wō zhīdao cōngqián Wéiwúer rén yòngde wénzì shi Zhōngdóngde, yìzhí dào xiànzài, zài Xīnjiǎng Wéiwúer Zìzhìqūde xuéxiàoli háishi Jiao Wéiwúěrwén. Good morning! Good morning! May I ask your name? My name is LÍ. I met you in Beijīng. In Běijīng? Where? On the evening of July fourth, at the American Embassy. Ah! July fourth. There were so many people that day, I don’t remember. Where do you work? The Ministry of Foreign Trade. That day, a lot of cadres from the Ministry of Foreign Trade went; you wouldn’t remember. I seem to remember that you are in linguistics. Not only linguistics. I also study national and racial issues. Oh! Are you going to Xīnjiǎng to do research on nationalities? No. I want to get a better understanding of the relationship between Uygur culture and Chinese culture. Oh! That’s certainly a complex question. I’m not a historian. On that topic...I don’t know very much. But you know more than we do, in any case, so please tell me about it. I know that the writing which the Uygurs used to use was Middle Eastern. Even now, they still teach the Uygur language in the schools in the Xīn-Jiāng Uygur Autonomous Region. G: Name yōu duōshāo Wéiwúěr rén d3ng Hànyǔ net L: Dàgài bú die. bāifēnzhl èrshí. G: Ng, ben yōu yìsi, nàme zhèngfǔ zài zìzhìqūde zhèngcè he nèidì hen bù tóng ma? L: Wéiwúěr rén dabùfen xiāngxìn Yī-sīlán jiào. Zhōngguó yě shi zōng-jiào zìyóude guojiā, suōyl zài zhèngcèshang huì yōu yìxiě hé nèidì bù tóngde bànfā. G: Ng, wǒmen zài hui dào wénzì wèntí shang hāo bu hāo? L: Hāo a! Then how many Uygurs understand Chinese? Probably fewer than twenty percent. Hm, very interesting. Then is the government’s policy in the autonomous region very different from in the interior? Most Uygurs believe in Islam. China is a country with freedom of religion, too. So in the area of policy, some ways of doing things are different from in the interior. Mm. Could we go back to the question of the writing? Sure! G: Tīngshuō xiànzài Wéiwúěrwén yōule xīn wénzì le. L: Yōu, xīn wénzì shi Yī jiu qī wu ' nián kāishi yōngde. Zhèizhǒng xīn wénzì xiěqilai bījiào róngyi, cóng nèidì lái Xinjiangde rén xuéqilai yě róngyide duō. G: Yōule xīn wénzì yīhèu Wéiwúěrzǔ rén juéde zěnmeyàng? Tāmen hěn gāoxìng ma? L: Zhōngguó shi yíge duō mínzúde shèhuizhuyì dà jiātíng, Wéiwúěr rénmín yě shi yào tōngyīde ma! Yōule xīn wénzì, Hànzú hé shāoshù mínzúde wénhuà jiāoliú yě róngyì-duō le ma! I understand that the Uygur language now has a new orthography. Yes, the new orthography began to be used in 1975. It’s easier to write, and for people who come to Xīnjiāng from the interior, it’s much easier to learn. What do the Uygur people think now that they have the new orthography? Are they very happy? China is a socialist family of many nations. The Uygurs want to be unified, too! With the new orthography, cultural exchange between the Hans and the minority nationalities has also become much easier! G: Ni shuōde yōu dàolī. Duì le, nī kě bu kéyi gàbsu wō Xīnjiāng rén-kōude qíngkuàng? You are right. Oh yes-can you tell me about the population of Xīnjiāng? L: Xiànzài Xīnjiāng yōu JiǔbSiwàn rén zuōyōu, yīhōu huì gèng duō. Xīnjiāng now has approximately nine million people, and there will be even more in the future. G: Shāoshù mínzú y3u duōshāo ne? How many of that number are minority nationalities? L: Chàbuduō q lb Si duō wàn, érciě zhèi Somewhere over seven million. And qībāiduō wan rénlī yōu shísānge mínzú< G: òu. . Xinjiang shāoshù mínzú gēn Hànzúde Jiāoliú yōu duō Jiù le? L: Xinjiang diqū he nèidìde JingJi Jiāoliú yījīng yōu Jīqiānniánde lìshī le, yong wénzì xiěxiàláide JīngJi wénhuà Jiāoliú shi cong gōngyuán qián liùbāi nian zuō-yòu kāishīde. Gōngyuán qián liù-shí nian Jīngguò Jīcì zhànzhēng yīhòu Xīnjiāng hé nèidi tōngyī le, wénhuà, yìshude Jiāoliú ye Jiu yuè lái yuè duō le. G: Wō tīngshuǒ Jiěfàng yīhòu yōu hěn duō rén ban dao Xīnjiāng lái zhù le. L: XI Jiu wǔ ling nián, Xīnjiāng hé-píng Jiěfàng. Jiěfàngjūn dàole zhèli yīhòu Jiù hé zhèige dìfangde nōngmín yìqī gSo JīngJi Jiànshè. XI Jiu liù èr nián yīhòu měinián dōu yōu hěn duō niánqīng rén dào zhèli lái, nèi shihou biānjlāngde shēnghuó bī nèidi chàde duō, xiànzài Jiànshède bú cuò le. G: Nàme zhèixiē Jiànshè biānjlāngde niánqīng rén dōu shi cōng nār láide ne? L: Duōbànr shi Tianjin, Běijīng, Shànghāi, Zhéjiāngde qīngnián. G: Tǎmen hái kéyi hui dà chéngshì ma? L: Xiànsàl Jiāotōng fāngbiàn, fàng-Jiàde shihou tǎmen kéyi hui lāojiā kànkan. Duobànrde niánqīng rén zài zhèli Jiēle hūn, yōule háizi tǎmen yījīng shi Xīnjiāng rén le! G: Tǎmen zài zhèli zuò shénme? Jiù gāo nōngyè ma? among these seven million people there are thirteen nationalities. Oh. How long has there been interchange between the minority nationalities of Xīnjiāng and the Han people? Economic interchange between the Xīnjiāng region and the interior has been going on for several thousand years. Economic and cultural interchange which was put down in writing began around 600 B.C. In ŌO B.C., after several wars, Xīnjiāng was united with the interior, and there began to be more and more cultural and artistic interchange. I understand that many people have moved to Xīnjiāng since liberation. In 1950, Xīnjiāng was peacefully liberated. After the PLA arrived here, they carried on economic construction with the peasants. Since 19Ō2, every year, a lot of young people have come here. Back then, life in the border region was much worse than in the interior; but now, construction has been pretty well carried out. And where have all these young people who are carrying on the construction of the borderlands come from? Most of them are youth from Tiānjīn, Běijīng, Shànghāi, and Zhéjiāng. Can they still go back to the big cities? Now, transportation is convenient, so when they have vacation, they can go back to visit their original home. Most of the.young people have married here and have children; they have already become Xīnjiāng natives! What do they do here? Just farming? L; Ò! BÙ dǒu shi gio nōngyè. Yě yōude ahi gōngren, yě yōude gào wénhuà jiàoyu gōngzuò, hái yōude gio xùmuyè. G: Duì le, suīrán Xīnjiǎng yōu hěn dàde ahǎmò, kěshi xùmuyè hái shi hěn fǎdáde. L: NĪ Jiànguo Xīnjiǎngde dìtǎn meiyou? G: Zài zhànlànhuìshang Jiànguo. Tz! Zhen mei! Duō měide dìtin! L: Měinián Xīnjiǎng dìqǔ Jiǎo gěi guójiǎ bù shào dìtin. Tǎmende shēngchàn qíngkuàng bú cuò, shù-liang bù shio, zhìliàng yě hěn gāo, wàiguo pengyou hěn xīhuan mil. G: À! Wō zhīdao le, nì shi dào Xīnjiǎng qu chūchǎide ba! L: Duì le. Qù he Jìge dìtinching tǎolùn míngniǎnde shēngchàn Jìhuà. G: Zhèixiē dìtànchàng kě bu kéyi cānguān na? L: Zěnme bù kéyi? Huǎnyíng huān- yíng! Nín hé LÙxíngshè tányitán, tǎmen hui ǎnpaide. G: Duìbuqì, nīde biio xiànzài Jìdiàn le? Wōde biio hàoxiàng kuài le ma. L: ZhōngwS shfàrdiàa. G: Wō zěnme Juěde tiǎn liàngle bù Jiù a. L: Nín bié wàng le, zhèrde shíjiǎn hé Běijīng chà sìge zhōngtóu ne! G: Zěnme chà sìge zhǒngtǒu? Ohj not all of then. Some are workers, some do cultural and educational work, and some do livestock farming. Oh, yes; although Xīnjiǎng has a big desert, livestock farming is still very well developed. Have you ever seen Xīnjiǎng carpets? At an exhibition. Gee! They’re really beautiful! Such beautiful carpets! Every year the Xīnjiǎng region hands over quite a few carpets to the state. They are doing well in production; they produce quite a number of carpets, and the quality is also very high. Foreign friends love to buy them. Ah! Now I know: I bet you’re going to Xīnjiǎng on business! Right. I'm going to discuss next year's production plan with a few carpet factories. Can one visit these carpet factories? Of course! You are very welcome to visit! Talk to the Travel Service about it, and they’ll make the arrangements. Excuse me—what time do you have? My watch seems to be fast. Twelve noon. How come I feel as if it's only been light out for a little while? Don't forget, there's a four-hour time difference between here and Běijīng! How is that? L: Zài Béijīng qīdiān zhòng tian Jiu liàng le, zài zhèr BéiJIng shíjiān shíyīdiān tian cài liàng ne! G: Duìle, duìle...óu, quānguó dōu tōngyīde yòng BōiJIng shíjiān ma? Zhèi hé Mōiguó bù yíyàng, Meiguo yōu sìge shíjiān ne.... Xiànzài wǒmen yījìng zài huōchē-ahang guòle qlshige zhōngtóu le! Shénme shihour kéyi dào Wūlumùqí ya? L: Hèi yōu bāge zhōngtóu ne. HSo le, zhànlèi le ba, wō gǎi huíqu xiūxi yìhuīr le. Hui tour Jiàn! G: Hui tóur Jiàn, Lí Xiānsheng. In BōiJIng it gets light at seven o'clock. Here, it doesn't get light until eleven o'clock BōiJIng time! I see, I see...hm, Beijing time is used throughout the country? That's different from America. America has four times.... Now we've already spent seventy hours on the train! What time will we get to Orumqi? We still have another eight hours. Well, you must be tired of standing up. I should go back and rest a bit. See you later! See you later, Mr. Lí.