Selected works of Chokan Valikhanov pioneering ethnographer and historian of the Great steppe

Description

When Chokan Valikhanov died of tuberculosis in 1865, aged only 29, the Russian academician Nikolai Veselovsky described his short life as ‘a meteor flashing across the field of oriental studies’. Set against his remarkable output of official reports, articles and research into the history, culture and ethnology of Central Asia, and more important, his Kazakh people, it remains an entirely appropriate accolade. Born in 1835 into a wealthy and powerful Kazakh clan, he was one of the first ‘people of the steppe’ to receive a Russian education and military training. Soon after graduating from Siberian Cadet Corps at Omsk, he was taking part in reconnaissance missions deep into regions of Central Asia that had seldom been visited by outsiders. His famous mission to Kashgar in Chinese Turkestan, which began in June 1858 and lasted for more than a year, saw him in disguise as a Tashkent merchant, risking his life to gather vital information not just on current events, but also on the ethnic make-up, geography, flora and fauna of this unknown region. Journeys to Kuldzha, to Issyk-Kol and to other remote and unmapped places quickly established his reputation, even though he always remained inorodets – an outsider to the Russian establishment. Nonetheless, he was elected to membership of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society and spent time in St Petersburg, where he was given a private audience by the Tsar. Wherever he went he made his mark, striking up strong and lasting friendships with the likes of the great Russian explorer and geographer Pyotr Petrovich Semyonov-Tian-Shansky and the writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Despite his remarkable insights, Valikhanov is not well known in the English-speaking world. This is the first collection of his writings translated into English since four essays were published in 1865. It includes several of his most important works, including the report on his visit to Kashgar and a number of essays on the history and genealogy of the Kazakh people. These fill an important gap in the literary history of Central Asia and hopefully will stimulate further interest in this remarkable man. Front Cover Contents Foreword Editor’s introduction Editor’s acknowledgements Chapter 1 The Genealogical Tree of the Kazakh Khans and Sultans Chapter 2 The Genealogy of the Kazakhs Chapter 3 The Bayanauyl District – A Letter from Omsk, 10 March 1857 Chapter 4 On Kazakh Rule in the Great Zhuz Chapter 5 The Western Region of the Chinese Empire and the City of Kuldzha: The Diary of an Expedition to Kuldzha in 1856 Chapter 6 Trade in Kuldzha and Chuguchak Chapter 7 An Expedition to Kashgar: Conditions in Altyshahr, or Six Eastern Cities of the Chinese Province of Nanlu (Little Bukharia) in 1858–59 Chapter 8 A Note on the Kokand Khanate Chapter 9 On the Western Region of the Chinese Empire Chapter 10 An Outline of Dzhungaria (Abridged) Chapter 11 A Geographical Sketch of the Trans-Ili Region Chapter 12 The Kazakhs’ Nomadic Territory Chapter 13 The Kazakh Great Horde Chapter 14 Stories and Legends of the Kazakh Great Horde Chapter 15 Historical Legends of the Batyrs of the Eighteenth Century Chapter 16 Shona Batyr – An Eighteenth-Century Adventurist Chapter 17 Draft Materials on the Kyrgyz Chapter 18 Articles and Notes – The God Tengri Chapter 19 A Note on the Judicial Reform (Abridged) Chapter 20 A Letter to Professor Ilya Nikolaevich Berezin Glossary Back Cover