Quote:
Originally Posted by RobT
Separatist sentiment aside, I don't know whether or not the Uyghurs by and large consider themselves part of China in the same way that various ethnic groups in US territories (e.g. Puerto Rican Americans) consider themselves but I have seen store signs in Yangigisar which show that Chinese characters (as well as the English alphabet) are commonly used so I don't know if the characters on my knife are a result of government coercion or just the use of a written lingua franca.
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The truth, as usual, is somewhere in the middle. Until relatively recently, knifemakers in Yangigisar made good money from tourists. First of all, tourists from other regions of China, dozens of buses with which came to the city every day. Needless to say, the Chinese characters on the knives were addressed to the main category of buyers.
Arabic script was not banned by the government. However, it must be borne in mind that the locals, with all their desire, could not buy all the knives they made - they were made a lot, a lot. In addition, it should be noted that the Uighurs are not the only indigenous inhabitants of Xinjiang. Tajiks, Pamirs, Kirghiz, Kazakhs, Mongols, Tibetans, Sibo, Tatars have lived there since ancient times. And these peoples have knives of their own style, which is different from the Uighur.
Another important point - until recently, the Chinese leadership supported the production of Uyghur knives as part of the support of folk traditional crafts. Just like today the government supports the production of Baoan, Achang (Husa) knives and even Tibetan knives. What is happening today in Yangigisar is a purely political practice that kills traditional craftsmanship, condemns the craftsmen to poverty and embitters them. In the end, it will not benefit the government itself.
Sincerely,
Serge