CrossAsia Talk: „The Ürümchi Mutiny of 1864: Revisiting the Muslim Uprisings and the State in North Xinjiang“ by Eric Schluessel (University of Oxford)2026.6.14 {en}
We are delighted to welcome Prof. Dr. Eric Schluessel (University of Oxford) to his second CrossAsia Talk, “The Ürümchi Mutiny of 1864: Revisiting the Muslim Uprisings and the State in North Xinjiang,” on June 18, 2026, starting at 6:00 p.m. (Berlin time). While his first CrossAsia Talk was held in a hybrid format, this one will be an online-only event.
To the lecture: https://spk-berlin.webex.com/spk-berlin/j.php?MTID=m078afdd92770c05f620e8b0c84fc228a*
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Abstract
In Xinjiang, Qing Central Asia, in 1864, dozens of incidents of intercommunal and anti-state violence broke out seemingly all at once. Scholars have typically referred to these events as the “Muslim uprising(s)” and attributed their origins to a vast and secret conspiracy against the empire. In fact, the leaders of these uprisings were almost all among the Qing’s most favoured and celebrated representatives in the region, including successful military leaders. This is especially the case of the violence in North Xinjiang, which we think of as being led by Sino-Muslims. This talk reexamines these events not as a mysterious “uprising,” but instead as a mutiny not unlike that which took place in India in 1857. By revisiting sources in Chinese, Chaghatay, Persian, Russian, Manchu, and Arabic—many of which have not been consulted by scholars in over 140 years—it establishes the social conditions that led members of the Qing’s Green Standard army and their families to engage in violent protest against changing economic policies. It retells the story of the North Xinjiang uprisings and the emergence of a Sino-Muslim-led state.
https://blog.crossasia.org/crossasia-talks-eric-schluessel-2026/
The lecture will be held in English. If you have any questions, please contact us: ostasienabt[at]sbb.spk-berlin.de.
*The lecture will be streamed and recorded via Webex.
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Further information at https://blog.crossasia.org/crossasia-talks/.
Source: CrossAsia Talk: „The Ürümchi Mutiny of 1864: Revisiting the Muslim Uprisings and the State in North Xinjiang“ by Eric Schluessel (University of Oxford). June 18, 6pm (German time), H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 US.
