The Dungan Revolt (1862–1877), also known as the Tongzhi Hui Revolt (traditional Chinese: 同治回亂; simplified Chinese: 同治回乱; pinyin: Tóngzhì Huí Luàn, Xiao'erjing: تُجِ خُوِ لُوًا, Dungan: Тунҗы Хуэй Луан), was a war fought in 19th-century western China, mostly during the reign of the Tongzhi Emperor (r. 1861–1875) of the Qing dynasty. The term sometimes includes the Panthay Rebellion in Yunnan, which occurred during the same period. However, this article refers specifically to two waves of uprising by various Chinese Muslims, mostly Hui people, in Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia provinces in the first wave, and then in Xinjiang in the second wave, between 1862 and 1877. The uprising was eventually suppressed by Qing forces led by Zuo Zongtang.
The conflict began with riots by the Hui and massacres of the Han Chinese, followed by the revenge massacres of the Hui by the Han. It resulted in massive demographic shifts in Northwest China, and led to a population loss of 21 million people from a combination of massacres, migration, famine, and corpse-transmitted plague. Due to the conflict, Gansu lost 74.5% (14.55 million) of its population, Shaanxi lost 44.6% (6.2 million) of its population, and Northern Xinjiang lost 72.6% (0.34 million) of its population. The population reduction of Hui in Shaanxi was particularly severe. According to research by modern historians, at least 4 million Hui were in Shaanxi before the revolt, but only 20,000 remained in the province afterwards, with most of the Hui either killed in massacres and reprisals by government and militia forces, or deported out of the province. Large numbers of Han people were also relocated to Inner Mongolia after the war. Modern Ningxia and eastern Qinghai regions such as Xining, Hualong and Xunhua used to be a part of Gansu province before the 20th century.
Harsh punishments were meted out against Hui in Shaanxi by Manchus over communal disputes at this time since they regarded Hui as the aggressors. The Qing governor of Shaanxi put all the blame of the rebellion on the Shaanxi Hui. He said that the Gansu Hui were not to blame, were forced to join the rebellion, and that they had good relations with Han unlike the Shaanxi Hui whom he accused of committing massacres, so he told Gansu officials Shaanxi would not let deported Shaanxi Hui in Gansu back in. Officials in Shaanxi wanted military force to be used against Hui rebels while officials in Gansu wanted leniency for Hui rebels.
Han Nian rebels worked with the Shaanxi Hui rebels until general Zuo Zongtang defeated the Nian in the province by 1868 and the Hui rebels in Shaanxi fled to Gansu in 1869. The Hunan Army was extensively infiltrated by the anti-Qing, Han Gelaohui secret society, who started several mutinies, delaying crucial offensives. Zuo put down the mutinies and executed those involved. One such mutiny was launched by Hubei Gelaohui soldiers in Suide during 1867.
The conflict initially erupted on the western bank of the Yellow River in Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia, excluding Xinjiang Province. A chaotic affair, it often involved diverse warring bands and military leaders with no common cause or a single specific goal. A common misconception is that the revolt was directed against the Qing dynasty, but evidence does not show that the rebels intended to overthrow the Qing government or attack the capital of Beijing. Instead it indicates that the rebels wished to exact revenge on personal enemies for injustices. In the aftermath of the conflict, mass emigration of the Dungan people from Ili to Imperial Russia ensued.
Nomenclature
In this article "Dungan people" refers to Hui people, who are a predominantly Muslim, Chinese-speaking ethnic group in China. They are sometimes called "Chinese Muslims" and should not be confused with the "Turkestanis" or "Turkic" people mentioned, who are Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tatars and Uzbeks amongst others.
Anachronisms
The ethnic group now known as Uyghur people was not known by that name before the 20th century. In prior times, the Uyghurs of the Tarim Basin were known as "Turki". Uyghur immigrants from the Tarim Basin to Ili were called "Taranchi". The modern name "Uyghur" was assigned to this ethnic group by the Soviet Union in 1921 at a conference in Tashkent, with the name "Uyghur" being derived from the old Uyghur Khaganate. As a result, sources from the period of the Dungan Revolt make no mention of Uyghurs.
Although "Hui" was (and can still be) a Chinese name broadly referring to Muslim people, the term refers specifically to the community of Chinese-speaking Muslims in China, who share many cultural similarities with the Han. Europeans commonly referred to these people as "Dungan" or "Tungan" during the Dungan Revolt.
The people referred to as "Andijanis" or "Kokandis" include the subjects of the Kokand Khanate—Uzbeks, Sarts, Southern Kyrgyz, Ferghana Kipchaks and Tajiks. The Kokand army was predominantly formed from Uzbeks and the nomadic Kyrgyz and Kipchaks.
Revolt in Gansu and Shaanxi
Background
The Dungan Revolt occurred partly because of ethnic antagonism and class warfare, not only because of religious strife (as is sometimes mistakenly assumed).
Chinese Muslims played a major role in resisting the early Qing dynasty in the wake of its victory over the Ming. In 1646, Muslim Ming loyalists in Gansu led by Milayin and Ding Guodong organized a revolt, aiming to drive the Qing out and restore as emperor the Ming Prince of Yanchang, Zhu Shichuan. The Muslim Ming loyalists were supported by Sa'id Baba, the Sultan of Hami, and the Sultan's son Prince Turumtay. Additionally, Han Chinese and Tibetans joined the Muslim Ming loyalists in the revolt. After fierce fighting and negotiations, a peace agreement was formulated in 1649. Milayin and Ding nominally pledged allegiance to the Qing, and they were given ranks as members of the Qing military. However, when the Qing withdrew their forces from Gansu to fight resurgent Ming loyalists in southern China, Milayin and Ding once again took up arms and rebelled with the support of Turumtay against the Qing. They were ultimately crushed by the Qing and 100,000 of them—including Milayin, Ding Guodong, and Turumtay—were killed in battle. Additionally, the Confucian Hui Muslim scholar Ma Zhu (1640–1710) served with the southern Ming loyalists against the Qing.
During the Qianlong era (1735–1796), scholar Wei Shu (魏塾) commented on Jiang Tong's (江统) essay Xironglun (徙戎论), stating that if the Muslims did not migrate, they would end up like the Five Hu, who overthrew the Western Jin and caused an ethnic conflict to break out between the Five Hu and the Han Chinese. During the Qianlong Emperor's reign, there were clashes between the Qing authorities and the Jahriyya Sufi sect, but not with the majority non-Sufi Sunnis or the Khafiyya Sufis.
Chinese Muslims had traveled to West Asia for many years prior to the Hui Minorities' War. In the 18th century several prominent Muslim clerics from Gansu studied in Mecca and Yemen under Naqshbandi Sufi teachers. Two different forms of Sufism were brought back to northwest China by two charismatic Hui sheikhs: Khufiyya, associated with Ma Laichi (1681–1766), and the more radical Jahriyya, founded by Ma Mingxin (1719?–1781). These coexisted with the more traditional, non-Sufi Sunni practices, centered around local mosques and known as gedimu (qadim, 格底目 or 格迪目). The Khufiyya school and non-Sufi gedimu tradition—both tolerated by Qing authorities—were referred to as "Old Teaching" (老教; lǎo jiào), while Jahriyya, viewed by authorities as suspect, became known as the "New Teaching" (新教; xīn jiào).
Disagreements between adherents of Khufiyya and Jahriya, as well as perceived mismanagement, corruption and the anti-Sufi attitudes of Qing officials, resulted in uprisings by Hui and Salar followers of the New Teaching in 1781 and 1783, but these were promptly suppressed. Hostilities between different groups of Sufis contributed to the violent atmosphere before the Dungan Revolt between 1862 and 1877.
In the Jahriyya revolt sectarian violence between two suborders of the Naqshbandi Sufis, the Jahriyya Sufi Muslims and their rivals, the Khafiyya Sufi Muslims, led to a Jahriyya Sufi Muslim revolt which the Qing dynasty in China crushed with the help of the Khafiyya Sufi Muslims.
Course of the revolt
The Weihe River Beach Dismemberment Incident of Zhang Fu
The Weihe River Beach Dismemberment Incident of Zhang Fu (Chinese: 张芾渭河滩肢解事件) occurred during the Shaanxi–Gansu Hui Rebellion in 1862.
In the 11th year of the Xianfeng reign (1861), Zhang Fu (张芾), a Han Chinese official from Shaanxi who served as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, returned to Shaanxi to organize local militia forces. In the first year of the Tongzhi reign (1862), between March and April, Shaanxi Governor Zheng Yingqi (郑瑛棨), citing Zhang's reputation among local elites, requested that he assist in persuading and pacifying Hui communities. Zhang agreed.
On the sixth day of the fifth lunar month of 1862 (June 2), Zhang Fu traveled to Youfang Street (油坊街) in Lintong County, Shaanxi, together with Lintong magistrate Miao Shuben (缪树本), local gentry member Jiang Ruona (蒋若讷), and Hui gentry member Ma Bailing (马百龄), where he summoned local Hui representatives for negotiations aimed at reconciliation. According to Qing-era accounts, Zhang ordered the withdrawal of Feng Yuanzuo's (冯元佐) militia forces in order to demonstrate his sincerity.
Without protection from armed militia, Zhang's group traveled through Xinfeng (新丰) and Lingkou (零口), crossed the Wei River, and stayed at an inn in Youfang Street, Lintong. On the evening of the seventh day of the fifth lunar month (June 3), Zhang negotiated with Hui representatives and reportedly demanded the surrender of Ren Wu (任武), whom Qing officials accused of encouraging rebellion. The negotiations failed.
According to Qing records, after learning that Zhang Fu was no longer protected by Qing troops or militia, Ren Wu gathered several thousand armed followers and surrounded Youfang Street. Zhang Fu and his entourage were captured and taken to Cangtou Town (仓头镇), and Hui gentry member Ma Bailing was also imprisoned. The captives were reportedly executed and dismembered on the bank of the Wei River on the thirteenth day of the fifth lunar month (June 9). Some accounts state that Zhang Fu was killed as part of a ritual known as "raising the banner" (祭旗), a practice sometimes associated with military mobilization.
Zhang Fu had previously served as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Governor of Jiangxi. Having gained military experience during campaigns against the Taiping Rebellion, he was a senior Qing official and was regarded by many local Han elites in Shaanxi and Gansu as a capable administrator. Reports of his death caused considerable alarm among Han officials in the region. Shaanxi Governor Zheng Yingqi subsequently petitioned the Qing court for military intervention, describing the Hui armed groups' actions as rebellion involving attacks on cities, killings of officials, and assaults on local gentry.
Expansion of the conflict
Following Zhang Fu's death in May 1862, Hui armed groups expanded rapidly. By late June 1862, Hui forces had surrounded Xi'an, the provincial capital of Shaanxi. During the same period, Hui leaders including Ma Zhanao (马占鳌), Ma Guiyuan (马桂源), and Ma Wenlu (马文禄) launched armed movements in Gansu (which at that time included areas corresponding to present-day Ningxia and Qinghai). Ma Hualong (马化龙), the leader of the Jahriyya (哲合忍耶) Sufi order, also began an uprising at Jinjibao (金积堡, present-day Wuzhong, Ningxia).
In May 1862, the Qing government appointed Dolong'a (多隆阿) to oversee military operations in Shaanxi. His advance was delayed by fighting involving remnants of the Taiping forces, and the Qing court temporarily dispatched Shengbao (胜保) instead. Shengbao was defeated by Hui forces but reportedly submitted inaccurate victory reports to the court. The Qing government subsequently ordered Dolong'a to advance into Shaanxi. After Dolong'a reached Tongguan, Shengbao was dismissed, arrested, and sent to Beijing for investigation, while Dolong'a assumed command of Qing military operations in Shaanxi.
Dolong'a was described in Qing military accounts as an aggressive commander skilled in artillery warfare. Local traditions record a rhyme among Hui children referring to the destructive power of his artillery: "The shells of Dolong'a's troops are as large as bowls" ("多家娃子，炮子碗大").
In February 1863, Dolong'a captured two major Hui military positions in Tongzhou (同州), Qiangbai Town (羌白镇) and Wangge Village (王阁村). In September, he captured Sujiagou (苏家沟) and Weichengwan (渭城湾). Qing military records reported that approximately 17,000–18,000 Hui fighters were killed during these operations, although casualty figures from the conflict vary considerably among sources.
The Battle of Weicheng was one of the largest Qing military operations in the Guanzhong region. According to Qing-era accounts, after the city was captured, Qing forces drove captured rebel fighters and accompanying civilians, including women, children, and elderly people, into the Wei River, where many died. Historians have debated the scale and circumstances of these deaths due to the limited and politically charged nature of contemporary sources.
Following these defeats, Hui military forces in Shaanxi were forced to retreat toward Gansu.
Dolong'a subsequently launched campaigns against the "Shuntian Army" (顺天军) led by Lan Dashun (蓝大顺). On April 1, 1864, he recaptured Zhouzhi (盩厔), but was wounded by a stray bullet while entering the city and died from his injuries on May 18.
Reports of massacres and civilian casualties
In January 1863, Hui forces captured Guyuan. Qing-era records and later local histories state that more than 200,000 officials and civilians, including men and women, were killed in the city, although modern historians have questioned the accuracy of such figures.
In August 1863, Hui forces captured Pingliang Prefecture. Contemporary accounts reported that more than one hundred officials died defending their positions and that civilian deaths numbered in the hundreds of thousands; the precise scale of casualties remains disputed.
In October 1863, Hui forces captured Ningxia Prefecture. Qing records and local accounts claimed that more than 100,000 Han civilians were killed during the fighting and subsequent violence. The same month, Ma Hualong's forces attacked Lingzhou. According to Qing accounts, Hui residents inside the city assisted the attackers, who then captured the city and killed more than 20,000 people.
During the same period, fighting also occurred in Gongchang Prefecture. Some contemporary records state that more than 2,000 Hui residents inside the city were killed by Han civilians after Hui forces were defeated.
In February 1864, Hui forces captured Weiyuan County. Contemporary records describe extensive destruction and large-scale civilian casualties, including the deaths of local officials, though the exact number remains uncertain.
Historical interpretations
Estimates of casualties during the Shaanxi–Gansu Hui Rebellion vary widely. Qing officials, local gazetteers, and later accounts often reported extremely high death tolls, but modern historians have questioned many specific figures due to wartime exaggeration, incomplete demographic records, and the difficulty of distinguishing deaths from combat, massacres, famine, disease, and migration.