{"title":"Rian Thum","description":"\u003cp\u003eDive into the captivating world of Chinese history with the works of Rian Thum, an esteemed author and historian whose research focuses on the cultural and historical landscapes of Islamic China. Thum's insightful writings offer a unique perspective on the historical narratives of the Uyghur people, highlighting their rich cultural heritage and enduring significance in the tapestry of Chinese history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAmong his notable works is \u003cem\u003eThe Sacred Routes of Uyghur History\u003c\/em\u003e, a profound exploration of the spiritual and cultural journeys that have shaped Uyghur identity over the centuries. This book brilliantly weaves together oral history, traditional practices, and written accounts to provide a comprehensive view of Uyghur historical consciousness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRian Thum's books are essential for readers interested in the intersection of Islam, Chinese history, and minority cultures. His work not only enriches the understanding of the Uyghur region and its people but also offers valuable insights into the broader historical dynamics at play in China and beyond. Whether you are a history enthusiast or a student of cultural studies, Thum's writing promises to engage and educate.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-sacred-routes-of-uyghur-history-by-rian-thum-9780674598553","title":"The Sacred Routes of Uyghur History","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor 250 years, the Turkic Muslims of Altishahr—the vast desert region to the northwest of Tibet—have led an uneasy existence under Chinese rule. Today they call themselves Uyghurs, and they have cultivated a sense of history and identity that challenges Beijing's official national narrative. Rian Thum argues that the roots of this history run deeper than recent conflicts, to a time when manuscripts and pilgrimage dominated understandings of the past.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBeyond broadening our knowledge of tensions between the Uyghurs and the Chinese government, this meditation on the very concept of history probes the limits of human interaction with the past.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eUyghur historical practice emerged from the circulation of books and people during the Qing Dynasty, when crowds of pilgrims listened to history readings at the tombs of Islamic saints. Over time, amid long journeys and moving rituals, at oasis markets and desert shrines, ordinary readers adapted community-authored manuscripts to their own needs. In the process, they created a window into a forgotten Islam, shaped by the veneration of local saints.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePartly insulated from the rest of the Islamic world, the Uyghurs constructed a local history that is at once unique and assimilates elements of Semitic, Iranic, Turkic, and Indic traditions—the cultural imports of Silk Road travellers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThrough both ethnographic and historical analysis, \u003cem\u003eThe Sacred Routes of Uyghur History\u003c\/em\u003e offers a new understanding of Uyghur historical practices, detailing the remarkable means by which this people reckons with its past and confronts its nationalist aspirations in the present day.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47000815632620,"sku":"9780674598553","price":97.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/4487413482428.jpg?v=1763306884"},{"product_id":"islamic-china-by-rian-thum-9780674976801","title":"Islamic China","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA deeply learned reassessment of the history of Chinese Muslims, who since the fourteenth century have been subject to a constant programme of minoritisation.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor more than a millennium, Islam has been a Chinese religion, and native-born Chinese Muslims have played important roles in their homeland — as butchers, merchants, and farmers; diplomats, scholar-officials, and royal astronomers. Yet the Muslims of China have often been understood as inherently foreign, incompatible with Chinese culture. In this reappraisal, Rian Thum recaptures the ordinariness of Chinese Muslims. In doing so, he suggests that these communities, whose classification has so often been seen as problematic, can teach us about the ways social categories are made and maintained in the first place.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFirmly rooted in Chinese and long-neglected Perso-Arabic sources, \u003cem\u003eIslamic China\u003c\/em\u003e traces the interlinked histories of twenty Chinese Muslims, some famous and some obscure, spread across multiple ethnicities, sects, and centuries. Their stories — emphasising the diversity of Chinese Muslim communities and their continuous exchanges with other groups both within and beyond China — cut through the flattening narratives that have obscured China's Muslim heritage. Taken together, the experiences chronicled here offer a fresh view of Islamic China, stretching across Central, Southeast, and South Asia — and of China itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhile focused on the Ming, Qing, and early Republican eras, Thum also harkens back to earlier centuries and traces the inheritances of this history to the present. \u003cem\u003eIslamic China\u003c\/em\u003e makes the compelling argument that the abstractions brought to bear on the past have practical implications in today's People's Republic of China, where the state enforces an oppressive regime of differentiation and control aimed broadly at Muslims and is routinely exposed for atrocities committed against particular subgroups.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47031794106604,"sku":"9780674976801","price":80.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/8269893482428.jpg?v=1764148414"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/rian-thum.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}