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On July 31, 2014, an old man lying on a hospital bed in a luxurious mansion in Kuqa City, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang.
He tried hard to open his turbid eyes, and his cheeks trembled, as if he had experienced the changes in the world in an instant. The old man's eyes turned, and he saw the family members who had been with him for a long time, most of them showed sadness on their faces.
The old man wanted to comfort them: " Chairman Mao said back then: "It's always going to die, and longevity is just a nonsense. Please don't be sad. " But he tried to open his mouth, but he was powerless to make a sound, so he had to give up.
The last Kuche king Dawuti
Then, the old man looked at the room that recorded his life. From the time he had not remembered, he had lived here, from a child who was ignorant of the world to now returning to the embrace of Allah, the eighty years of scenes were fleeting, like a dream and an illusion.
Finally, the old man turned his eyes to the five-star red flag hanging on the wall beside him, the shining gold and the bright red, the old man closed his eyes with satisfaction, and passed away suddenly.
The old man is named Dawuti . He was the last hereditary prince in China and still retained this identity until his death. Not only that, the government also allowed him to live in a luxurious palace. When the news of his death came out, the people of Kuqa City took to the streets to hold a commemorative parade for him.
Dawuti hangs the national flag in the ward
In the new China, which has overthrown the feudal system, why would the country allow Dawuti to retain his identity as a "prince"? What did he do to make the people love him so much? Everything has to start with Kuqa.
Kuche King originated and the ambition of prosperous times
Under the world, is the king's land ; the shore of the land is the king's minister.
As early as the Zhou Dynasty period, the rulers invented the feudal system , and assigned meritorious ministers or relatives to the local area to establish vassal state .
However, with the evolution of history and the political system continues to improve, the county system gradually replaced the feudal system. Since then, although there are still vassal states and vassal kings in the local area, the scale is not as large as before. Sometimes even every township and county can be regarded as a vassal state, just like the manor castle of Western aristocratic lords.
Zhou Dynasty countries
Back to the topic, King Kuche, full name Kuche, the Herald Prince of the Hui tribe, was located in Kuche, Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, and his fiefdom was first traced back to the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty.
After the Qing Dynasty recaptured Xinjiang, as the leader of both political and religious identities, Da, Xiao Hezhuo became the ruler of Xinjiang again with the help of the Qing army.
Due to the special nature of the identity of big and small, the central government wanted to use their influence to firmly control Xinjiang, but unexpectedly, things went against their wishes.
Power is like a drug. Once it is contaminated, it is hard to stop and is even willing to take risks for it.
Da and Xiao Hezhuo, who had regained power, did not want to become a vassal of the Qing Dynasty. He planned to separatist the country in Xinjiang and even killed Amindao, the deputy commander of the Qing army, who went to recruit pacification, and launched an anti-Qing rebellion.
pacify the rebellion of Hezhuo
The two armies fought and did not kill them. This move by and Zhuo is really too unprotective, not to mention that "who can't let others sleep soundly on the side of the bed?" Xinjiang is a barrier to the northwest border, so the Qing rulers naturally could not give it up and immediately send troops to Xinjiang to quell the rebellion.
And the starting point of this war is Kuche. As a key pass in southern Xinjiang, Kuqa is a place that must be fought for by military strategists.
The local aristocrat E has a blood hatred between the big and small Hezhuo, because Xiao Hezhuo Huo Jizhan was once brutally killed two sons and one daughter of the Ezhuo because Ezhuo was unwilling to agree to the rebellion, and naturally chose to fight with the Qing army.
powder portrait
Under the powerful offensive of the Eight Banners Army, the rebellion was extinguished, and the E-Teacher, who made great contributions, was also named Prince Kuche and was given the privilege of hereditary replacing. Since then, the Kuche Wang family began to protect the tranquility of the northwest for the court for generations.
Times have passed, and when the wheel of the times comes slowly, all old things that are contrary to the times cannot escape the end of being crushed into powder. This is the case with the corrupt and incompetent Qing government, the ignorant and backward feudal system, and so is the case with King Kuche.
1941, when the eleventh generation of Kuche King Maihefuzi passed away, the Kuche Wang family, which had held military and political power in the past, was no longer as bad as before. Almost all of their past were defeated by previous generations of Kuche Kings, leaving only the royal palace, land and some treasures.
Kuche Wangfu
At this time, the situation in Xinjiang also changed with the turmoil of the domestic political situation.
After more than 20 years of hard work, the literati-born Shengshicai finally unified Xinjiang and stood on the commanding heights of power in this land.
Although he was a Kuomintang member, Shengshicai was good at everything, joined the Soviet Union and received their assistance, became a major warlord in Xinjiang, and was even given the title of "King of Xinjiang". Even Chiang Kai-shek could not even call him.
However, as a Northeastern person, Shengshicai is incompatible with the local Xinjiang region in terms of culture and belief.
shengshicai
The reason why people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang are willing to accept the rule of Shengshicai is mostly because they are afraid of the guns and bloody suppression in his hands. Even so, armed resistance movements in various parts of Xinjiang are still one after another, which is also the weakness of Shengshicai's rule in Xinjiang.
For this reason, Sheng Shicai thought of a solution. He controlled the princes of the Ministry of Education in various parts of Xinjiang. As a symbol of religion and politics, the princes had a high position in the hearts of the people of Xinjiang.
Under the coercion and temptation of Sheng Shicai, the princes had to pinch their noses to admit his orthodoxy, and Xinjiang was much more stable because of this.
New King under the influence of communism
In July 1941, the Kuqa City in Aksu was decorated with lights everywhere, and the people were all happy and gathered towards the center of the county with red faces.
Kuche old photo
At this time, the city center of the county was full of people. In the expectant eyes of the people below the audience, a young man in gorgeous traditional clothes walked up to the stage.
Although the boy has seen many such scenes in the past and has made psychological preparations before the celebration, he appeared in front of such a passionate crowd, and all kinds of nervousness, anxiety and excitement were mixed together, which made the boy's tender face slightly red.
Next, under the auspices of the elders, the young man was successfully crowned king. At this moment, the cheers of the crowd in the audience once again reached a climax, and everyone shouted for the title of "Barangzi (Boy) King", as if Kuche's backbone had returned again.
The boy's name is Dawuti Maisuti. On this day, he officially inherited the honor of his ancestors and became the twelfth generation of Kuche King.
日0月17
日0日0日13日0日5 Because my uncle Maihefuzi, who was the ex-Kuche Wangzi, had no son, Dawuti was adopted by his father to his uncle as early as two years old and became the legal heir to the throne.
In 1933, my uncle participated in the "Southern Xinjiang Incident" to establish a separatist regime to resist Shengshicai, and was finally defeated and captured. The former glorious Kuqa Wang family was greatly hit, and Kuqa lost its backbone from then on.
In 1941, Maihefuzi died in prison. It was only during the prosperous era that he needed to use the prince to consolidate his rule. Therefore, after the religious leaders and celebrities in Kuche gathered and discussed at the mosque, they unanimously decided to let Dawuti inherit the throne, which led to this grand celebration.
Unfortunately, like other princes, Dawuti is just a tool for the prosperous times to rule Xinjiang.
The elderly Dawuti
Not only that, the insatiable Shengshicai also took all the land, palace and assets of the King of Kuche for himself, and put Dawuti's biological father and uncle under house arrest.
In order to better control the young man Dawuti, Sheng Shicai transferred him away from Kuche, calling him going to the provincial capital Dihua (now Urumqi) to study, but in fact, it was to restrict his movements and facilitate surveillance.
But Sheng Shicai never expected his actions, but accidentally touched Dawu's thoughts. In the heart of this young man, a red seed had already taken root and sprouted.
1939, Maihefuzi had been defeated and captured. Although he was the crown prince, Dawuti had to return to his biological father's home to live.
was during the full anti-Japanese period, and the second cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party was reached, and the armed conflict between the two parties came to an end.
In Xinjiang, while Sheng Shicai accepted Soviet aid, the Soviet Union also made a request to him to allow Communist Party members to spread their communist beliefs in Xinjiang and give them some room to play.
Although Sheng Shicai wanted to be a dictator, he had no choice but to be short of his hands and be soft-mouthed, so he had to respond to the request of the Soviet Union.
Not long after, Kuche welcomed a new county magistrate - Linjilu . He is a Communist and a beacon of Dawushi's growth path.
During Linjilu's administration in Kuche, he fully carried forward the purpose of the Communists to "serve the people", worked tirelessly to visit every corner of Kuche, and visited every local household in Kuche to understand the people's sentiments.
Linji Road
Then, he mobilized local people to build water conservancy, improve water use, encourage land reclamation and field development, and vigorously develop agricultural production levels.
Not only that, Linjilu also fully promoted local ethnic integration and advocated ethnic unity. He appointed talented people of all ethnic groups to serve official positions on equal terms, and founded Kuche's first Mandarin study class to encourage the masses to learn Chinese and learn Chinese characters.
The young Dawuti also studied in this study class for a period of time, which made him interested in Han culture and communist thought.
A few years later, Dawuti, who inherited the throne, was naturally overjoyed when he learned that Sheng Shicai was going to send him to Dihua to study, because many Communists were in Dihua activities at that time. They held rallies, preached theoretical knowledge and worked hard in practice. In the heart of the young Dawuti, that was a shining holy land.
Xinjiang
As he wished, Dawuti met many communists and joined the youth revolutionary group. After receiving the baptism of new ideas, he had completely freed himself from the shackles of the feudal throne and silently transformed into a staunch revolutionary.
Dark and dawn before dawn
Unfortunately, this period of relaxed and free learning lasted less than a year, and the accident happened suddenly.
In June 1941, the Soviet-German War broke out, and the Soviet Union was deeply trapped in the quagmire of war and could not extricate itself, and its decline was obvious in the war.
Shengshi saw that the Soviet Union seemed to be useless, so he turned into a fence-making man and turned to the embrace of the National Government, secretly communicated with Chiang Kai-shek, and arrested or expelled the Communists from Xinjiang.
Mao Zemin
Among them, it was during this process that Chairman Mao’s younger brother Mao Zemin was arrested and brutally killed by Sheng Shicai. Dawuti’s revolutionary mentor, Lin Jilu, also died in this incident.
Fortunately, Dawuti did not reveal his relationship with the Communists.
The teacher died, and his companions were arrested or disappeared one by one. Walking on the streets, the streets where red flags used to fly are now covered with patrols, detectives, and spies. They searched from house to door, spreading the white terror to every corner. At this moment, Dawuti truly understood the sentence: " Revolution is not a treat to a meal, revolution is a riot, a violent action of one class overthrowing another.”
Shengshicai's Xinjiang troops
Originally, he was still holding the childish fantasy of Xinjiang's peaceful transition to socialism, which had become a passing cloud in the blink of an eye.
He wants to survive, fight, and live and fight for those comrades who fell on the road ahead until the dawn of socialism re-favors this land.
He wants to survive, fight, and live and fight for those comrades who fell on the road ahead until the dawn of socialism re-favors this land.
With the cover of the prince's identity, Dawuti continued to carry out revolutionary activities in secret.
lies dormant. Before the War of Resistance Against Japan ended, the prosperous times with blood on their hands were stained with Communists ushered in his dusk.
As a great dictator who longed for power, Chiang Kai-shek could not tolerate a grain of sand in his eyes. The prosperous times occupied Xinjiang exclusively, which was the biggest provocation for him.
Chiang Kai-shek
Since he was prosperous Shicai defected to Chiang Kai-shek's group, and Chiang Kai-shek pressed him step by step. He first sent troops to Xinjiang to narrow the military control of Sheng Shicai, and then gradually removed his confidants and made him a lonely man.
retreated step by step and retreated step by step. In the end, Sheng Shicai, who became a commander-in-law, had no choice but to accept Chiang Kai-shek's dispatch and returned to the mainland to serve as the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.
After Sheng Shicai left Xinjiang in a panic, Chiang Kai-shek sent Wu Zhongxin as the chairman of Xinjiang Province.
Wu Zhongxin is a veteran of the Kuomintang. He followed Mr. Sun Yat-sen to make a revolution in his early years and is also one of the few decent figures in the Kuomintang.
Dawuti seized this opportunity and filed a lawsuit against Wu Zhongxin. Wu Zhongxin did not make things difficult. With a big stroke, he returned Dawuti's confiscated land, palace and assets to him.
Wu Zhongxin
With these resources, Dawuti was able to show off his skills.
l5On the surface, Dawuti, who was only 19 years old, was a senator of the Xinjiang Federation of Government and worked for the National Government; behind the scenes, Dawuti secretly contacted the CCP under the pseudonym to provide shelter for underground workers, and established the Kuqa City Revolutionary Youth Committee, which organized many activities to resist the reactionaries without knowing their knowledge.
Time came to 1949. With the successive victory of the three major battles, the overall situation of the Liberation War was decided. The First Field Army led by General Peng swept away the national army forces of Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia and Qinghai provinces, and Xinjiang's doors were opened, and it was liberated with just a command. ml6
However, considering the national unity policy, the Chairman finally decided to fight for the peaceful liberation of Xinjiang through lobbying, so that the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang can be protected from war.
Chairman Mao
Tao Zhiyue, commander-in-chief of the Xinjiang Military Security Bureau of the Kuomintang and Bao Erhan, chairman of the Xinjiang Provincial Government, were not foolish and loyal people. Seeing that the Kuomintang was in a desperate situation, they immediately decided to accept the eight peace agreements of our party. On September 23, they led all garrisons and government officials to announce the uprising and determined the peaceful resolution of Xinjiang. Amplification plan.
Before September 23, the reactionary camp in Xinjiang received some news. Knowing that the provincial government intends to rebel and join the Communist Party, they become restless, pack up the gold, silver and fines, and prepare to run away. Someone went to the Kuche Palace to inform Dawuti, urging him to escape abroad as soon as possible.
Peng Dehuai
people came one after another, but Dawuti looked calm, looking like he was unmoved by the wind and rain, as a firm communist As a creator, Dawuti is naturally not panicked.
It has to be said that Dawuti's acting skills are really superb. Until the last moment, many reactionaries regarded him as their own.
On September 23, shortly after the provincial government announced the uprising, Dawuti immediately responded to support.
Not only that, Dawuti also noticed in advance that the president of Kuqa City Bank intends to flee abroad with a huge sum of money, so he sent someone to keep an eye on their whereabouts and take them down when they were about to run away.
Xinjiang liberated
Seven days later, with Chairman Mao's magnificent announcement on the Tiananmen Gate Tower, The People's Republic of China was established, China's new democratic revolution was declared victorious, and Dawuti's magnificent revolutionary years came to an end, but his life journey of serving the people did not stop because of this.
devoted his life to
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Dawuti served as deputy president and honorary president in Kuqa, Shaya , Xinhe County Central Bank, and also served as director of agricultural machinery repair factory and government translator.
Although in this brand new China, even the last emperor Puyi was sent to the war criminal management office for transformation, the "prince" in the feudal era was naturally swept into the garbage basket of history, and Dawuti never relied on his identity as a prince to do whatever he wanted.
The last emperor Puyi
On the contrary, he used this identity to do many practical things.
In the early days of Xinjiang's liberation, most people were inevitably a little nervous after being under the high pressure of Sheng Shicai's rule and maintained a certain degree of vigilance for the entry of our party.
As Prince Kuche, Dawuti took the lead in supporting our party’s rule and preached to the masses as a “king” that our party represents “the interests of the broadest masses of the people”, which will bring a new and bright future to Xinjiang.
In addition, Dawuti also went to various counties in person to persuade other princes to recognize the situation and unite to stabilize the situation in Xinjiang.
Through Dawuti's operation, the people of Xinjiang have gradually eliminated their vigilance against our party and reduced the work burden of our party in accepting Xinjiang.
New life for the people of Xinjiang
At that time, the economic development level of Kuqa market was not optimistic. It was in the middle and lower reaches of Xinjiang. After Dawuti realized this, he decided to start changing the status quo.
After a period of investigation, Dawuti found that although Kuqa produces a lot of fruits and vegetables, except for the people who use it, most of the fruits and vegetables produced are piled up in the warehouse, gradually rotting and deteriorating, causing waste.
Dawuti smelled business opportunities from it. He immediately collected fresh fruits and fruits from the people's homes, and hung them on him and started a long sales journey.
The construction level around Kuqa is very low, and even the basic roads have not been repaired. Therefore, Dawuti basically hiked through major food processing factories in Xinjiang, making Kuqa their raw material supply place and opening up sales for fruits and vegetables.
Kuche produces fruits and fruits
Since then, the people have added another income channel and their living standards are improving day by day.
As a feudal prince, although Dawuti did not use the authority of the "king", he always fulfilled the obligation of the "king" to protect the development of Kuqa and the lives of the people.
However, the identity of the prince also caused trouble to Dawuti, causing him to be imprisoned as a feudal remnant and spent seven years in the labor camp.
The life of the prison was difficult, but Dawuti did not feel resentful because of this. Instead, he continued to treat his work diligently after being released from prison, shining for the development of Kuqa.
Dawuti
In 2004, the local government allocated 13 million yuan to promote the development of Kuqa tourism industry. According to Dawuti's memories, the dilapidated Kuqa Palace was renovated and became a major tourist attraction in Kuqa.
As the best ambassador, Dawuti relocated into this long-lost mansion.
Dawuti's daily life is very self-disciplined. He gets up early every morning and fiddles with the flowers and plants of the royal palace like a gardener. Every flower, plant and tree in the royal palace is Dawuti's work.
Occasionally, when tourists come to visit, Dawuti will warmly entertain them and tell them the long history of Kuqa City and Kuqa King.
Dawuti
As time goes by, Dawuti gradually grows old. The young man who was full of energy in the past can only lie on the hospital bed and recall the past and those glorious years.
On July 31, 2014, 88-year-old Dawuti came to the end of his life. When he closed his last moment, he stared at the five-star red flag hanging beside him for a long time, as if he could see the beautiful mountains and rivers of the motherland from the ordinary fabric. After Dawuti's death, the government held a grand funeral for him to commemorate the glorious life of this Uyghur old man.
When Dawuti's coffin was funeral, tens of thousands of people in Kuche and surrounding counties took to the streets to see off their "king", and the story of the last prince of China came to an end.
Dawuti
Paul Kochakin said: "Have you been spent like this: Looking back on the past, he will not regret wasting his years, nor will he be ashamed of being despicable and vulgar; at the time of death, he can say: 'My whole life and all my energy are dedicated to the most magnificent cause in the world - to fight for the liberation of all mankind.'"
"
Dawuti's life is a life of selfless dedication. His identity is the product of the feudal era, but he pushed open the barriers and played the greatest melody of the new era!
Reference
[1]: "Research on Several Issues Concerning the Peaceful Liberation of Xinjiang in 1949" J Ji Yunfei Nanjing Institute of Political Science Military History Research
[2]: "On the Early Relationship between Shengshicai and the Soviet Union" J Wang Fuzhong Assistant Researcher at the Institute of Central Asia, Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences Shandong Youth
