History

Historians are divided in their views about the origin of the Dongxiang ethnic minority. Some hold that they are descendants of Mongolian troops posted in the Hezhou area by Genghis Khan (1162-1227) during his march to the west. Other historians say they are a mixture of many races -- Hui, Mongolian, Han and Tibetan groups.

However, according to legends and historical data, the Dongxiangs probably originated from the Mongolians. As far back as the 13th century, Mongolian garrison units were stationed in the Dongxiang area. In these units were Mongols and military scouts and artisans Genghis Khan brought from West Asia. In time of war, the military scouts would fight as soldiers on the battlefield. And they farmed and raised cattle and sheep in time of peace. These garrison troops later took local women as wives, and their offspring at the beginning were called "military households" which became "civilian households" with the passage of time.

During the early years of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), they were offered amnesty by the Ming rulers, and they settled down permanently in the Dongxiang area.

The Dongxiang people had been groaning under national and class oppression throughout the ages. This had driven them to take up arms against their oppressors many times.

For several decades before the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, the Dongxiang people were suffering under the oppressive rule of the feudal Hui warlords, Ma Anliang, Ma Qi and Ma Bufang, and Kuomintang warlord Liu Yufen.

What infuriated the Dongxiangs most was the pressganging of their young men into the armed forces by the Kuomintang and Hui warlords. At one swoop in 1948, the pressgangs rounded up a total of more than 3,000 young men. Even the ahungs in some mosques were not spared. They were thrown into the army after their beards were shaved. Pressganging operations that were carried out time and again had made the Dongxiang villages and towns devoid of young men.

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