The Chinese “Guli” in the Fragrant Concubine Park

By Gulinaer Wubuli, Deputy director of the Bureau of Agricultural Machinery of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous region

The sweet scent of melons and fruits in late autumn wafted through the air all around Kashgar, where we followed our tour guide girl to the Fragrant Concubine Park. At the Fragrant Concubine Tomb, she told us a little-known story about an ancient beauty named Su Daixiang.

A woman from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region performs Uygur dance on a train heading for Urumqi. [File Photo: VCG]

Su Daixiang, originally a native of Beijing, married Tuerdu, the elder brother of the Fragrant Concubine during the mid-Qianlong-reign of Qing dynasty (namely, mid-18th century AD). Tuerdu was awarded by Emperor Qianlong to serve at the capital for his brave deeds in helping the imperial army put down the Rebellion of the Altishahr Khojas, and his family basked in more royal favor after his sister became a favorite concubine of the Emperor. Unfortunately, Tuerdu died of disease years later. With the Emperor’s consent, Su Daixiang decided to escort her husband’s coffin back to Kashgar, which was thousands of miles away from Beijing. It took the brave and legendary lady about six months to trek through mountains and rivers, deserts and towns to reach her destination. Once in Kashgar, Su Daixiang never left but lived there for the rest of her life to be with her late husband and the local people of various ethnic groups. Folk legend has it that she dedicated herself to the care of local people, especially women, and financed a few projects to reclaim wasteland, build canals, water mills and orchards. Her kindness and care won the hearts of local Uygurs, who called her “Dilidaer-guli”, with “dilidaer” meaning “be of one heart and one mind”, and “guli” meaning “girl” or “lady”. The name represented the Chinese spiritual tradition of unity, and the full recognition by all the ethnic groups in China of Chinese nation as a community with shared future. The story is yet another testament to the fact that all the ethnic cultures in Xinjiang had their roots in the fertile soil of Chinese civilization, and are integral part of Chinese culture.

Every tourist on site was moved by the story. One from east China sighed with wonder that this beautiful Xinjiang tour guide could skillfully tell story in perfect Mandarin and asked the girl where she learned it. The girl beamed and answered with a clear voice:“I’m a Chinese girl, and I learned Mandarin at a vocational education and training center. ”It turned out that she had graduated from Kashgar vocational education and training center, and chose to become a tour guide as she wished. Our tour was interspersed with her singing and dancing, which was truly a feast for our ears and eyes. She moved on to tell us that she was born into a traditional family of farmers nearby and had a strong liking for sing and dancing since childhood. Force by her father, she fell under the dark spell of religious extremism several years ago, and became more and more divorced from outside world. She began to boss people around for their life style, and felt strong hatred for “kafir”.

She told me that she and her classmates had been spiritually renewed through the training at vocational education and training center. After graduation, some of them started their own businesses, and some took jobs in factories as farmer-turned workers. They are on the way out of poverty with their diligence and wisdom, bringing a new life to themselves and their families. She told me with confidence that her family supported her work and she could earn more as long as she worked hard. Religious extremist forces have been attempting to stir up ethnic hatred and split China under the guise of religion. If not for the free training on legal knowledge, national common language and vocational skills provided by vocational education and training center, she could not have realized that she had been fooled by religious extremism, she could not have realized her former inferior status as a woman in her family and their hopeless life in the past. Without the above realizations, how could she become confident and independent now, and how could her family see a change for the better?

She said: “The teachers at the vocational education and training center really cared for us and educated us like mothers, helping us get rid of the influence of religious extremism and have a better understanding of Chinese history. We recognized that all the ethnic groups in Xinjiang are part of the Chinese nation, and no matter what ethnic group we are from, we are all Chinese and must abide by laws and regulations.” She added, “Now we are firmly following the Party, and our confidence to pursue a better life is stronger. All ethnic groups should cling together like pomegranate seeds to build our homeland.” Given her elegance, confidence and words full of longing for the future, who can believe that she used to be a housebound peasant girl infected by religious extremism?

While moving the cradle with one hand, mothers striving for happy life also hold with the other hand the keys to the future of their families. They recognize that when women are beautiful, Xinjiang becomes beautiful too. Women has a pivotal role in accelerating personal, family and social progress, and their enlightenment will definitely be a driving force for social progress, which has been first set in motion with the implementation of the Party's strategy of governing Xinjiang in the New Era. The social stability in Xinjiang for the past three consecutive years has brought about a “dividend” of economic development, especially its tourism boom. With New Era and new look, vocational education and training center has changed this tour guide and her likes, and their families.

Across Xinjiang, an all-round ideological and cultural transformation is quietly taking root among people all ethnic groups, who are casting off the influence of religious extremism and abandoning conservative ideas, consciously raise awareness of national identity and the Chinese Nation as a community with shared future. With constant reflection on the past and a clear picture of reality, in gratitude to the Party and government, striving for a happy life with their own hands has become their common pursuit. How could these sea changes happen without the wise leadership of the Communist Party of China, the strong support among people across the country, the selfless dedication of cadres of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, and the free training provided by vocational education and training centers for rural youth?

In Xinjiang, vocational education and training is an important measure taken in accordance with the law to help those blinded by religious extremism get rid of the shackles of extremism and pursue a modern civilized life, a charitable act to realize human emancipation, quality improvement and better development, and a path to modern civilized life for the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. Is anyone not happy to see the people of Xinjiang pursue a better modern life, free from the disruption of religious extremism?