The Dungans -- Cultural Emissaries in Central Asia

The Dungans -- Cultural Emissaries in Central Asia

"The Dungan people, living in Kirghizstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan today, are descendants of Chinese Muslims. Since the creation of the Dungan written language -- a unique phonetic language -- in the early years of the 20th century, mainly under the influence of the social environment of the former Soviet Union, the Dungans developed their own written literature. Over 70 years of experiments have turned the initially humble Dungan literature into a significant branch of Chinese literature. In fact, the rise of Dungan literature has not only enriched the diversity of Chinese literature but borne testimony to Chinese culture taking root elsewhere in Central Asia."