From 1911 when the Revolution of 1911 broke out to 1949 when New China was founded, Xinjiang successively went through four regimes of Yang Zengxin, Jin Shuren, Sheng Shicai and direct dominance from the Kuomintang government.
Yang Zengxin, a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination in the Qing Dynasty, was born in Mengzi County, Yunnan Province, where Muslims lived in compact community. He was appointed as the governor of Xinjiang after the Revolution of 1911, and changed to the post of provincial chairman afterwards. Having spent his official career mostly in Hezhou and Xinjiang where Muslims had an overwhelming majority, Yang Zengxin knew a lot about the doctrine and sects of Islam. So he adopted dual tactics of both mollification and suppression towards the Muslims in Xinjiang, not oppressing them excessively lest the major ethnic groups in this region rose to oppose him. He made use of Islam to comfort the Muslim massand took advantage of the ethnic conflicts to disintegrate them so that they were no able to unite together under the standard of Islam.
Yang Zengxin was active in striving for the support of the upper circles of the Muslims in Xinjiang, giving preferential treatment to the nobilities of the Uighurs so as to use them to comfort and control the Muslims. Not only did he fully acknowledge the titles and ranks of the nobilities of the minority groups in Xinjiang that were conferred by the Qing Dynasty and reserved all their privileges, but also reported to the Government of the Northern Warlords for reconfirmation and promotion so as to solidify his ruling. Yang Zengxin also took advantage of the conflicts among the ethnic groups and clans to make themcontain each other to maintain the peace of his separatist regime.
By the end of the Qing Dynasty, the land army and patrol battalion in Xinjiang were dominated by Hans. In order to keep Huis and other Muslim peoples under control and pin down the former army dominated by Hans, Yang Zengxin organized the Hui Army, with which he could also pin down the armed escort dominated by the Uighurs and the cavalry of the Kazaks. Thus, not only the people who constituted the majority in Xinjiang were kept under control, but the Hans were also pinned down. To maintain the social stability of Xinjiang and solidify his regime, Yang Zengxin adopted a serial of measures to restrain the “Double-Pan” thoughts (Pan-Islamism and Pan-Turkism appeared in the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the20th century)? He took strict precautions towards foreigners to Xinjiang by having their identity clarified, not allowing them to engage with locals, or expelling them and burning the propaganda material they distributed. He also prohibited foreigners from running schools or be teachers in Xinjiang. As for Chinese who colluded with foreigners to propagandize the “Double-Pan” thoughts, he resorted to severe punishment. The foreign teachers who openly spread the “Double-Pan” thoughts in new schools would be expelled by the local government, and the school theyserved would be closed down as well.
