 A Yugur family inLanzhou, Gansu, 1944 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 18,000 (est.) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Sunan Yugur Autonomous County, Gansu, China | |
| Languages | |
| Western Yugur,Eastern Yugur | |
| Religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
|
TheYugurs,Yughurs,Yugu (Chinese:裕固族;pinyin:Yùgùzú;Western Yugur:Sarığ yoğır;Eastern Yugur:Shera yogor), traditionally known asYellow Uyghurs,[1] are aTurkic-Mongolic ethnic group and one of China's 56officially recognized ethnic groups, consisting of 16,719 persons, according to the 2000 census.[2] The Yugur live primarily inSunan Yugur Autonomous County inGansu. They are mostlyTibetan Buddhists.[3][4] The majority of Yugurs speak aTurkic language, whileMongolic andChinese are also used in eastern provinces.
The Turkic-speaking Yugurs are considered to be the descendants of a group of Old Uyghurs who fled fromMongolia southwards to Gansu after the collapse of theUyghur Khaganate in 840, where they established the prosperousGanzhou Uyghur Kingdom (870-1036) with capital near presentZhangye at the base of theQilian Mountains in the valley of theRuo Shui.[5]
In 1037, the Yugur came underTangut domination.[6] As a result ofKhizr Khoja’s invasion ofQumul, many residents who rejected conversion escaped to nearbyDunhuang andHunan in China proper. These became the ancestors of the modern Yellow Uyghurs, who have remainedBuddhists to the present day.[7]
In 1893, Russian explorerGrigory Potanin, the first Western scientist to study the Yugur, published a small glossary of Yugur words, along with notes on their administration and geographical situation.[8]
About 4,600 Yugurs speak Western Yugur (a Turkic language) and about 2,800 Eastern Yugur (a Mongolic language). Western Yugur has preserved many archaisms ofOld Uyghur.[9][10]
Both Yugur languages are now unwritten, although theOld Uyghur alphabet was in use in some Yugur communities until the end of 17th century.[11]
| Sino-Tibetan |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austroasiatic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Austronesian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hmong-Mien | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mongolic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kra–Dai | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tungusic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turkic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indo-European | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Others | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overseas diaspora |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Related | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Immigrants and expatriates | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Underlined: the 56 officially recognised ethnic groups ranked by population in their language families according to2020 census | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
