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{{Infobox ethnic group
|group=Yugur
|image=File:Family In Lanchow, China 1944 Fr. Mark Tennien Restored.jpg
|caption=A Yugur family in [[Lanzhou]], [[Gansu]], 1944.
|poptime=15,000 (est.)
|popplace=  [[Sunan Yugur Autonomous County]], [[Gansu]], [[China]]
|langs= [[Western Yugur language|Western Yugur]], [[Eastern Yugur language|Eastern Yugur]]
|rels=[[Tibetan Buddhism]], [[Tengrism]] (Turkic [[Shamanism]])
|related=[[Old Uyghurs]], other [[Turkic peoples|Turks]] and [[Mongols]]
}}

The '''Yugurs''' ({{Zh|s=裕固族|t=裕固族|p=Yùgù Zú}}), or '''Yellow Uyghurs''',<ref name="RudelsonRudelson1997">{{cite book|author1=Justin Jon Rudelson|author2=Justin Ben-Adam Rudelson|title=Oasis Identities: Uyghur Nationalism Along China's Silk Road|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MT2D_0_eBPQC&pg=PA206&lpg=PA206&dq=sariq+yellow&source=bl&ots=swzLr-kkLa&sig=M56B6RII7O39MmQXWGW0Bc8Jd_4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj7nOb71a3JAhVCwiYKHenjCMIQ6AEIQTAJ#v=onepage&q=sariq%20yellow&f=false|year=1997|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-10786-0|pages=206–}}</ref> as they are traditionally known, are one of China's [[List of ethnic groups in China|56 officially recognized nationalities]], consisting of 13,719 persons according to the 2000 census.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F2SRqDzB50wC&pg=PA1142&dq=yellow+uyghurs#v=onepage&q=yellow%20uyghurs&f=false|title=Concise encyclopedia of languages of the world|author=Justin Keith Brown, Sarah Ogilvie|year=2009|publisher=Elsevier|location=|isbn=0-08-087774-5|page=1142|pages=|accessdate=2010-10-31}}</ref> The Yugur live primarily in [[Sunan Yugur Autonomous County]] in [[Gansu]], [[China]]. They are [[Tibetan Buddhism|Tibetan Buddhists]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MT2D_0_eBPQC&pg=PA178&dq=yellow+uyghurs#v=onepage&q=yellow%20uyghurs&f=false|title=Oasis identities: Uyghur nationalism along China's Silk Road|author=Justin Ben-Adam Rudelson, Justin Jon Rudelson|year=1997|publisher=Columbia University Press|location=|isbn=0-231-10786-2|page=178|pages=|accessdate=2010-10-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/29/world/asia/china-yugurs-gansu.html | newspaper = [[New York Times]] | date = September 28, 2016 | last = Wong | first = Edward | title = Modern Life Presents Nomads of China's Steppe With a 'Tragic Choice' }}</ref>

==Name==
The nationality's current, official name, Yugur, derived from its autonym: the Turkic-speaking Yugur designate themselves as ''Yogïr'' "Yugur" or ''Sarïg Yogïr'' "Yellow Yugur", and the Mongolic-speaking Yugur likewise use either ''Yogor'' or ''Šera Yogor'' "Yellow Yugur". Chinese historical documents have recorded these ethnonyms as ''Sālǐ Wèiwùr'' or ''Xīlǎgǔr''. During the [[Qing dynasty]], the Yugur were also called by a term that included "fān", the Classical Chinese term for Tibetic ethnic groups ({{zh|t=西喇古兒黃番|p=Xī Lǎgǔr Huáng Fān}}. In order to distinguish both groups and their languages, Chinese linguists coined the terms ''Xībù Yùgùr'' "Western Yugur" and ''Dōngbù Yùgùr'' "Eastern Yugur" based on their geographical distribution.

==History==

The Turkic-speaking Yugurs are considered to be the descendants of a group of Uyghurs who fled from [[Mongolia]] southwards to Gansu after the collapse of the [[Uyghur Khaganate]] in 840, where they established the prosperous [[Gansu Uyghur Kingdom]] (Ganzhou Uyghur Khanate) (870-1036) with capital near present [[Zhangye]] at the base of the [[Qilian Mountains]] in the valley of the [[Ruo Shui]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X2XpddVB0l0C&pg=PA89&dq=yellow+uyghurs#v=onepage&q=yellow%20uyghurs&f=false|title=Central Asia, 130 years of Russian dominance: a historical overview|author=Edward Allworth|year=1994|publisher=Duke University Press|location=|isbn=0-8223-1521-1|page=89|pages=|accessdate=2010-10-31}}</ref> The population of this kingdom, estimated at 300,000 in [[Song dynasty|Song]] chronicles, practised [[Manichaeism]] and [[Buddhism]] in numerous temples throughout the country.

In 1037 the Yugur came under [[Tangut people|Tangut]] domination.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hQhQ3QKDezsC&pg=PA10&dq=yellow+uyghurs#v=onepage&q=yellow%20uyghurs&f=false|title=Central Xinjiang: China's Muslim far northwest|author=Michael Dillon|year=2004|publisher=Psychology Press|location=|isbn=0-415-32051-8|page=10|pages=|accessdate=2010-10-31}}</ref>  The Gansu Uyghur Kingdom was forcibly incorporated into the [[Western Xia]] after a bloody war that raged from 1028–1036. [[Mahmud al-Kashgari]], who lived at the time in [[Kashgar]], stated that "Uyghur blood was pouring like a murmuring stream" during this war.

The Mongolic-speaking Yugurs are probably the descendants of one of the Mongolic-speaking groups that invaded [[North China]] during the [[Mongols|Mongol]] conquests of the thirteenth century. The Yugurs were eventually incorporated into [[Qing dynasty|Qing China]] in 1696 during the reign of the second Qing ruler, the [[Kangxi Emperor]] (1662–1723).

In 1893, Russian explorer [[Grigory 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.<ref>Eric Enno Tamm. (2010) "The Horse That Leaps Through Clouds: A Tale of Espionage, the Silk Road and the Rise of Modern China." Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, p.218. ISBN 978-1-55365-269-4. http://horsethatleaps.com/chapter-11</ref> Then, in 1907, [[Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim]] visited the Western Yugur village of Lianhua (Mazhuangzi) and the Kangle Temple of the Eastern Yugur. Mannerheim was the first to conduct a detailed ethnographic investigation of the Yugur. In 1911, he published his findings in an article for the Finno-Ugrian Society.

==Language==

About 4,600 of the Yugurs speak Western Yugur (a Turkic language) and about 2,800 Eastern Yugur (a Mongolic language). Western Yugur has preserved many archaisms of [[Old Uyghur language|Old Uyghur]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=wHlCi_yws4YC&pg=PA431#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=Studies on Turkish and Turkic Languages: Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Turkish Linguistics |editor= Aslı Göksel, Celia Kerslake |pages=430–431 |publisher=Harrassowitz |year= 2000 |isbn=978-3447042932 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U1009DRu_vMC&pg=PA397&dq=yellow+uyghurs#v=onepage&q=yellow%20uyghurs&f=false|title=The Turkic languages|author=Lars Johanson, Éva Csató|year=1998|publisher=Taylor & Francis|location=|isbn=0-415-08200-5|page=397|pages=|accessdate=2010-10-31}}</ref>  The remaining Yugurs of the Autonomous County lost their respective Yugur language and speak [[Chinese language|Chinese]].  A very small number of the Yugur reportedly speak [[Standard Tibetan|Tibetan]]. They use Chinese for intercommunication.

Both Yugur languages are now unwritten, although the [[Old Uyghur alphabet]] was in use in some Yugur communities until end of 19th century.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ddddmhXofKoC&pg=PA212&dq=yellow+uyghurs#v=onepage&q=yellow%20uyghurs&f=false|title=Dislocating China: reflections on Muslims, minorities and other subaltern subjects|author=Dru C. Gladney|year=2004|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers|location=|isbn=1-85065-324-0|page=212|pages=|accessdate=2010-10-31}}</ref>

==People==
The Turkic speaking Yugur mainly live in the western part of the County in Mínghuā District, in the Townships of Liánhuā and Mínghǎi, and in Dàhé District, in the centre of the County.
The Mongolic speaking Yugur mainly live in the County's eastern part, in Huángchéng District, and in Dàhé and Kānglè Districts, in the centre of the County.

The Yugur people are predominantly employed in [[animal husbandry]].

==Religion==
The traditional [[religion]] of the Yugur is [[Tibetan Buddhism]], which used to be practised alongside [[shamanism]].

==Popular Culture==
The historical country of Sarig Yogir is a playable nation in the [[Paradox Interactive]] grand strategy video game [[Europa Universalis IV]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://horsethatleaps.com/chapter-11 Slide shows, maps and other material on the Yugur from author Eric Enno Tamm]
*Original Western Yugur texts with English translation plus PDF grammar of Sarig Yugur [http://members.home.nl/marcmarti/yugur/]
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== Literature ==
*Tamm,Eric Enno. (2010) "The Horse That Leaps Through Clouds: A Tale of Espionage, the Silk Road and the Rise of Modern China." Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre. ISBN 978-1-55365-269-4. http://horsethatleaps.com/chapter-11
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{{Ethnic groups in China}}
{{Turkic peoples}}
{{Mongol Yastan}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yugur}}
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[[Category:History of the Turkic peoples]]
[[Category:Mongol peoples]]
[[Category:Turkic peoples of Asia]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups officially recognized by China]]
[[Category:Uyghurs]]
[[Category:Turkic tribes]]