Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County

Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County[1] (Chinese: 察布查尔锡伯自治县; pinyin: Chábùchá'ěr Xībó Zìzhìxiàn; Xibe: ᠴᠠᠪᠴᠠᠯ
ᠰᡞᠪᡝ
ᠪᡝᠶᡝ
ᡩᠠᠰᠠᡢᡤᠠ
ᠰᡞᠶᠠᠨ, Cabcal Sibe beye dasangga siyan, also transliterated as Chapchal, Uighur: چاپچال شىبە ئاپتونوم يېزىسى; Kazakh: شاپشال سىبە اۆتونوميالى اۋدانى) in Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in Northern Xinjiang, is the only Xibe autonomous county of the People's Republic of China, bordering Kazakhstan's Almaty Region to the west. It has an area of 4,430 square kilometers and a population 160,000 (2000). Qapqal means "the granary" in the Xibe language.

Qapqal County

察布查尔县 • ᠴᠠᠪᠴᠠᠯ
ᠰᡳᠶᠠᠨ
Autonomous county
Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County
察布查尔锡伯自治县
ᠴᠠᠪᠴᠠᠯ
ᠰᡞᠪᡝ
ᠪᡝᠶᡝ
ᡩᠠᠰᠠᡢᡤᠠ
ᠰᡞᠶᠠᠨ
"Sibo military colonists", picture drawn during Henry Lansdell visit to today's Qapqal County in 1882
Location of Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County (pink) in Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture
Coordinates (Qapqal County government): 43°50′27″N 81°09′05″E
CountryPeople's Republic of China
Autonomous regionXinjiang
Autonomous prefectureIli
Area
 • Total4,430 km2 (1,710 sq mi)
Population
 (2000)
 • Total160,000
 • Density36/km2 (94/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+8 (CST)
Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County
Traditional Chinese察布查爾錫伯自治縣
Simplified Chinese察布查尔锡伯自治县
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese寧西縣
Simplified Chinese宁西县

Subdivisions

The Xibe, sent to garrison the area by the Qing dynasty, were divided into eight niru (companies); each niru established a settlement. The settlements are thus simply referred to as "First Niru" through "Eighth Niru", with the exception of the settlement established by the Sixth, which came to be known as Qapqal, thus giving the county its name.[2]

Demographics per niru (2000)
Number[2] Xibe name[2] Chinese name % Xibe[2] % Han[2] % Other[2] Population Number of villages Source
1 Uju Niru 乌珠牛录乡 61.8 20.9 17.3
2 Jai Niru 扎依牛录乡 72.2 15.5 12.3
3 Ilaci Niru 依拉齐牛录乡 73.2 12.3 14.5
4 Duici Niru 堆依齐牛录乡 32.9 28.4 38.7
5 Sunjaci Niru 孙扎齐牛录镇 38.2 15 46.8 8033 4 [3]
6 Ningguci Niru or Capcal 察布查尔镇 29 32 39
7 Nadaci Niru 纳达齐牛录乡 41.6 32 24.6
8 Jakûci Niru 扎库齐牛录乡 72.2 15.5 12.3 13,000 5 [4]

Media
A ca. 1809 map of the Ili Region (the map is drawn "upside down": the south is on top) showing the Xibo Eight Banners (锡伯八旗) stationed across the Ili River from the Manchu Fort Huiyuan (惠远城), exactly where Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County is nowadays. There is a place - or perhaps a river - named "察布察儿" (Chabucha'er, Chinese: 察布查爾) in that area as well.

The county has one Xibe language newspaper, the Qapqal News. A television station broadcasts a few programmes in Xibe as well each month, with Chinese language content the rest of the time.[5]

References
  1. Judy Bonavia, Sarah Jessup, Edward Juanteguy (1993). The Silk Road From Xi'an to Kashgar. Passport Books. p. 187. ISBN 9780844299518.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. Stary, Giovanni (2003), "Sibe: An endangered language", in Janse, Mark; Tol, Sijmen; Hendriks, Vincent (eds.), Language death and language maintenance, John Benjamins, pp. 81–89, ISBN 978-90-272-4752-0
  3. 察布查尔县孙扎齐乡, Qapqal Online, retrieved 2009-04-15
  4. 察布查尔县扎库齐牛录乡, Qapqal Online, retrieved 2009-04-15
  5. 张莉 [Zhang Li] (2007), 新疆锡伯族新闻事业发展现状 [Xinjiang Xibo Peoples' News Undertaking Present Situation], 伊犁师范学院学报 [Journal of Ili Normal University] (1), ISSN 1009-1076, archived from the original on 2011-07-07, retrieved 2009-04-13


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