Blood Relations: A Documentary Narrative by Fatima Makeeva on Dungan Writer Arli Arbudu
(in progress)
This book project makes available for the first time in English a poignant 2016 documentary narrative by Dungan philologist Fatima Makeeva on the life, times, and work of Arli Arbudu (1917–1986), the best-known Soviet Dungan prose writer.
Mystical Forest: Collected Poems and Short Stories of Dungan Ethnographer Ali Dzhon
(Peter Lang, 2023)
DOI: 10.3726/b18961
WorldCat: Mystical forest : collected poems and short stories of Dungan ethnographer Ali Dzhon | WorldCat.org
Born in Shor-Tyube, Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, in 1951, Dungan ethnographer and creative writer Ali Dzhon is widely regarded as the preeminent writer on the material and spiritual culture and history of the Dungan people, the Sinophone Muslims of Central Asia. Mystical Forest makes available for the first time in English a significant collection of Dzhon’s poems and short stories, which he penned in Russian over a span of more than half a century, from 1969 to 2021, bridging the Soviet and post-Soviet periods. In these rich literary works, Dzhon expresses his thoughts about the world around him, ponders the fate of his people and the meaning of life, and provides finely nuanced descriptions of his feelings about love, nature, and those around him.
Organized into nine chapters by theme, the 103 poems of varying length in the collection are witty, colorful, and profound pieces that provide rare glimpses into Dungan cultural life, including Dzhon’s searing remembrances of the nineteenth-century Dungan Revolt that led to the first migration of the Hui Muslims from northwestern China to the Russian Empire during the harsh winter of 1877–1878, his moving personal reminiscences of childhood and youth spent in the Soviet Dungan villages of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and his unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities of life faced by the Dungan people in post-Soviet Central Asia. Set largely against the backdrop of daily life in the Dungan settlements, the four riveting pieces of short fiction comprising the final chapter of the collection showcase Dzhon’s consummate skill as a storyteller as they probe the human condition. The present volume includes a foreword by prominent Dungan poet Iskhar Shisyr, an introductory chapter, footnotes, an index, a map, and photographs. This book will appeal to students, scholars, and general readers interested in Dungan literature, history, and culture.
Editorial Endorsements for Mystical Forest
“Mystical Forest is an exemplary volume of poetry and short stories by a foremost ethnographer of the Dungans, a people who dwell at the crossroads of Central Asia. The translations catch the spirit of these texts that reflect local landscapes, cultural change, and the soul of author Ali Dzhon. Conversant in Dungan culture, Kenneth Yin deftly opens new vistas of local and indigenous writing.”—Mark Bender, Professor of Chinese Literature and Folklore, The Ohio State University
“Kenneth Yin’s Mystical Forest: Collected Poems and Short Stories of Dungan Ethnographer Ali Dzhon is a much welcome addition to Dungan Sinophone studies. The stories and poems collected in this volume are of interest because they provide unparalleled access to the thought, society, and culture of the Dungan people. Their intrinsic literary quality and wide variety of subject matter covered make this volume an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the Dungan people and their history.”—Victor H. Mair, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature, University of Pennsylvania
“The complicated historical fate of the Dungan people finds its reflection in Mystical Forest, the book of collected poems and short stories written by eminent Dungan ethnographer Ali Dzhon. Combining memories of the personal and collective past with perception of the present, Mystical Forest offers insight into different dimensions of the contemporary Dungan identity. Yin’s masterful translation of the collection contributes to the understanding and appreciation of the Dungan culture by the English-reading audience.”—Aglaia Starostina, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences
“Mystical Forest introduces readers to a unique literary voice from a part of the world that is often overlooked—but which, once encountered, proves to be unforgettable. Ali Dzhon is a poet and ethnographer of Dungan heritage who has spent the past fifty years writing at the intersection of Central Asia’s diverse cultures, languages, political regimes, and religious traditions. This comprehensive collection of poetry and prose includes meditations on nature, family, and community, as well as reflections on experiences of trauma and hardships both past and present. The stoic beauty of Ali Dzhon’s writing style, vividly rendered into English by Kenneth Yin, not only provides valuable insights for students and scholars of the region but will also captivate poetry and story lovers of any age.”—Naomi Caffee, Assistant Professor of Russian and Humanities, Reed College
“Kenneth Yin does it again and delights us with a wonderful translation of the prestigious ethnographer Ali Dzhon, whose literary production makes the reader experience everyday life and landscapes on which Dungan life happens. Mystical Forest is undoubtedly a must for those interested in new tendencies in current Dungan literature. With meticulous precision, Yin offers an English version of the emotional sea that carries Dungan multilingual experience on the Central Asian steppe. Closer attention will need to be paid to future works by Yin, who is opening a new branch in literary studies carried out in the English language on Sinophone literatures.”—Soledad Jiménez-Tovar, Professor of History, Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas
“The Dungan people now living in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan constitute a unique community of Sinophone Muslims bringing together the cultures of China and the Middle East. Mystical Forest is composed of Yin’s English translations of poetry and prose by the prominent modern Dungan ethnographer and writer Ali Dzhon, thus presenting to English-language readers the genuine voice of a representative of this people. His works contain both historical memories and facts of the modern life and culture of the Dungans, now making these known internationally.”—Rostislav Berezkin, Research Fellow, National Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies, Fudan University
Book Reviews of Mystical Forest
Bender, Mark. Review of Mystical Forest, by Kenneth J. Yin. Tupelo Quarterly. Forthcoming.
Tasar, Eren [Murat]. Review of Mystical Forest, by Kenneth J. Yin. Central Asian Survey 45, no. 1 (2026): 131–132. First published online December 2, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1080/02634937.2025.2583969
Knüppel, Michael. Review of Mystical Forest, by Kenneth J. Yin. Orientalistische Literaturzeitung 120, no. 2 (November 7, 2025): 115–116 [in German]. First published online November 9, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1515/olzg-2025-0091
De Grandis, Mario. Review of Mystical Forest, by Kenneth J. Yin. The Journal of Asian Studies 83, no. 3 (August 2024): 766. First published online August 1, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1215/00219118-11163193
Middlebury Magazine staff. “Editors’ Picks for September and October.” Review of Mystical Forest, by Kenneth J. Yin. Middlebury Magazine, October 6, 2023. https://middleburymagazine.com/review/editors-picks-for-september-and-october-7/
Dzhumaza, Mar Vundizovich. “«Тайный лес» как зеркало души поэта” [Mystical Forest as a Mirror of the Poet’s Soul]. Review of Mystical Forest, by Kenneth J. Yin. «Хуэймин бо / 回民报» [Dungan newspaper], no. 1 (March 23, 2023): 5 [in Russian].
Peter Lang Publicity Flyer for Mystical Forest
Dungan Folktales and Legends
(Peter Lang, 2021)
DOI: 10.3726/b18299
WorldCat: Dungan folktales and legends (Book, 2021) [WorldCat.org]
Dungan Folktales and Legends is a unique anthology that acquaints English-speaking readers with the rich and captivating folk stories of the Dungans, Sinophone Muslims who fled Northwest China for Russian Central Asia after the failure of the Dungan Revolt (1862–1877) against the Qing dynasty. The most comprehensive collection of Dungan folk narratives, available now in English for the first time, this volume features translations of oral narratives collected in the former Soviet Central Asian republics of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in the twentieth century, and first published in Dunganskie narodnye skazki i predaniia (1977), which was edited by the internationally renowned Russian sinologist Boris L. Riftin and compiled by his prominent Dungan colleagues Makhmud A. Khasanov and Ilʹias I. Iusupov. The Dungan folk narrative tradition is a vibrant and fascinating tapestry of Chinese, Islamic, and various Central Asian cultural elements.
The present volume is comprised of a chapter introducing the Dungan tale and three chapters containing 78 folk stories organized in the following categories: wonder tales and animal tales; novelistic tales, folk anecdotes, and adventure stories; and legends, historical tales, and narratives. Also included are appendixes, a glossary, an index, the original notes to the texts, and translator’s notes aimed at an English-reading audience. This volume will be of interest to general readers, as well as students and scholars of folklore, ethnography, anthropology, comparative literature, Chinese studies, and Central Asian studies.
Editorial Endorsements for Dungan Folktales and Legends
“With his Dungan Folktales and Legends, Kenneth J. Yin contributes a valuable chapter to Dungan Studies by making available in English translation a substantial body of interesting folk tales of a people who, though small in number, offer important material for the study of Central Asian culture and literature. Expertly translated, the stories in this collection open our eyes to a broad and unexpected vista of human experience. Highly recommended for anyone who is engaged in the study of Sinitic language and literature.”—Victor H. Mair, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature, University of Pennsylvania
“Dungan Folktales and Legends opens a new page in the English-language scholarship on the folklore and popular literature of the Chinese and their neighbors. Being a reader of these tales in Russian translation since the age of ten (they made a part of my collection of favorite Asian tales), I am delighted to learn that they are now available in a superb English translation, with the necessary introduction and comments, by Kenneth J. Yin. This collection also reflects the personal experience of Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Boris L. Riftin (1932–2012), who started to collect and study Dungan folklore in situ during his student years and continued to analyze it later from the perspective of an expert in Chinese folk literature. Many figures of Chinese traditional literature, some of them perhaps already known to English-speaking readers as Yu Boya, Han Xin, Su Qin, Xue Rengui, and the like, appear here in a new and often unusual guise.”—Rostislav Berezkin, Research Fellow, National Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies, Fudan University
“The Russian-language edition of Dungan Folktales and Legends was a substantial contribution to comparative folklore studies when it first appeared in 1977. The book, based on several decades of field research, provided readers a glimpse into the complex tapestry of Dungan storytelling. Built upon several traditions, the tales of the Dungans merge multiple motifs and plots from the wide Eurasian folklore space. This most welcome translation will benefit not only folklorists and sinologists but also anyone with a liking for a good story.”—Aglaia Starostina, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences
“Kenneth J. Yin’s Dungan Folktales and Legends makes a very substantial contribution to the study of the culture and folklore of the Dungan people, whose unique position in the history of East Asian cultures and East Asian linguistics is increasingly recognized inside and outside of China. For a very long time, Dunganology has been a field dominated by outstanding Russian scholarship. More recently, immense progress has been made by students from the People’s Republic of China. Kenneth J. Yin shows an admirable ability to use all the most important available sources in the present volume, which makes Dungan literary sensibilities available to a broader international public.”—Christoph Harbsmeier, Professor Emeritus of Chinese, University of Oslo
“Dungan Folktales and Legends is a very refined work that represents the research carried out by Soviet sinologists. This is undoubtedly a must-read for those interested in Sinophone literature in general, as well as the folklore preserved among Sinophone Muslims. Additionally, this piece illustrates the complexity of interconnected and interrelated traditions found in Central Asia. The translation by Kenneth J. Yin is polished and careful: he truly manages to build a bridge between the English readership and the Central Asian Sinophone Muslims.”—Soledad Jiménez-Tovar, Professor of History, Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas
“Kenneth J. Yin’s Dungan Folktales and Legends is a most welcome and impressive anthology of oral narrative literature translations. With an elegant introduction chapter and erudite translator’s notes, this rich and well-chosen collection will make a much needed wealth of sources available for the study of Dungan culture and history in Central Asia.”—Talant Mawkanuli, Associate Teaching Professor and Director of Turkic and Central Eurasian Studies, University of Washington Seattle
Book Reviews of Dungan Folktales and Legends
Knüppel, Michael. Review of Dungan Folktales and Legends, by Kenneth J. Yin. Orientalistische Literaturzeitung 119, no. 2 (October 16, 2024): 112–113 [in German]. First published online October 18, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1515/olzg-2024-0037
Starostina, Aglaia Borisovna. Review of Dungan Folktales and Legends, by Kenneth J. Yin. «Восток. Афро-азиатские общества: история и современность (Восток (Oriens))» [The Orient: Asian and African societies: history and modernity], no. 4 (August 29, 2023): 273–277 [in Russian]. https://vostokoriens.jes.su/s086919080026223-2-1/
Bender, Mark. Review ofDungan Folktales and Legends, by Kenneth J. Yin. Asian Ethnology 82, no. 1 (2023): 174–176. https://asianethnology.org/article/159894-kenneth-j-yin-dungan-folktales-and-legends
Berezkin, Rostislav [Vladimirovich]. Review of Dungan Folktales and Legends, by Kenneth J. Yin. CHINOPERL: Journal of Chinese Oral and Performing Literature 42, no. 1 (July 2023): 95–97. First published online June 2, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1353/cop.2023.a898383
Middlebury Magazine staff. “Editors’ Picks for March and April.” Review of Dungan Folktales and Legends, by Kenneth J. Yin. Middlebury Magazine, April 4, 2022. https://middleburymagazine.com/review/editors-picks-for-march-and-april-5/
Peter Lang Publicity Flyer for Dungan Folktales and Legends
“Jondaje the Pheasant Hunter”
(in Esopus, no. 5 (Fall 2005): 80–93)
Esopus Website: ESOPUS Magazine : Contents
Amazon: Esopus 5: Lippy, Tod, Kurtz, Shanan, Maier, Ati, Ruscha, Ed: 9780976164128: Books – Amazon
WorldCat: Esopus. no. 5 (fall 2005). (Book, 2005) [WorldCat.org]
“Jondaje the Pheasant Hunter” is an English translation of a tale from the Dungan people (a Muslim minority of Chinese extraction located mainly in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan) that relates the story of a young man and his adventures with a white snake, a magical pumpkin gourd, and a new wife—who just happens to be the daughter of the Dragon King.
Notes:
- Kenneth J. Yin’s English translation and adaptation of Boris L. Riftin’s accompanying plot analysis of the folktale was published on the Esopus website in the fall of 2005. A full citation for this web publication appears on page 633 in «Китай и окрестности. Мифология, фольклор, литература. К 75-летию академика Б.Л. Рифтина» (China and Around: Mythology, Folklore, Literature: On the Occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the Academician B. L. Riftin), edited by Илья Сергеевич Смирнов (Il′ia Sergeevich Smirnov) as no. 25 in the series «Orientalia et Classica. Труды Института Восточных культур и античности» (Orientalia et Classica: Papers of the Institute of Oriental and Classical Studies), published by Российский государственный гуманитарный университет (Russian State University for the Humanities) in Moscow in 2010.
- Yin’s initial acquaintance with Riftin in 2005—including plans to produce an English-language edition of Riftin’s «Дунганские народные сказки и предания» (Dungan folktales and legends), 1st ed. (Moscow: Nauka, 1977)—is described by Riftin (under his Chinese name, 李福清 Li Fuqing) on page 41 of the introduction to the Chinese-language volume 东干民间故事传说集 Donggan minjian gushi chuanshuo ji (Collection of Dungan folktales and legends), edited by Riftin and published by 上海文艺出版社 Shanghai wenyi chubanshe (Shanghai Literature and Art Publishing House) in Shanghai in 2011.
Dungan Mosque in Zharkent, Kazakhstan. The mosque was built between 1887 and 1895 to the design of Chinese Hui architect Hon Pik (Mukan).
© 2021–2026 Kenneth J. Yin
