Infrastructure, Ethnography, and the Integration of Xinjiang: The Northwest Reconstruction Expedition of 1943

Abstract

This book chapter explores the 1943 Northwest Reconstruction Expedition in Xinjiang, China, during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Led by a team of engineers, ethnologists, and other experts, the expedition surveyed the region’s infrastructure, resources, and ethnic diversity, with the goal of integrating Xinjiang into China’s national space. Through a combination of technical surveys and ethnographic studies, the team proposed a strategy for the region’s development, which included infrastructure projects like railways and irrigation systems. The article examines how these proposals reflected the broader nationalist ideology of territorial expansion, with a particular focus on ethnic integration and the role of infrastructure in fostering national unity.

Biographical Note

Thorben Pelzer (Leipzig U & SFB 1199)

Dr. Thorben Pelzer researches Chinese history at the interdisciplinary Research Centre Global Dynamics. Previously, he was a lecturer and researcher at the section for Society and Culture of Modern China. He graduated in Chinese Studies, Japanese Studies, and East Asia Studies at Ruhr-University Bochum. Further, he studied at Osaka University, at Tongji University in Shanghai, and at National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei. He is an alumnus of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation. As a social and cultural historian of the Chinese Republican period, he researches engineers, technology, and infrastructure. He is interested in digital research methods.