Editing Inner Asia

{{Short description|Historical region over time}}
{{Multiple image
| image2 = Map of Inner Asia (CIAS).svg
| caption2 = Map of Inner Asia, showing the extent of the area studied by the CIAS at the [[University of Toronto]].
| image1 = Map of Inner Asia (SRI).svg
| caption1 = Map of Inner Asia, showing the extent of the area studied by the Sinor Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies, located at [[Indiana University]] in the United States
| total_width = 600
}}

'''Inner Asia''' refers to the northern and [[landlock]]ed regions spanning [[North Asia|North]], [[Central Asia|Central]], and [[East Asia]]. It includes parts of [[Western China|western]] and [[northeast China]], as well as southern [[Siberia]]. The area overlaps with some definitions of "Central Asia", mostly the historical ones, but certain regions that are often included in Inner Asia, such as [[Manchuria]], are not a part of Central Asia by any of its definitions. Inner Asia may be regarded as the western and northern "frontier" of [[China proper]] and as being bounded by East Asia proper, which consists of China proper, Japan and Korea.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://japanfocus.org/-Uradyn_E_-Bulag/1557|title=Where is East Asia?: Central Asian and Inner Asian Perspectives on Regionalism|first=Uradyn E.|last=Bulag|publisher=Japan Focus|date=October 2005|access-date=2012-12-09|archive-date=2015-04-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402064332/http://japanfocus.org/-Uradyn_E_-Bulag/1557|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The extent of Inner Asia has been understood differently in different periods. "Inner Asia" is sometimes contrasted to "China proper", that is, the territories originally unified under the [[Qin dynasty]] with majority [[Han Chinese|Han]] populations. By the year 1800, Chinese Inner Asia consisted of four main areas, namely [[Manchuria]] (modern [[Northeast China]] and [[Outer Manchuria]]), the [[Mongolian Plateau]] ([[Inner Mongolia]] and [[Outer Mongolia]]), [[Xinjiang]] ([[Chinese Turkestan]] or [[East Turkestan]]), and [[Tibet]]. Many of these areas had been only recently conquered by the [[Qing dynasty]] of China and, during most of the Qing period, they were governed through administrative structures different from those of the older Chinese provinces.<ref>The Cambridge History of China: Volume 10, Part 1, by John K. Fairbank, p37</ref> A Qing government agency, the [[Lifan Yuan]], supervised [[Qing dynasty in Inner Asia|the empire's Inner Asian regions]], also known as [[Chinese Tartary]]. The frontier regions of China proper—[[Gansu]], [[Qinghai]], [[Sichuan]] and [[Yunnan]]—are also sometimes included as part of Inner Asia.<ref name="harvard">{{cite web |url=https://iaas.fas.harvard.edu/ |title=The Committee on Inner Asian and Altaic Studies |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |website=harvard.edu |access-date=8 November 2024}}</ref><ref name="cambridge">{{cite web |url=https://www.miasu.socanth.cam.ac.uk/about-us |title=Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Unit: About us |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |website=miasu.socanth.cam.ac.uk |access-date=8 November 2024}}</ref>

==Definition and usage==
[[File:Map of Inner Asia (MONDEA).svg|thumb|316x316px|Alternative conception of Inner Asia showing the Mongolian (or Mongolian-related) areas of Inner Asia that are represented in the Mongolian Digital Ethnography Archive]]

"Inner Asia" today has a range of definitions and usages.<ref>[http://www.stormingmedia.us/17/1794/A179414.html Book Abstract: "Inner Asia: Making a Long-Term U.S. Commitment."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604153258/http://www.stormingmedia.us/17/1794/A179414.html |date=2011-06-04 }} Authors: Carol D. Clair; Army War Coll Carlisle Barracks Pa. Retrieved: 22 August 2009.</ref> [[Denis Sinor]], for example, used "Inner Asia" in contrast to [[agricultural]] civilizations, noting its changing borders, such as when a Roman province was taken by the Huns, areas of [[North China]] were occupied by the [[Mongols]], or [[Anatolia]] came under [[Turkification|Turkish influence]], eradicating [[Hellenistic]] culture.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ST6TRNuWmHsC&pg=PA3 The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia, Volume 1 By Denis Sinor.] Retrieved: 22 August 2009.</ref>

Scholars or historians of the [[Qing dynasty]], such as those who compiled the [[New Qing History]], often use the term "Inner Asia" when studying Qing interests or reigns outside [[China proper]],<ref>''New Qing Imperial History: The Making of Inner Asian Empire at Qing Chengde'', ed. Ruth W. Dunnell, [[Mark C. Elliott]], Philippe Foret and James A. Millward</ref> although previous [[Dynasties of China|Chinese dynasties]] like the [[Han dynasty]], [[Tang dynasty]] and [[Ming dynasty]] also expanded their realms and influences into Inner Asia.

According to [[Morris Rossabi]], Inner Asia is composed not only of the five [[Central Asian]] countries, which includes [[Turkmenistan]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], and [[Kazakhstan]], but also includes [[Afghanistan]], [[Xinjiang]], [[Mongolia]], [[Manchuria]], and parts of [[Iran]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rossabi |first=Morris |title=Central Asia: A Historical Overview |journal=Asia Society}}</ref>

The Committee on Inner Asian and Altaic Studies of [[Harvard University]] defines Inner Asia as a region consisting of [[Russian Turkestan|West Turkestan]], [[East Turkestan]] (i.e., Xinjiang), [[Eastern Iran]], [[Northern Pakistan]], Afghanistan, [[Tibet]], [[Qinghai]], [[Sichuan]], [[Gansu]] and northwestern [[Yunnan]].<ref name="harvard" />

The Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Unit at the [[University of Cambridge]] defines Inner Asia as "an area centred on Mongolia and extending across the region of [[Eurasian Steppe|the great steppes]] to the [[Himalayas]]", including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, East Turkestan, Tibet, Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, Yunnan, [[Nepal]], [[Sikkim]], [[Bhutan]], [[Inner Mongolia]], [[Liaoning]], [[Jilin]], [[Heilongjiang]], [[Altai Republic|Altai]], [[Tuva]], [[Buryatia]] and [[Chita Oblast|Chita]].<ref name="cambridge" />

==In other languages==
In [[French language|French]], {{lang|fr|Asie centrale}} can mean either "Central Asia" or "Inner Asia", while Mongolia and Tibet are grouped as {{lang|fr|Haute Asie}} ({{literal translation|Upper Asia}}).<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=http://www.indiana.edu/~rifias/RIFIAS_and_Inner_Asian_Studies.htm |title=Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies (RIFIAS) |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |website=[[Indiana University|indiana.edu]] |access-date=22 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090312102845/http://www.indiana.edu/~rifias/RIFIAS_and_Inner_Asian_Studies.htm |archive-date=12 March 2009}}</ref>

The terms meaning "Inner Asia" in the languages of Inner Asia itself are all modern translations of terms in European languages, mostly Russian.<ref name="auto" />

==Related terms==

===Central Asia===
{{Main|Central Asia}}
{{Seealso|Soviet Central Asia|Greater Central Asia}}

"[[Central Asia]]" normally denotes the western part of Inner Asia; that is, [[Kazakhstan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Turkmenistan]], and [[Uzbekistan]], with [[Afghanistan]] sometimes also included as part of Central Asia. However, [[The Library of Congress]] subject classification system treats "Central Asia" and Inner Asia as synonymous.<ref name="auto"/>

===Central Eurasia===
According to [[Morris Rossabi]], the term "Inner Asia" is the well-established term for the area in the literature. However, because of its deficiencies, including the implication of an "Outer Asia" that does not exist, [[Denis Sinor]] has proposed the neologism "Central Eurasia", which emphasizes the role of the area in intercontinental exchange.<ref>{{cite book|title=China and Inner Asia: from 1368 to the present day|first=Morris|last=Rossabi|publisher=Pica Press|year=1975|page=10}}</ref> According to Sinor:<ref>{{cite book|title=Inner Asia: History, civilization, languages: a syllabus|first=Denis|last=Sinor|author-link=Denis Sinor|year=1997|page=4}}</ref>

<blockquote>
The definition that can be given of Central Eurasia in space is negative. It is that part of the continent of Eurasia that lies beyond the borders of the great sedentary civilizations.... Although the area of Central Eurasia is subject to fluctuations, the general trend is that of diminution. With the territorial growth of the sedentary civilizations, their borderline extends and offers a larger surface on which new layers of barbarians will be deposited.
</blockquote>

== Origin of Inner Asian studies ==
[[File:Fernen Osten.png|thumb|200px|[[Gustav Kreitner]], [[Béla Széchenyi]] and [[Lajos Lóczy]] led an expedition to Inner Asia in 1877–1880.]]
[[Central Europe]] is the birthplace of Inner Asian studies in the West. Hungarian explorers and scholars of the early 19th century travelled to Inner Asia with an attempt to find their own national origins. [[Sándor Kőrösi Csoma]] was the first among these explorers, who became the founder of [[Tibetology]]. The Hungarian count [[Béla Széchenyi]] led a scientific expedition to Inner Asia in 1877–1880 and subsequently founded the journal ''[[Turán (periodical)|Turán]]'' in 1913. The term "Inner Asian studies" ({{langx|hu|belső-ázsiai kutatások|link=no}}; {{langx|de|innerasiatische Studien|link=no}}) first appeared in the masthead of ''Turán''.<ref name="auto" />

[[Aurel Stein]]'s discoveries of Inner Asian antiquities contributed significantly to the knowledge of the civilizations of this region. In 1928, he published his 4-volume work entitled ''Innermost Asia: Detailed Report of Explorations in Central Asia, Kan-su and Eastern Iran, Carried Out and Described under the Orders of H.M. Indian Government''. In 1940, the first academic chair for Inner Asian studies was established by [[Lajos Ligeti]] at the [[Eötvös Loránd University|University of Budapest]].<ref name="auto" />

==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
*[[China proper]]
*[[Chinese Tartary]]
*[[Western Regions]]
*[[Nomadic empire]]
*[[Eurasianism]]
*[[Indo-Pacific Asia]], the rest of Asia
*[[Pan-Mongolism]]
*[[Silk Road]]
*[[Turco-Mongol]]s
*[[Turkification]]
*[[Turan]]
*[[Turanism]]
*[[Tartary]]
*[[Division of the Mongol Empire]]

===Chinese dynastic history===
*[[Han dynasty in Inner Asia]]
*[[Tang dynasty in Inner Asia]]
*[[Yuan dynasty in Inner Asia]]
*[[Ming dynasty in Inner Asia]]
*[[Qing dynasty in Inner Asia]]

===Regional history===
*[[History of Manchuria]]
*[[History of Mongolia]]
*[[History of Tibet]]
*[[History of Xinjiang]]
{{Div col end}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* Di Cosmo, Nicola. 1999. "State Formation and Periodization in Inner Asian History". ''Journal of World History'' 10 (1). University of Hawai'i Press: 1–40. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/20078749 State Formation and Periodization in Inner Asian History].
* Rogers, J. Daniel. 2012. "Inner Asian States and Empires: Theories and Synthesis". ''Journal of Archaeological Research'' 20 (3). Springer: 205–56. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/41680525 Inner Asian States and Empires: Theories and Synthesis].
{{refend}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.aasianst.org/councils/CIAC.htm The Association for Asian Studies (AAS): The China and Inner Asia Council (CIAC).] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102214631/http://www.aasianst.org/councils/CIAC.htm |date=2021-11-02 }}
*[http://www.indiana.edu/~rifias/RIFIAS_and_Inner_Asian_Studies.htm Indiana University at Bloomington: Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies (RIFIAS).] 
*[https://www.miasu.socanth.cam.ac.uk/ University of Cambridge: Mongolia and Inner Asia Studies Unit (MIASU).]

{{Inner Asia}}
{{Asia topics}}
{{Regions of Asia}}

[[Category:Inner Asia| ]]
[[Category:Regions of Asia]]
[[Category:Natural history of Asia]]
[[Category:Historical regions]]