Amannisa Khan

The Muqam of Xinjiang has been designated by UNESCO as part of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Her father, Muhamode, was a forester. When she was thirteen years old, Abdurashid Khan was hunting and occasionally heard her singing. Soon, he burst into her father's shack and demanded to hear a song. She dedicated a ghazal to his benevolence and he was so impressed that he paid her father the bride price to take her. She became Queen of the Yarkand Khanate, composing Muqams and other musical works for which her husband supposedly took credit. She died in childbirth at age 34 and her remains were buried in Royal Cemetery Park near Yarkent. The only known source mentioning her by name is the 1854 History of Musicians (Tavārikh-i mūsīqiyyūn) by Mu'jiz (Mojize). That manuscript was translated into the modern Uyghur language by the Nationalities Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1982. She was promoted as a cultural hero by the People's Republic of China for certain approved characteristics, including being born in the area and being from a background of poverty and close to peasants. Seypidin Azizi, the first Chinese Communist leader of Xinjiang, published a play about her in 1983, which portrayed Amannisa's conflict with Abdurashid's first wife, Yadigar. In the 1990s, a mausoleum was built in her birthplace to honour her contribution to Uyghur culture.

• Name — Amannisa Khan • Born — c. 1526 • Died — 1560 • Known for — 12 Muqam • Illustration — Amannisa Khan's mausoleum • Illustration — Tomb of Amanissa Khan in the Royal Altun Cemetery in Yarkand • Illustration — Amanni Shahan stgn. Yarkand. 2011 • Illustration — Dome of Amanni Shahan's mausoleum. Yarkand. 2011