[ATATURK AS THE GREATEST LEADER THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHINESE SCHOLAR] Bir Çin âlimi nazarinda istikbal: Sarkin yeni günesi Gazi Mustafa Kemal [i.e., The future, according to a Chinese scholar: The new sun of the East, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk...].

SUZI, CHI & KOLCALI ABDÜLAZIZ (1863-?).

Zaman Kitaphanesi / Hamit Bey Matbaasi, Istanbul, 1933.

COMPLETE TITLE: [ATATURK AS THE GREATEST LEADER THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHINESE SCHOLAR] Bir Çin âlimi nazarinda istikbal: Sarkin yeni günesi Gazi Mustafa Kemal Hz., Umum Türklerin ve bütün insaniyetin ittihadi. [i.e., The future, according to a Chinese scholar: The new sun of the East, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the unity of all Turks and all of humanity].

Original staple-stitched greenish wrappers. Cr. 8vo. (20 x 14 cm). In Turkish. 23 p., [1 blank page], a b/w portrait of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The rear wrapper is loosely torn, but not missing, with rust marks of staple around the spine, age-toned on covers. Overall, a fair/good copy. 

Extremely rare booklet including the Turkish translation of an interesting article on Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938) by a Chinese scholar and journalist Chi Su-zi. This article is translated by Kolcali Abdülaziz, a Muslim intellectual in China, seemingly later settled in Istanbul and worked as a writer for the Ottoman / Turkish newspapers Ikdam and Metin and worked as an Arabic teacher and administrator in public schools (Enderun). Kolcali added some extra chapters including his own thoughts and details about the subject. This article written by Chi Su-zi which was published in a Chinese newspaper in the 1930s (the name of the newspaper has not been given) compares the weakening of China due to European expansion and exploitation and the subsequent Japanese occupation with the Turkish War of Independence (1919-1922) that followed the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and was won against European imperialist states, arguing that Atatürk opened a new era in history for both the Islamic world and all of humanity. 

“By the 1920s, Turkey successfully transitioned from an empire to a republic, becoming a model of national independence and modernization. This transformation inspired Chinese scholars in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China to publish articles in newspapers, translate foreign news, and compile books on the Turkish revolution and reform. They introduced Turkey and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s historical achievements to the Chinese public. This not only reflected the Chinese public’s desire to have a deeper understanding of the world but also laid the foundations for Chinese academia to pay persistent attention to Turkey.” (Zhangxu, Ye).

Abdulaziz Bey from Kolca was born in 1863 in Ghulja, a city located in what is today the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in the northern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. Some sources suggest that he settled in Istanbul around 1900. Abdulaziz Bey worked as a writer for the newspapers Ikdam and Metin and served as an Arabic teacher and administrator in public schools, including Enderun.

Abdulaziz Bey made significant contributions to the world of scholarship with his influential works. Notable among these are Bir Çin Âlimi Nazarinda Istikbal-i Sarkin Yeni Günesi Gazi Mustafa Kemal Hazretleri and Umum Türklerin ve Bütün Insaniyetin Ittihadi, which had a considerable impact in Turkey. However, Abdulaziz Bey's lasting fame stemmed from his role in fostering relations with China and his pioneering studies on the status of Islam in Chinese regions. His works, such as Çin’de Din-i Mübîn-i Islam ve Çin Müslümanları, are especially significant for their detailed information about China and the thoughtful critiques they offer, marking substantial contributions to the understanding of the region and its Muslim communities.

As of November 2024, we can trace only three copies in the OCLC worldwide, two of them in American libraries: The University of Haifa, the University of Michigan, and HathiTrust (555349645).