| Sumario: | This essay surveys a number of fragmentary sources from Central Asia of the West Uigur Kingdom, a follower state of the powerful East Uigur Empire (744-840). Since Chinese sources are scant for the tenth to twelfth centuries, to reconstruct the history of that kingdom necessitates researching indigenous documents of its cultural heritage. Focusing on inner views, this essay looks at relations between the West Uigur royal house and the other layers of the population. On the basis of indigenous sources (colophons, inscriptions, dedications, eulogies, poems, hymns), it gives special attention to the "two orders," a concept of the relationship between state and religion. It also discusses the Old Uigur ötüg text, a new indigenous historical source that includes references to some political events. The intertwined relationships among cultures, literatures, and religions in these West Uigur sources underpin the cultural memory of Central Asia today.
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