The Activities of the Uyghur Buddhists after the Mongol Period: The Background of the Creation of the Old Uyghur Manuscript of the Altun Yaruk Sudur Dated in 1687

An Old Uyghur Buddhist manuscript of the Altun Yaruk Sudur discovered in Suzhou (肅州) has attracted scholarly attention due to its exceptionally late date, 1687. This manuscript provides valuable evidence of Uyghur Buddhists activity during this late period in the Gansu (甘肅) region, rather than in Turfan, which had been the main centre of Uyghur Buddhists until the fourteenth century. Examination of the available sources indicates that, through relocations from the Turfan area, the Uyghurs established a new settlement in Gansu, where they appear to have continued their Buddhist practices.