education. A prominent Hunan Uyghur was Jian Bozan (1898–1968) who was a member of the Chinese Communist Party. The Uyghur troops led by Hala were ordered by the Ming Emperor to crush Miao rebellions and were given titles by him. Jian () is the predominant surname among the Uyghur in Changde, and Hunan. Hala Bashi was given the title "Grand General of South-Pacifying Post of the Nation" by the Emperor () Another group of Uyghur have the surname Sai. Hui and Uyghur have intermarried in the Hunan area, and the Hui were also used by the Ming Emperor to crush revolts. The Hui are regarded as ethnically Han Chinese, who share the Islamic religion with the Uyghur in Hunan. It is reported that they now number around 10,000 people. Religious practice There is some confusion as to whether Uyghurs in Changde practice Islam or not. Some scholars state that they have assimilated with the Han and do not practice Islam anymore, and that only their genealogies indicate their Uyghur ancestry. Chinese news sources report that they are Muslim. Another report says they are not very religious, and eat pork. Older Uygurs disapprove of this, especially elders at the mosques in Changde, and they seek to draw them back to Islamic customs. In addition to eating pork, the Uygurs of Changde Hunan practice other Han Chinese customs, like ancestor worship at graves. Some Uyghurs from Xinjiang visit the Hunan Uyghurs out of curiosity or interest. Also, the Uyghurs of Hunan do not speak the Uyghur language, instead, they speak Chinese as their native language, and Arabic for religious reasons at the mosque. Language The Taoyuan dialect was profoundly influenced by the northern dialect since the path used by government messengers, speaking the northern dialect, travelling to Yunnan and Guizhou from the Song to the Qing dynasty, passed through Taoyuan. It was also influenced by the dialects of central Jiangxi since substantial numbers of people from Jishui, Zhangshu, and Fengcheng of Jiangxi relocated to Taoyuan in succession from the Ming dynasty to the early Qing dynasty. There are two types of accents in the Taoyuan dialect, one of which is called the native accent spoken in the central area of Taoyuan, including Zhangjiang Town, Zoushi Town, Qihe Town, Sanyanggang Town, and part of Jianshi Town; the other is called the periphery accent, spoken in the strip area bordering the other counties. Taoyuan