Town was originally called Karakunuz (Russian: Каракунуз, sometimes Караконыз or Караконуз), which means "black beetle" in Turkic languages.[2] The Dungans themselves used to refer to Karakunuz as Ingpan (Dungan: Инпан; Russian: Иньпан; Chinese: 營盤; pinyin: Yíngpán),[3] which is an archaic word in Chinese languages for "military camp."
From 1903 to 1918, the town was briefly renamed Nikolaevka after Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.[2] In 1965, Karakunuz was renamed Masanchi (sometimes spelt as "Masanchin"), after Magaza Masanchi or Masanchin (Dungan: Магәзы Масанчын; Chinese: 马三奇), a Dungan participant in the Communist Revolution and a Soviet Kazakhstan statesman.[2]
Demographics
Historical population
Year
Pop.
±%
1999
8,926
—
2009
13,606
+52.4%
According to the 2009 Census, the village of Masanchi had a population of 13,606 people, and the administrative district governing the village had a population of 14,502.[4] The 1999 Census reported populations of 8,926 and 9,608, respectively.[4] Of the 13,606 people in the village, 6,914 people were reported as men, and 6,692 were reported as women.[4]
On 5 February 2020, a conflict between Kazakhs and Dungans broke out over the alleged beating of an elderly Kazakh man by a Dungan man.[5] The subsequent clashes have reportedly killed 11 Dungan, caused the arrest of 47 more, and resulted in damage to local properties.[1]
^ abcJiménez-Tovar, Soledad (2016). "The Anthropologist as a Mushroom"(PDF). Field Notes and Research Projects. Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology. ISSN2193-987X. Retrieved 9 February 2020. Right after Bi Yankhu's arrival, from 1878 until 1903, the village was called 'Karakunuz', meaning 'black beetle' in local Turkic languages. Dyer (1992) believes that this was a nickname given by local Turkic-speakers to Dungans, due to the fact that Dungan women liked to wear black at that time. In 1903 the name changed to 'Nikolaevka' (after the Russian Tsar) and it changed again in 1918, when the name 'Karakunuz' was again adopted, and did not change until 1964, when, as part of the rehabilitation of Magaza Masanchi, the village was renamed after him: 'Masanchi'. Besides these official names, Masanchi also has a Dungan name, Yinpan, which appears in the left image on the wall7.
