with the start of the revolt in gansu and shaanxi in 1862, rumors spread among the hui (dungans) of xinjiang that the qing authorities were preparing a wholesale preemptive slaughter of the hui people in xinjiang, or in a particular community. opinions as to the veracity of these rumors vary: while the tongzhi emperor described them as "absurd" in his edict of september25, 1864, muslim historians generally believe that massacres were indeed planned, if not by the imperial government then by various local authorities. thus it was the dungans who usually revolted in most xinjiang towns, although the local turkic peopletaranchis, kyrgyzs, and kazakhswould usually quickly join the fray.