Yusuf Khass Hajib Balasaguni was an 11th-century Central AsianTurkic poet, statesman, vizier and philosopher from the city ofBalasaghun, the capital of the Kara-Khanid Khanate in modern-day Kyrgyzstan. He wrote the Kutadgu Bilig and most of what is known about him, comes from his own writings in this work. He is also referred to as Yūsuf Balasaguni, derived from his city of origin.
Background
Balasaguni's birthplace Balasagun was located at the Burana archaeological site near the present-day city of Tokmok in Northern Kyrgyzstan. His birthdate is estimated to be 1018 or 1019. His father was one of the prominent and wealthy people of that time. The young poet received his primary education in his hometown. His main influences were Avicenna, Al-Farabi and Ferdowsi. At the age of 54, Yusuf completed his work, "Kutadgu Bilig". He wrote, as he called it himself, in the Turkic language of the Karakhanid era. "Kutadgu Bilig" is the first work written in the language of the Muslim Turks during the Muslim Renaissance, as evidenced by the words of the poet at the beginning of the poem: “Yes, the Arabs, Tajiks have a lot of books As for our speech, this is only the beginning. Who is wise will appreciate this book with respect, Who has matured with reason, appreciates knowledge... "
Many Turkic-speaking peoples can rightfully consider this work as the source or the first masterpiece of their written literature of the Muslim era. Some authors believe that Yusuf allegedly died at the age of 55 and was buried in the southern part of the city of Kashgar. However, there are no direct historical sources about the date and place of death of Balasaguni.
Kutadgu Bilig
Balasaguni started to work on the Kutadgu Bilig in Balasagun and was about 50 years old when he completed it in Kashgar. After presenting the completed work to the Karakhanid Hasan ibn Sulayman - Prince of Kashgar he was awarded the title Khāṣṣ Ḥājib, an honorific similar to "Privy Chamberlain" or "Chancellor". Some scholars suspect that the prologue to the Kutadgu Bilig, which is much more overtly Islamic than the rest of the text, was not written by Yūsuf, particularly the first prologue, which is in prose, unlike the rest of the text. He died and was buried in Kashgar, 1077. The following is the excerpt from the Kutadgu Bilig; the first column is the text in the original language, but transliterated into Turkish letters. Second column is the text's Turkish translation, while the third one is its English translation.
The mausoleum of the poet in Tainap, Kashgar was erected in 1865, but it was destroyed in 1972 during the Cultural Revolution and a school was built in its place. After the death of Mao Zedong, the mausoleum was restored to its former location, and the school was transferred to another building. When restoring the mausoleum, several more unknown burials were discovered on its territory. The grave of Yusuf Balasaguni is decorated with inscriptions in Chinese, Arabic and Uyghur.
