Zunun Qadiri (1911–1989) was a leading figure of twentieth century Uyghur literature. His life and career saw the Uyghur people struggle for their identity under the oppression of Chinese warlords in the Republican era, vacillating influence from Soviet Russia, and the turmoil of Maoist Communism, during which Zunun himself suffered for seventeen years in a labor camp before being “rehabilitated” and returning to writing. His work, which includes drama, fiction, poetry, and essays, draws on his rich knowledge of Uyghur literary and cultural tradition, and includes social and political criticism of the various administrations he lived under—sometimes subtle, and sometimes, as seen in “The Edict,” quite overt.