Ancient China and its Enemies
The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History

This 2002 book investigates the origins of the antagonism between early China and its 'barbarian' northern neighbours.

Nicola Di Cosmo (Author)

9780521770644, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 25 February 2002

380 pages
23.7 x 16.2 x 2.4 cm, 0.73 kg

'… does an excellent job of synthesizing known facts drawn from archaeology and geography with various theories on the emergence of nomadic steppe culture. Particularly valuable is the extensive use of Chinese-language archaeological reports, and the map on pp.60-61 is an excellent aid … This is an excellent book packed with information and insightful analysis'. Journal of Social Anthropology

Relations between Inner Asian nomads and Chinese are a continuous theme throughout Chinese history. By investigating the formation of nomadic cultures, by analyzing the evolution of patterns of interaction along China's frontiers, and by exploring how this interaction was recorded in historiography, this looks at the origins of the cultural and political tensions between these two civilizations through the first millennium BC. The main purpose of the book is to analyze ethnic, cultural, and political frontiers between nomads and Chinese in the historical contexts that led to their formation, and to look at cultural perceptions of 'others' as a function of the same historical process. Based on both archaeological and textual sources, this 2002 book also introduces a new methodological approach to Chinese frontier history, which combines extensive factual data with a careful scrutiny of the motives, methods, and general conception of history that informed the Chinese historian Ssu-ma Ch'ien.

Introduction
Part I: 1. The Steppe Highway: the rise of pastoral nomadism as a Eurasian phenomenon
2. Bronze, iron and gold: the evolution of nomadic cultures on the northern frontier of China
Part II: 3. Beasts and birds: the historical context of early Chinese perceptions of northern peoples
4. Walls and horses: the beginning of historical contacts between horse-riding Nomads and Chinese states
Part III: 5. Those who draw the bow: the rise of the Hsiung-nu Nomadic Empire and the political unification of the Nomads
6. From peace to war: China's shift from appeasement to military engagement
Part IV: 7. In search of grass and water: ethnography and history of the North in the Historian's Records
8. Taming the North: the rationalization of the nomads in Ssu-ma Ch'ien's historical thought
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Archaeology by period / region [HDD], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA], Asian history [HBJF]