Ancient China and its Enemies

Relations between Inner Asian nomads and Chinese are a continuous theme throughout Chinese history, reaching particularly dramatic dimensions with the Mongol (1279-1368) and Manchu (1644-1912) conquests. Nicola Di Cosmo's study is part of a wave of new, revisionist scholarship made possible by important recent archaeological findings in China, Mongolia, and Central Asia that can now be compared to the historical record. In Ancient China and Its Nomadic Enemies, Di Cosmo explores the origins of the cultural and political tensions along China's northern frontiers through the first millennium B.C. Di Cosmo places the rise of pastoral nomadism to the North of China within the context of a larger phenomenon rising from the steppes of Central Asia. In doing so, he analyzes the ethnic, cultural, and political frontiers between nomads and Chinese and considers the cultural perceptions of "others" within a historical context. Di Cosmo assesses the work of Ssu-ma Ch'ien, the "Grand Historian" who wrote the first narrative of the northern nomads in Chinese history, by scrutinizing his motives, methods, and interpretation. Ancient China and Its Nomadic Enemies's new interpretation of well-known historical events will intrigue ancient history scholars, China historians, and archaeologists. Nicola Di Cosmo is Lecturer of Chinese History at the University of Canterbury, in Christchurch, New Zealand. Until recently, he was Associate Professor of Chinese and Inner Asian History in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University. He has published articles in a number of academic journals and is the Book Review Editor for the Inner Asia section of the Journal of Asian Studies and Editor in Charge of the Inner Asian section of the Journal of East Asian Archaeology.