Di Cosmo N. Ancient China and Its Enemies. The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History

Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2002, - 369p.This book presents a far more complex picture of early China and its relations with the barbarians to the North, documenting how early Chinese perceived and interacted with increasingly organized, advanced, and politically unified (and threatening) groupings of people just outside their domain. Di Cosmo explores the growing tensions between these two worlds as they became progressively more polarized, with the eventual creation of the nomadic, Hsiung-nu empire in the north and Chinese empire in the south.Part I
The Steppe Highway: The Rise of Pastoral Nomadism as a Eurasian Phenomenon
Bronze, Iron, and Gold: The Evolution of Nomadic Cultures on the Northern Frontier of ChinaPart II
Beasts and Birds: The Historical Context of Early Chinese Perceptions of the Northern Peoples
Walls and Horses: The Beginning of Historical Contacts between Horse-Riding Nomads and Chinese StatesPart III
Those Who Draw the Bow: The Rise of the Hsiung-nu Nomadic Empire and the Political Unification of the Nomads
From Peace to War: China’s Shift from Appeasement to Military EngagementPart IV
In Search of Grass and Water: Ethnography and History of the North in the Historian’s Records
Taming the North: The Rationalization of the Nomads in Ssu-ma Ch’ien’s Historical Thought