Content area
Full Text
INNER ASIA
Ancient China and its Enemies'. The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History. By NlCOLA DI COSMO. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. ix, 369 pp. $70.00 (cloth).
The past fifteen years have witnessed a proliferation of studies on Central Asian and other frontier peoples, empires, and their relationships with the Chinese. This outstanding book, which impressively combines the latest historical scholarship, recent archaeological discoveries and interpretations, and a reevaluation of relevant ancient texts such as Sima Qian's Shiji to offer a nuanced chronicle of the rise of nomadic power in East Asian history, is a welcome addition to this growing body of literature. The central goals of the book are to identify the historical reality behind the transmitted dualism of so-called "steppe versus sown" cultures in Asian history and to reconcile archaeological evidence with transmitted textual traditions. For the most part, the author succeeds in these goals, although the early chapters of the book might be a bit overwhelming in terms of the sheer amount of detail included and would best be skimmed by those more interested in the historical side of the question. Conversely, archaeologists might feel the same about the latter chapters.
The work is divided into four parts, with two chapters in each part. The first part...