The Perilous Frontier: Nomadic Empires and China 221 B.C. to AD 1757 (Studies in Social Discontinuity)

Around 800 BC, the Eurasian steppe underwent a profound cultural transformation that was to shape world history for the next 2,500 years: the nomadic herdsmen of Inner Asia invented cavalry which, with the use of the compound bow, gave them the means to terrorize first their neighbours and ultimately, under Chinggis Khan and his descendants, the whole of Asia and Europe. Why and how they did so, and to what effect, are the themes of this history of the nomadic tribes of Inner Asia — the Mongols, Turks, Hsiung-nu and others — collectively dubbed the Barbarians by the Chinese and the Europeans. This two thousand year history of the nomadic tribes is drawn from a wide range of sources and told with unprecedented clarity and pace. The author shows that to describe the tribes as barbaric is and was then seriously to underestimate their complexity and underlying social stability. He argues that their relationship with the Chinese was as much symbiotic as parasitic, and that they understood their dependence on a strong and settled Chinese state. He makes sense of the apparently random rise and fall of these mysterious, obscure and fascinating nomad confederacies. The Perilous Frontier Contents Editor’s Preface Preface Acknowledgements Notes on Transliterations Maps The Steppe Nomadic World The Mongol Empire 1 Introduction: The Steppe Nomadic World Steppe Political Organization and Frontier Relations Cycles of Power Cultural Ecology Nomadic Pastoralism in Inner Asia Tribal Organization The Rise of Steppe Pastoralism 2 The Steppe Tribes United: The Hsiung-nu Empire The Imperial Confederacy Foreign Affairs - The Han Connection The Hsiung-nu Civil War Wang Mang: China Tries a New Approach The Outer Frontier Strategy in Times of Turmoil The Second Hsiung-nu Civil War 3 The Collapse of Central Order: The Rise of Foreign Dynasties The Hsien-pi “Empire” The Outer Frontier Strategy Returns The Fall of Han — An End of Two Imperial Traditions Hsiung-nu Military States Manchurian Borderlands — The Rise of Dual Organization The Hsien-pi States The Other Northern States: Ch’in and Liang The T’o-pa: Third Wave Conquest The Jou-jan: Foreign Dynasties and the Steppe The Sinification of the T’o-pa Wei 4 The Turkish Empires and T’ang China The First Turkish Empire A Chinese Khaghan The Rise and Fall of the Second Turkish Empire The Uighur Empire A Steppe Civilization 5 The Manchurian Candidates The Collapse of Central Authority on the Steppe and in China The Khitan Liao Dynasty The Jurchen Chin Dynasty Conquers North China The Steppe Divided 6 The Mongol Empire The Rise of Chinggis Khan Mongol Political Organization The Mongol Conquests Mongol Strategy and Policy Political Succession in the Mongol Empire The Yüan Dynasty The Dissolution of Yüan China 7 Steppe Wolves and Forest ‘Tigers: The Ming, Mongols, and Manchus Cycles of Power Mongolia in the Post-Yüan Era The Oirats and the Ming Return of the Eastern Mongols Altan Khan and the Ming Capitulation The Rise of the Manchus The Early Ch’ing State 8 The Last of the Nomad Empires: The Ch’ing Incorporation of Mongolia and Zungharia The Manchu Conquest of China Ch’ing Frontier Policy The Zunghars — Last of the Steppe Empires 9 Epilogue: On the Decline of the Mongols Bibliography Index Around 800 BC, the Eurasian steppe underwent a profound cultural transformation that was to shape world history for the next 2,500 years: the nomadic herdsmen of Inner Asia invented cavalry which, with the use of the compound bow, gave them the means to terrorize first their neighbors and ultimately, under Chingis Khan and his descendants, the whole of Asia and Europe. Why and how they did so and to what effect are the themes of this history of the nomadic tribes of Inner Asia - the Mongols, Turks, Uighurs and others, collectively dubbed the Barbarians by the Chinese and the Europeans. This two-thousand year history of the nomadic tribes is drawn from a wide range of sources and told with unprecedented clarity and pace. The author shows that to describe the tribes as barbaric is seriously to underestimate their complexity and underlying social stability. He argues that their relationship with the Chinese was as much symbiotic as parasitic and that they understood their dependence on a strong and settled Chinese state. He makes sense of the apparently random rise and fall of these mysterious, obscure and fascinating nomad confederacies. Introduction: The Steppe Nomadic World -- The Steppe Tribes United; The Hsiung-nu Empire -- The Collapse Of The Central Order: The Rise Of Foreign Dynasties -- The Turkish Empires And T'ang China -- The Manchurian Candidates -- The Mongol Empire -- Steppe Wolves And Forest Tigers: The Ming, Mongols, And Manchus -- The Last Of The Nomad Empires: The Ch'ing Incorporation Of Mongolia And Zungharia -- Epilogue: On The Decline Of The Mongols. Thomas J. Barfield. Bibliography: P. [304]-312. The author employs anthropology and history to analyze the relationship between China and the tribal peoples of Inner Asia. Barfield explains why, in spite of their small numbers and poorly developed economies, the tribal nomads established large empires that threatened the security of China. * As is an anthropologist, Barfield succeeds in testing abstract models of society against the detailed historical record* The author has an accessible, narrative style. .