The Western Regions, Xiongnu and Han

Book excerpt: The chapters in this book document the plight of the small states in the Western Regions, the perennial struggle of Han China to contain the unending incursions of the Xiongnu into their land and the Xiongnu's belligerent and bellicose tactics for survival through the only means they knew - looting and plundering. Through centuries of geopolitics and interactions of over three entities, the great trade routes between ancient China, Central Asia and the West came into being. Dr. Jan Walls, Professor Emeritus in Humanities, Simon Fraser University, "This volume of translations from the chapters of the Shiji, the Hanshu and the Hou Hanshu can be considered as the Causal Nexus of the trade routes from the very beginning at the time of Emperor Gaozu of Han to the end of Eastern Han. "This book will be both a useful reference tool and source of diverse Chinese perspectives and interpretations of Han Dynasty relations with the peoples of the Western Regions and with the notorious Huns (Xiongnu) in particular. The author/translator offers well-annotated maps of Central Asia, the Western Regions, the Han and Xiongnu territories as well as commentaries on historical contexts and previous publications on this topic. This is a thorough piece of research, competently translated into English, and Joseph Yap is to be congratulated for his achievement."