Nomad's Choice

☆Xu Zhuoyun, Wang Mingming, Luo Feng, Rong Xinjiang, and others enthusiastically recommend this classic work that spans history and anthropology☆The Xiongnu of the Mongolian Plateau | The Western Qiang in the Plateau River Valley | The Xianbei and Wuhuan in the Forest Steppes☆Exploring three major nomadic societies and their interactions with the Han Empire to re-understand the development trajectory of ethnic groups and nation-states
---------------
Drawing on anthropological research findings and approaches to nomadic societies, combined with methods from history, philology, geography, and other disciplines, Professor Wang Mingke examined the early nomadic societies of northern China—the Xiongnu, the Western Qiang, the Xianbei, and the Wuhuan during the Han Dynasty. He explored the environmental ecology, animal ecology and husbandry, economic activities, social organization, and the relationship between nomadic and settled populations of these three nomadic tribes, as well as their interactions with the Han Empire.
The nomads' seemingly "free" choices were actually forced survival choices made under certain circumstances. The development of an ethnic group cannot be judged by its superiority or inferiority; rather, it is a state of affairs determined by its environment and internal social structure. Through meticulous historical research and dialectical discussion, Professor Wang Mingke hopes to foster a new understanding of the historical relationships between ethnic groups and reframe the trajectory of their development, both within and beyond the nation-state.
---------------
Wang Mingke's insight into the subtle relationship between ethnic identity and community consciousness extends beyond the traditional methods of Chinese ethnographic field reporting, broadening the scope of his research to encompass both reporting and interpretation. This book, spanning history, anthropology, and geography, is a valuable work.
Xu Zhuoyun: The most important academic achievement of our time is to point out the flawed nature of describing Chinese society in terms of a settled rural landscape. The "Chinese rural sedentary theory" obliterates many "alternative elements" in our historical experience. This book presents the various forms of nomadic society in northern China during the Han Dynasty, making the Xiongnu, Western Qiang, Donghu, and their descendants, long considered "others," a step in our self-understanding.
No ancient empire boasted as many nomadic peoples as China; no other written language preserves as rich a record of nomadic peoples as the Chinese. Yet, today, the study of nomadic peoples is the province of Western, Russian, and Japanese scholars. After reading this remarkable and unique work, we can declare with some pride that the study of the nomadic world has finally gained a share of Chinese experience—from the theoretical to the microcosmic.
The author deconstructs the one-sided accounts of older historians while also carefully considering the research findings of predecessors to avoid overreaching. Drawing on years of personal observation and experience of nomadic society, combined with a deep familiarity with Chinese historical documents and archaeological materials, this book can be considered a more comprehensive work by Wang Mingke, a classic that straddles the boundaries of history and anthropology.
While historical events, or so-called "historical facts," are certainly important, the "reflective research" in this book isn't aimed solely at "reconstructing historical events and arranging their causal relationships." Rather, it aims to trace the roots of a series of related historical events back to the resource boundaries of the Central Plains dynasties, the diverse human economic ecologies of various nomadic peoples, and the interrelationships between them. It's precisely because of this lofty purpose that the book is so insightful and engaging.
——Yao Dali

2018-06-30

上海人民出版社

Century Wenjing

352

9787208150683