Sui-Tang China and Its Turko-Mongol Neighbors Culture, Power, and Connections, 580-800

"Skaff has written a sophisticated study of Sui-Tang China and its northern and western neighbors that were active in the eastern half of Eurasia."--CHOICE
"This book offers a powerful rethinking of Tang China's relations with its neighbors. Where earlier analysts saw profound cultural differences between the Chinese and their nomadic rivals, Skaff brilliantly and persuasively demonstrates that a shared set of Eurasian cultural patterns underlay all their actions. Must reading for anyone interested in China's place in world history."-Valerie Hansen, Yale University
"It is impossible to gain an accurate understanding of medieval Chinese history without reference to the steppe peoples to the north and northwest of the East Asian Heartland. Jonathan Skaff's book, with its unabashedly comparative and cross-disciplinary approach, remarkably comprehensive coverage, and minutely detailed treatment, masterfully achieves this integrationist goal, without losing sight of institutional traditions and ethnic realities." --Victor H. Mair, University of Pennsylvania