Rome, China, and the Barbarians: Ethnographic Traditions and the Transformation of Empires

This book explores the similarities between the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the reunification of China in the late antique/early medieval period,analyzing the discourse of ethnic identity in historical texts to understand the transformation of the Roman world and the restoration of a unified imperial China.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 389 pages
Publication date: 09 June 2022
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

This book delves into a largely overlooked historical phenomenon that occurred during the fourth to fifth centuries AD: the simultaneous occurrence of foreign invasions, conquests, and political fragmentation in Rome and China. While the Western Roman Empire eventually collapsed, China managed to reunify itself at the end of the sixth century. The book begins by comparing earlier historiographical and ethnographic traditions in the classical Greco-Roman and Chinese worlds. It then shifts its focus to the late antique/early medieval period, which witnessed the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the reconstitution of China as a unified empire following centuries of foreign conquest and political division.

To explore the discourse of ethnic identity in the historical texts of this later period, the book includes original translations by the author. By analyzing these texts, the book aims to understand the extent to which notions of self and other, of barbarian and civilized, helped shape the transformation of the Roman world and the restoration of a unified imperial China.

The book's exploration of this historical topic offers valuable insights into the complex dynamics of power, culture, and identity that characterized these two ancient civilizations. It sheds light on the ways in which different societies responded to the challenges of globalization and intercultural interaction, and it provides a fresh perspective on the enduring legacies of Rome and China in the world today.

ISBN-13: 9781108463010