From the Kegan Paul classic collection this is the definitive history of theTartars up to the conquests of Ghengis Khan as seen by the Chinese usingoriginal Chi... » 

From the Kegan Paul classic collection this is the definitive history of theTartars up to the conquests of Ghengis Khan as seen by the Chinese usingoriginal Chinese histories. Beginning with the first Chinese references to thenomads whose country was on the back of a horse Professor Parker traces therise and fall of the seven great Tartar empires who fought the Chinese forcontrol of North China for a thousand years. Here are to be found the bestaccounts of the adventurous warriors and bannermen whose proud traditions werepassed down to their Manchu descendents the last rulers of imperial China.Famous battles ingenious military strategies dynastic struggles ritualsacrifices royal intrigues and the rivalries of the Tartar harems aredescribed in detail as is the Tartar way of life in which children weretaught to ride from infancy and to believe that force was their only law. Witha full index and five maps this is a key work for readers interested in theearly history of Eurasia and in a legendary people who remain a subject ofenduring fascination. «