"In contemporary Western academic publications, the name ‘Tangut’ refers almost exclusively to the dominant ethnic group of a so-called ‘conquest dynasty’, best known by its Chinese name, the Xixia 西夏 (‘Western Xia’; 1038-1227). However, the name has had different connotations for our medieval and early modern forebears, which might prompt the question: What did medieval and early modern Europeans mean when they used the name ‘Tangut’? Given its present-day use, a corollary question ought to be: Did medieval and early modern Europeans have a similar understanding, or concept, of the Xixia Tanguts as we do today? It is this thesis’s main contention that the name ‘Tangut’ and the early understanding of this name in Europe stems from the same source as our current conception, that is, a Mongolian ethnonym cum toponym. Yet, in Europe it was long understood as mostly a toponym and it was not clearly connected to the concept of the Xixia Tanguts. Indeed, it will be argued that the Tanguts of the Xia are, albeit surprisingly, largely absent in early European descriptions of Chinese and Mongol history, compared to other ethno-historical references in European sources."

Keywords (provided by Leiden record): Tangut - Orientalism - septentrionalism - Polo - toponymy - Xixia - Xia - Kircher - Grueber - Jesuit.
Local access dig.pdf. [Jong-Xixia Tanguts.pdf]

"The empire of the Qara Khitai, which was one of the least known and most fascinating dynasties in the history of Central Asia, existed for nearly a century before it was conquered by the Mongols in 1218. Arriving in Central Asia from China, the Qara Khitai ruled over a mostly Muslim population. Their history affords a unique window onto the extensive cross-cultural contacts between China, Inner Asian nomads and the Muslim world in the period preceding the rise of Chinggis Khan. Using an extensive corpus of Muslim and Chinese sources, Michal Biran comprehensively examines the political, institutional and cultural histories of the Qara Khitai for the first time. The book represents a groundbreaking contribution to the field of Eurasian history for students of the Islamic world, China and Central Asia."--Jacket.

Contents: pt. 1. Political history: From Liao to Western Liao: Yelü Dashi and the establishment of the Qara Khitai empire ; The quiet period--the reign of Yelü Yilie and the empresses ; The fall: between the Khwārazm Shāh and the Mongols -- pt. 2. Aspects of cultural and institutional history: China ; Nomads ; Islam.

Taibei edition info: Jianqiao Zhongguo shi / Denis Twitchett, John K. Fairbank zhubian ; Han Fuzhi zhuyi, Gao Mingshi zongjiaoding 劍橋中國史 / Denis Twitchett, John K. Fairbank 主編 ; 韓復智主譯 ; 高明士總校訂.

English ed. contents: The Liao / Denis Twitchett and Klaus-Peter Tietze -- The Hsi Hsia / Ruth Dunnel -- The Chin dynasty / Herbert Franke -- The rise of the Mongolian empire and Mongolian rule in north China / Thomas Allsen -- The reign of Khubilai khan / Morris Rossabi -- Mid-Yuan politics / Hsiao Ch'i-Ch'ing -- Shun-ti and the end of Yuan rule in China / John Dardess -- The Yuan government and society / Elizabeth Endicott-West -- Chinese society under Mongol rule, 1215-1368 / Frederick W. Mote. rule, 1949-1982.