The pastoral tribes on China's northern borders played a major role in the cultural development of China during antiquity. By the first millennium B.C., the region's inhabitants were trading in horses, wool, carpets, & fur -- articles in constant demand by their settled, urban Chinese neighbors. The artistic creations of the two groups reflect centuries of flourishing contact & complex interrelationships. Recently excavated finds are enabling scholars to describe a plausible picture of contact, trade, & intercultural influence. In this book, Chinese & pastoral artifacts are studied & illustrated side by side in light of the most recent archaeological discoveries. Illustrations.