Book excerpt: This volume of - Wars with the Xiongnu is about a nomadic confederation - the Kingdom of Xiongnu to the north of ancient China, most notably for the relentless, atrocious and bloodletting wars that lasted for over two centuries with the mighty Han dynasty, comparable in size and power as Rome during its height. The roaming Xiongnu people, so powerful boasted of having a kingdom striding from Eastern Siberia to the west at the Altai Mountains in Central Asia, with territories so vast - even larger than the mighty Han at its zenith, were a wrath to its immediate neighbours for a period of no less than six centuries; yet with an estimated population of only one and a half million they were able to hold the Han Kingdom, during its height of fifty million people at bay. The powerful nomadic Kingdom rose to power from the midst of nowhere, reached its zenith, ran its course, its vitality and vigour spent, declined and vanished into oblivion without so much as a trace in the mists of time, albeit burial remains and textual references, predominantly from Chinese textual sources. This captivating page of history has prompted many eastern and western scholars to make in-depth studies into these fascinating people. Sushi tonguing, the text which this translation is based, does not offer us with any satisfactory explanations to the vicissitudes of the mighty kingdom, nonetheless there are clues and evidence throughout the text, the reader is encouraged to make his or her own hypothesis and conclusions. The accounts in the book are direct translations from the narratives of Sushi tonguing, the first time this part of the text that has been translated into English.