# Whistling Arrows and Heavenly Horses: The Han-Xiongnu War Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-network-529292/whistling-arrows-and-heavenly-horses-the-han-xiongnu-war Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-network-529292/whistling-arrows-and-heavenly-horses-the-han-xiongnu-war.md Podcast: [New Books Network](https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-network-529292) Published: 2026-09-02T08:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/NBNK7824302254.mp3 Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/NBNK7824302254.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/new-books-network-529292/episodes/whistling-arrows-and-heavenly-horses-the-han-xiongnu-war Duration seconds: 1940 ## Resource John Ross speaks with Scott Forbes Crawford about his book The Han-Xiongnu War, 133 BC–89 AD (Pen & Sword Military, 2024) For more than two centuries, Han China fought a bitter struggle against the Xiongnu, a powerful confederation of horse-riding nomads from the Asian steppe. This was far more than a border war. It helped shape the future of China, transformed Central Asia, and opened the routes that would become known as the Silk Road. In writing this history, Scott followed the example of China’s greatest historian, Sima Qian (the subject of BOA episode 82 ), and took a biographical approach. We learn about remarkable figures such as Modun, the ruthless founder of the Xiongnu Empire; Li Guang, the legendary “Flying General”; the explorer Zhang Qian; and Princess Jieyou, a royal diplomat/spy who spent decades advancing Han interests deep in Central Asia. Notes: The full title of Scott Crawford’s book is: The Han-Xiongnu War, 133 BC–89 AD: The Struggle of China and a Steppe Empire Told Through Its Key Figures (Pen & Sword, 2023) To learn more about Scott’s work, including his novel Silk Road Centurion, visit his website : https://www.scottforbescrawfor... The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/new-books-network-529292/episodes/whistling-arrows-and-heavenly-horses-the-han-xiongnu-war/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-network-529292/whistling-arrows-and-heavenly-horses-the-han-xiongnu-war.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.