Marco Polo

[Argeus the Paladin]

The rest of the world saw the Mongols as ravaging, pillaging and merciless steppe barbarians willing to exterminate any opposition in a heartbeat. Not Marco Polo, who actually went into the heart of the Mongol Empire, stayed there for twenty years and 'befriended' Kublai Khan, the Great Khan of them all, at least in a loose sense of the word.

Discuss Marco Polo and the impact of his "The Travels of Marco Polo" to the Age of Exploration here.

[bushbush]

well his book was hugely influential, especially his tales about the rich and prosperity of the far east (china basically). These tales inspired a lot of explorers in western europe to make plans trying to travel to the far east and trade there. Columbus was one of them; we all know what happened next.

[hellheaven1987]

One of main reasons why Europeans explored New World so feverously was because they were looking a way to China - it was a common belief that there was a water connection that connected America to China during 17th Century, and many explorers tried to be the first one to find the water path.

[Ludicus]

One of main reasons why Europeans explored New World so feverously was because they were looking a way to China - it was a common belief that there was a water connection that connected America to China during 17th Century, and many explorers tried to be the first one to find the water path.

Indeed, Cipango (Japan) and Cathay. There is a copy of the first latin editon of Marco Polo´s book in the Biblioteca Colombine at Seville in what is though to be his handwriting.

[Londinium]

The rest of the world saw the Mongols as ravaging, pillaging and merciless steppe barbarians willing to exterminate any opposition in a heartbeat. Not Marco Polo, who actually went into the heart of the Mongol Empire, stayed there for twenty years and 'befriended' Kublai Khan, the Great Khan of them all, at least in a loose sense of the word.

Discuss Marco Polo and the impact of his "The Travels of Marco Polo" to the Age of Exploration here.

The Mongols of the 'raving, pillaging and merciliess' kind were removed from Kublai's stable regime in China by a number of decades, it's like comparing apples and oranges. Especially so considering the Yuan regime was essentially a Chinese regime with Mongols at it's head. What Marco Polo was complimenting and commenting upon was Chinese civilisation, not Mongol.

[bushbush]

The Mongols of the 'raving, pillaging and merciliess' kind were removed from Kublai's stable regime in China by a number of decades, it's like comparing apples and oranges. Especially so considering the Yuan regime was essentially a Chinese regime with Mongols at it's head. What Marco Polo was complimenting and commenting upon was Chinese civilisation, not Mongol.

indeed, in fact, the northern china Marco Polo saw had declined significantly already due to years of nomadic invasion and occupation by Jin, Liao, Xia and finally the Mongols. What marco polo truly marveled was the rich and prosperity in southern china, where it had relative stability.

[Odovacar]

Marco Polo thought the mongols sympathize with christians. He personally had a good contact with them, therefore he viewed them through pink lenses. That's all.

[hellheaven1987]

Marco Polo thought the mongols sympathize with christians. He personally had a good contact with them, therefore he viewed them through pink lenses. That's all.

Marco Polo had this view probably because Kublai Khan had an opened mind for religious affair during his visit, which was unusual for Europeans of his time. Either way, Kublai Khan's intention was more for political purpose (he was planning to use all means to unify his new subjects) and a continuing Asian tradition (more opened mind for religious affair, a tradition since Tang Dynasty).

[MrMofo]

I love how Marco Polo came home after being gone for so long, and people thought he had died, and when he showed them what he had brought back with him, and told people his stories, they essentially said, "haha nice one mark, pull the other one ...."

It would have been like saying you'd gone to Mars and met the martians and brought back some of their red martian gadgets and googaws.

[The Noble Lord]

He certainly was the great traveler and he introduced far East to the medieval Europeans, but there are certain inconsistencies with his book which I read twice. I also read number of critical works that are done on Marco Polo's travels and you can't help from noticing that he didn't mention in his travel three key things that symbolize China and they are: Chinese great wall, the practice of binding feet and tea drinking.
It seems to be very suspicious that someone who spent that many years in China did not see or witness those three things been done or performed.
In conclusion, when it comes to the great explorers of that time, I find Ibn Battuta to be more realistic and truthful than Marco Polo!

[Cahir]

I also read number of critical works that are done on Marco Polo's travels and you can't help from noticing that he didn't mention in his travel three key things that symbolize China and they are: Chinese great wall, the practice of binding feet and tea drinking.

I wrote a paper on Marco Polo and in one of the monographies this was refuted sufficiently. The wall was mostly in ruins for centuries and is neiter metioned by persian travelers from the time(it was greatly rebuilt by Ming dynasty two centuries after Marco Polo). The reason why he didn't mention binding feet is because he was looked down upon as a foreigner, and given the moral code of higher class chinese, he wouldn't be even allowed to see chinese noblewomen at all. Also considered a traveling foreigner, or worse, a mongol official and occupant ( South China - Cathay was conquered only some 20 years prior to Polo's stay there) he wouldn't be intoduced to tea drinking and he probably though tea was one of the many exotic spices of the East.
Also Polo differenciates most of the time between his own material and secondhand accounts. However, I'm not arguing his work is genuine and original as it has major flaws. Just the fact he ommits those three things is not a good enough proof to dismiss his travels.

P.S.: LARNER, John. Marco Polo and the Discovery of the World. Yale : 2001.

[hellheaven1987]

He certainly was the great traveler and he introduced far East to the medieval Europeans, but there are certain inconsistencies with his book which I read twice. I also read number of critical works that are done on Marco Polo's travels and you can't help from noticing that he didn't mention in his travel three key things that symbolize China and they are: Chinese great wall, the practice of binding feet and tea drinking.

1. Great Wall was close to Mongol heartland, which most foreigners were banned to enter those region. Besides, Great Wall was, at that time, largely in ruin. The Great Wall today was rebuilt only during Ming Dynasty.

2. Practice of binding feets was also ban by Mongols during that time and not practice by Mongols. Consider Macro Polo might with Mongols more than common people, it is understandable why he probably did not see that often (after all, those who practice binding feets would be executed).

3. For tea drinking it was also quite similar binding feets - it was not a tradition of Mongols.

Overall, we have to remember that Macro Polo was a merchant, not a diplomate nor scholar.

[bushbush]

well one thing it was certain that he must have been to china was that he saw this bridge and praised it immensely. It's hard to know about this if he stayed in europe and faked the book.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lugou_Bridge

"Over this river there is a very fine stone bridge, so fine indeed, that it has very few equals in the world." - The Diary of Marco Polo