When Marco Polo begins chapter two, he is starting to enter the Cathay region, hence the title, “The Road to Cathay.” One of the stops he describes along his route is “Kan-chu”, a large city in the Tangut province and the capital. He first notes that this province is located in the east-northeast, and that it takes ten days to travel to. At the end of the ten days, the traveler arrives at “Su-chau,” which is a province that forms part of the major province of Tangut. Polo describes this area as a very mountainous region with a healthy climate. He specifically notes that the inhabitants are brown-skinned. He also says that rhubarb grows in abundance there and is specifically bought by merchants who export it. He says the people here live off the produce and don’t deal with trade. I find it very insightful that Polo takes note of this, as trade continues to mean a lot to him as a merchant himself.

Upon reaching Kan-chu, Polo identifies it as the capital of the province and begins to describe its inhabitants. He says most of them are “idolaters,” a term used by the European Christian culture to describe or condemn individuals who worshiped gods or images rather than following Christianity or Islam. He does note that some are Mahometan or Christian. Polo describes the idolaters as having a vast quantity of idols, and that they are big and recumbent. Polo then spends a significant amount of time explaining the customs of the idolaters. Idolaters “…who live under a religious rule lead more virtuous lives than the others” (91). It’s important that he takes note of Christianity still being somewhat prevalent in Kan-chu, because it reassures his audience that there is Christianity in this part of the world and gives them something to relate to.

He cites specifically that the idolaters avoid lechery, or excessive lust. However, he adds that women may initiate relations with men without sin, while men who make the first advances are punished severely. They were punished, sometimes even with death, for their “unnatural” acts. He describes how the idolaters mark time by lunar cycles as we distinguish months. During one cycle, all idolaters don’t kill or eat animals and strive to live more virtuously, with some abstaining from consuming meat all their lives. Polo can recognize the moral difference and discipline in these acts, but his tolerance fades regarding marriage customs. He notes that men can have up to thirty wives or more, depending on wealth, and they must give wives a marriage portion in cattle, slaves, and money. The first wife holds the highest status, and if a wife displeases her husband, he can “put her away and do as he likes” (Polo). Polo is particularly disturbed by marriages between cousins or between men and their fathers’ widows, which he considers sinful. He writes, “many we regard as sins are not sins to them, they are beasts” (Polo). I find it particularly interesting that he uses language like “beasts,” because it is in his language that we can see how he feels about these natives and how weird he finds their marriage customs. Clearly, religion and the common marriage associated with it are important to Polo. His experiences and understanding of this place and his travels are filtered through his identities, like being a merchant or a Christian.