Category: Marco Polo (Page 2 of 3)

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.

Cameron DeVries

Blog Post #3

The Travels of Marco Polo: Kinsai

October 16, 2025

In the chapter entitled “From Peking to Amoy”, the city of Kinsai is one of the Great Khan’s most important cities in the South-Eastern Manzi province, and is known also as the “City of Heaven.” It is clear from the start that Marco Polo was a fan of Kinsai, as he talks about how it is the “most splendid city in the world” and “amply provided with all the means of life.” One of the first things he notices and shows interest in with this city is some of the architectural aspects, one of which seems to be a functioning system of sewers or waterways. It seems that the city is between a lake and a flowing river, and the city is filled with waterways and canals that flow from the river to the lake and pull the filth to the latter. He notes that “the whole city lies in water and surrounded by water”, so a lot of people travel throughout via boats as well as the main streets, and there are a plethora of bridges needed to traverse the city. The descriptions he gives of these architectural functions make the city sound almost like Venice, which, being an Italian merchant, could be one of the reasons he was impressed by this kind of layout across Kinsai.

He next talks about all the bustling businesses and people throughout the streets, and how there are great markets that spread across the city as well as many smaller marketplaces, businesses, and luxuries. Some that he mentions are the cold bath-houses, which the locals use to stay clean and in good health,  and “women of the town”, which I read to be a large number of prostitutes or brothels throughout the city and interestingly seem to earn the city its title of “city of Heaven” for Marco Polo. There are many other crafts as well such as doctors, astrologers, and teachers. Marco Polo once again seems very business savvy and impressed with the sheer abundance of thriving trade, even noticing the daily consumption of pepper alone, which added up to 43 cart-loads. Not to mention all of this took place in a beautiful city lined with “stately mansions with their gardens.” Not to talk too much more about the trade, but he goes on and on about the merchants and how they are “great men” that “never sold their hands with work at all, but live a life of as much refinement as if they were kings” and how their wives are “refined and angelic creatures.” This really does give a sense as to the type of people Marco Polo respects, and how he continues to be in comfort when surrounded by wealth and those that ply their trade with success. He also admires the Khan for allowing these traders to retire once they have reached said success.

This economy of trade ties directly into the people themselves in Marco Polo’s eyes, and he describes them overall as being very peaceful, honest, diligent, generous, good looking and opposed to conflict of any kind. They even seem to take very good care of the sick and poor in Kinsai. No details are specified, but given Marco Polo’s good review, one could assume that during his stay he probably took advantage of some of this luxury, and lived in comfort while he visited. While he was very impressed by a socially and architecturally sophisticated and refined city, you could also say that this point is something he was astonished by, and needed to report back on in order to convey the unexpected “wonders of the East” he was finding that even rivaled his luxuries back home.

Wrapping up thoughts on Marco Polo

As last time, most of what will be covered in this post will be what we discussed in class, specifically, on the travels of Polo from China to “Japan” and India, and the influences of Rustecello. There was a clear and definitive shift in the tone of the writing in the last chapter. Marco Polo becomes considerably more deeming of the people he encounters. Some notable facts he points out are the lack of clothes the farther away he gets from the Khan’s domain.  Additionally, he explains how these people are cannibals and eat the dead if they happen upon them. While there is still mention of goods that these people produce, and the general format of “Use paper money, are idolaters,  burn their dead, and are loyal to the Khan” is still somewhat in place,  Polo begins to abandon it in favor of the more mystical/ foreign stories he wants to tell. The reason for this can be explained by one of two options. The first (and more probable) is that Rustecello wanted to add details that would shock readers and further promote the idea that Asia was a mysterious land. This may be since on Polo’s return home, he had less to talk about. This being true, Rustecello might want to add detail to make the ending more engaging and also promote his romance style writing. The other possibility is that Marco Polo wanted to be as relentless as he was in the final chapters, but because of his ties to the Khan and the potential risk to his life by the Khan, if he demonized the Khan’s kingdom was enough to sway him not to discredit him.

Rebecca Roberts

10/9/25

Map Link:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1dFC_i5o6dFNlABaNC-yVjRnl9nmoOAs&usp=sharing

My map is categorized based on Marco Polo’s focus at each location on his journey. The blue markers (Khan-Balik, T’ai-yuan-fu, Si-ngan-fu, Ch’êng-tu-fu) are places where Polo gives a descriptive and detailed account of the location. They’re often the capitals or main trade and industry centers. The locations marked yellow (Cho-chau, P’ing-yang-fu, Ho-chung-fu) are places where Polo valued and discussed the place’s functions more than his commentary about the places. They were almost like a pitstop, and he wasn’t staying for a long time. The locations marked dark red (Kara-moran, Han-chung, Tibet) are places where Polo was focused on or impacted by its terrain and landscape.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=13531Eb_0CAQceQjtGwrNvYPxAlyzdmA&usp=sharing

This is the link to my map!

For Categories:

This may be simplifying things a bit, but for the colors of my points, I based them off of the attitude and general impression Marco Polo was giving off when he encountered a new place. This would generally be based on the people he encountered, which seemingly ruined his experience on multiple occasions. Green are for places he seemed more generally in awe of or respected, due to the wealth and society he encountered. Red are for places where his disgust in the people seemed to create a negative impression and override any natural beauty to be found, and where he notes people to live like “brutes” or “savages” or to be unbearable. Yellow are just for places he really said nothing about or were uninhabited.

Google Earth Link: https://earth.google.com/earth/d/1v7kiuzXSZ4p4Aypj01Zrl8P6ZBQ6v2wK?usp=sharing

***I am using a different translation of the text, if some city names are not familiar, it is because my version of the text is weird. Thank you for understanding!***

Red: Major Cities Kanbalu (Beijing) and Kin-sai (Hangzhou)

The red markers indicate major cities. These are distinctive cities that Polo pays extra attention to. Some notable qualities of both is that a person of great power and high imperial distinction lives there (such as the Khan), the city is large and has a great population, there is a bountiful trade market in the city, there is notable architecture, the livestock and goods are very valuable, and finally that the economy of the city and specifically the treasure belonging to the Khan. These cities serve as capitals to either the region or greater territory.

Yellow: Chan-glu (Cangzhou), Tin-gui (Changzhou), Yan-gui (Yangzhou), Non-king (Nanjing),  Sin-gui (Suzhou), Kin-sai (Hangzhou)

The yellow markers signify cities or regions that Marco Polo pays special attention to because of their economic value and output into the trade market. For instance, Chan-glu is one of his first stops going down the eastern coast of China. Polo notes the great amount of salt they produce and how they are able to harvest it from the salt-water in that area. Another notable city Polo talks about is Yan-gui which is notable for the arms and other military goods it produces for the greater area. Polo notes that because this city is so good at producing means for war, many soldiers are stationed in that part of Cathay (China).

Blue: Kara-moran (Yellow River), Singui-matu (Jining),  and The Great River Kiang (Yangtze River)

The blue markers are waypoints for any location Marco Polo travelled to that has considerable geography, specifically for boat travel and trade. The two biggest examples are Kara-moran and The Great River Kiang. Both are notable to Polo becasue of their great size which allows for many boats to sail to different parts of Cathay.  Specifically with the Kara-moran, Polo notes boats carrying their loads of goods to a port only a mile from the sea that can hold up to 15,000 boats. Additionally, the source for the water in the Kara-moran is supposed to be under the control of Prestor John, the mythical Christian king of the East.

Cameron DeVries

Blog Post #2

October 2, 2025

The Travels of Marco Polo: Shang-Tu

Marco Polo goes on and on for a long time about the Great Khan and all of his palaces, cities, and places he stays during various seasons, and I could write about any one of them. I was most interested in this city of the Khan’s, called Shang-tu (or Shangdu), because I did some research and saw that it was also known as Xanadu in the West.  I remembered from my film class when we watched Citizen Kane that Kane lived in this very opulent mansion on a hill that was called Xanadu, and it seems that the word has derived from the times of the Khan and is still used today to represent places of great beauty and wealth. For the majority of this section, this seems to be what Marco Polo is mainly focused on.

Again, Marco Polo does not seem overly concerned with the details on himself, such as the dates of his arrival or the places he stayed in. However, he does note that the Khan stayed in Shang-tu during the Summer months of June, July, and August, and based on the ways in which he tells certain stories and makes descriptions, it can be assumed that Polo was there during these months, although I am not certain. Something else to be noted about Marco Polo before getting into specifics is the fact that he came from a merchant family in Venice, Italy, so he would not be a stranger to wealth or that sort of lifestyle. It could be for this reason that he seems so attracted by and appreciative towards the decadent structures and signs of wealth that he is seeing around him, and the Khan’s lifestyle in general.

We can kind of say that Polo was focused on the buildings and the environment here, because the environment seems to consist mostly of the works of Kubilai Khan and the ways in which he has formed the city to his liking. He talks about the Khan’s great palace with all its columns, rooms, and adornments, as well as the Khan’s huge park that contains (besides another palace of its own) multitudes of species of wildlife, such as stags, leopards, and falcons. This is also the section in which Marco Polo seems to show his great interest in animals more, or maybe it is just because the Khan has so many animals to be spoken of. Marco is impressed by the tens of thousands of pure white horses, and notes how the Khan leaves this city at the end of every summer in conjunction with the ceremony of throwing his mares’ milk on the ground before he leaves, in order to appease the spirits and gain protection over his lands and subjects.

Something that seems to shock him a little more is the presence of the Bakhshi, or the “enchanters” that are called in to dispel the rainy weather when it appeared. It seems like magic and enchantments are something that Marco Polo is a little wary of, because he says he believes their spells to be the work of the Devil rather than holy work as they claim. However, he seems to get past this shock quickly and become interested in their practices; even when he is saying that they live in squalor and look ragged, he is still just saying this in his matter of fact manner, and does not seem judgmental. Similarly, for the Sien-seng people that he describes, he just states that they are “austere” after talking about how they eat only flax, own virtually nothing, and sleep on mats. Going back to the Bakhshi and how they would levitate cups up to the Khan seemingly through magic, it was funny when Marco said “What I have told you is the plain truth without a word of falsehood”, like he was trying to just convince himself, accept it, and move on. Marco Polo continues to write respectfully and in a straightforward way, and is interested in but not judgmental of those with different practices, and is pretty enchanted by the great wealth of Kubilai Khan.

As we discussed in class, Marco Polo’s book is a dramatized version of the truth.  While we have deemed this book a travel account, because of its less “character-focused” narrative, it is still a story. While Polo was in prison, he recounted his adventures to the writer Rustichello. Because of Rustichello’s “liberal” flair, he added to the book the experiences of Marco Polo may be overly excessive. Nonetheless, it should be noted, the sheer display of grandeur that is the kingdom of the Great Khan should not be seen to differ too far from the truth. Polo goes on for pages about the splendor of each castle the Khan has, along with all the riches that come with them.  Polo goes on for pages about the decor of the area and tries hard to relate the sheer amount of marvels that he has seen to the reader. In addition to the material wonders, Polo is equally impressed by the number of people within the Khan’s great dining hall.  With each person, Polo is convinced of the strong community the Khan has made around the imperial domain.

What we can infer from this information is that Polo (as noted in the previous post and in class) is obsessed with material culture since he himself is a merchant and tradesman. However, what is more impressive is Polo’s wonder and admiration for the community of the people serving the Great Khan. Polo comes from a divided Italy that is warring with itself. For him to see a vast sweeping kingdom such as the Khan’s, that is also stable, shows how he can admire another culture based on its values, even though it differs greatly from the religious values he holds.

In the opening chapter of The Travels of Marco Polo, Armenia is the first region Marco describes on his journey. He divides the area into two distinct sections of Lesser Armenia and Greater Armenia. As we discussed in class, I would describe Polo’s writing, at least in this first chapter, as a travel account rather than a travel narrative. His style is very factual, objective, and focused on details a European audience would be interested in, like geography, trade, religious affiliations, and politics.

Polo begins with his description of Lesser Armenia, focusing specifically on the bustling town of Ayas, which he describes as a “busy emporium” (46). Polo notes that goods like spices and cloth are brought to this town to be sold to merchants from cities like Venice and Genoa, who traveled there to trade. He specifically says that “…merchants and others who wish to penetrate the interior all make this town the starting-point of their journey,” meaning that Ayas functions as a gateway for merchants or other travelers to trade or purchase goods and then continue their travels (46). Polo also focuses on the religious affiliation and geographical location of Lesser Armenia. When describing the land surrounding the region, Polo mentions ships that are “…sailing to Christendom,” referring to Christian Europe. It’s important to note that Polo is commenting on religion because it’s clearly something important to not only himself but also the potential readers and intended audience of his travel writing. Towards the end of this section, Polo also briefly describes the surrounding people and their beliefs. His tone becomes more subjective when describing the Turcomans, saying that they speak a “…barbarous language,” which reflects the views of the region and politics at the time (46). It also may reflect his idea of his own status and his perspective that he is above this other race.

Polo then describes Greater Armenia and another busy city there called Erzincan, located near the entrance to the province. He highlights that this city is also important for trade and is known for making the best buckram. Other crafts are also practiced and perfected there. Polo notes the “inhabitants are Armenians and vassals of the Tartar,” meaning the people living there are ethnically Armenian, but politically subordinate to the Tartars. He finally writes that the city is the seat of an archbishop and hosts Tartars in the summertime. I think it’s important again to recognize that Polo specifically includes these details with the image of his European audience in mind and includes information about religion and politics.

Polo’s focus on geography, trade, religious affiliations, and politics in his recounting of Lesser and Greater Armenia shows more about his culture based on his observations and his purpose for recording this information. Polo’s father and uncle were distinguished and respected merchants who included young Marco Polo in their travels. Because of this background, Polo clearly understands the importance of economics and trade in other regions, and it is something he specifically pays attention to throughout his account. He also repeatedly references Christianity and Christian leadership, which may reflect his personal feelings, but also suggests that he is catering to a European audience in his mind. Polo was a well-respected writer, and in the prologue it says, “When Marco went on his mission…he paid close attention to all the novelties and curiosities that came his way, so that he might retail them to the Great Khan…he went on to recount all the…things he had seen on the way, so well…” (41). This quote shows how Polo is respected and seen as a trustworthy source, but also writes to powerful figures, which influences what he writes about and how much detail he includes. Overall, Polo’s recounting of Lesser and Greater Armenia is a powerful introduction to his journey and travel writing and reflects his unique perspective as a merchant traveler and his intent to inform his European audience, potentially interested in trade, politics, and religion of different regions.