SER MARCO POLO THE BOOK OF SER MARCO POLO CONCERNING THE KINGDOMS AND MARVELS OF THE EAST Sir Henry Yule's Translation, revised throughout in the light of Recent Discoveries, by Professor HENRI CORDIER. With a Memoir of Sir Henry Yule by his Daughter. With Maps and Illustrations. In Two Volumes. LONDON : JOHN MURRAY THE LO-HAN SHAN-CHU TSUN CHE. No. 100 IN THE SERIES OF THE FIVE HUNDRED LO-HAN. [Frontispiece, SER MARCO POLO NOTES AND ADDENDA TO SIR HENRY YULE'S EDITION, CONTAINING THE RESULTS OF RECENT RESEARCH AND DISCOVERY BY HENRI CORDIER in D.LITT., HON. M.R.A.S., HON. COR. M.R.G.S., HON. P.R.8.L. MEMBER OF THE INSTITOT DE FRANCE PROFESSOR AT THE ECOLB DBS LANGUES ORIENTALES VIVANTES, PARIS " EDITOR OF YULE'S MARCO POLO." WITH FRONTISPIECE LONDON JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W. 1920 370 All rights reserved PREFACE THERE is no need of a long Preface to this small book. When the third edition of the Book of Ser Marco Polo was published in 1903, criticism was lenient to the Editor of YULE'S grand work, and it was highly satisfactory to me that such competent judges as Sir Aurel STEIN and Sven HEDIN gave their approval to the remarks I made on the itineraries followed in Central Asia by the celebrated Venetian Traveller. Nevertheless occasional remarks having been made by some of the it reviewers, proper notice was taken of them ; moreover, was impossible to avoid some mistakes and omissions in a work including several hundreds of pages. As years went on, extensive voyages were under- taken by travellers like Sir Aurel STEIN, Sven HEDIN, PELLIOT, KOZLOV, and others, who brought fresh and important information. I had myself collected material from new works as they were issued and from old works which had been neglected. In the mean time I had given a second edition of Cathay and the Way Thither, having thus an opportunity to explore old ground again and add new commentaries to the book. All this material is embodied in the present volume which is to be considered but as a supplementary volume of "Addenda" and " " Corrigenda to the Book itself. I have gathered matter for a younger editor when a fourth edition of the Book of Ser Marco Polo is undertaken, age preventing the present editor to entertain the hope to be able to do the work himself. To many who lent their aid have I to give my thanks : all are named in the following pages, but I have special obligation to Sir Aurel STEIN, to Dr. B. LAUFER, of Chicago, to Sir Richard TEMPLE, and to Prof. Paul PELLIOT, of the College de France, Paris, who furnished me with some of the more important notes. A paper by Prof. E. H. PARKER in the Asiatic Quarterly Review proved also of considerable help. HENRI CORDIER. PARIS, 8, RUE DE SIAM, nth of November, 1919. A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SIR HENRY YULE'S WRITINGS. Notes [miscellaneous] by H. Yule, Mediaeval Ports of Western and Palermo, August 28th, 1872. Southern India, etc., named in (Indian Antiquary, I. 1872, the Tohfat-al-Majahidin. By Col. H. Yule, C.B., Palermo. (Indian "pp. 320-321.) Discovery of Sanskrit." By H. Antiquary, III. 1874, pp. 212-214.) Yule, Palermo, Dec. 26th, 1872. Malifattan. By Col. H. Yule, C.B., (Indian Antiquary, II. 1873, Palermo. (Indian Antiquary, IV. 1875, 8-10.) "p. 96.) pp. Sopeithes, King of the KrjKeoi." Champa. By H. Yule. (Indian By H. Yule. (Indian Antiquary, Antiquary, VI. 1877, pp. 228- II. 1873, p. 370.) 230.) From the Geog.Mag., March, The Geography of Ibn Batuta's 1877, IV. pp. 66-67. Written Travels in India. By Col. H. for the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Yule, Palermo. (Indian Anti- but omitted. quary, III. 1874, pp. 114-117, Specimen of a Discursive Glossary 209-212.) of Anglo-Indian Terms. By H. Y . The Geography of Ibn Batuta's and A. C. B. (Indian Antiquary, Travels. By Col. H. Yule, C.B. VIII. 1879, pp. 52-54, 83-86, (Ibid. pp. 242-244.) 173-176, 201-204, 231-233.) SYNOPSIS OF CONTENTS PAGE PREFACE v A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SIR HENRY YULE'S WRITINGS . vii MARCO POLO AND HIS BOOK INTRODUCTORY NOTICES . 3 PROLOGUE 13 Sarai Shang tu Khitan inscription BOOK I. ACCOUNT OF REGIONS VISITED OR HEARD OF ON THE JOURNEY FROM THE LESSER ARMENIA TO THE COURT OF THE GREAT KAAN AT CHANDU 15 Baudas Nasich Death of Mostas'im Tauris Gala Ataperistan Persia Fat-tailed sheep The Caraunas Robbers Pashai Hormos Tun-o-Kain Tutia Arbre sec Old Man of the Mountain Road to Sapurgan Dogana Badakhshan Wakhan Plateau of Pamir Paonano Pao Yue Chi Bolor Khotan Fein City of Lop Great Desert Camul Chingintalas Sukchur Campichu Etzina Tatar Karacathayans Keraits Death of Chingiz Khan Tailgan Marriage Tengri Coats of Mail Reindeer Sinju Gurun King George Tenduc Christians. BOOK II. PART I. THE KAAN, HIS COURT AND CAPITAL . .65 Nayan Fat Tzu Mongol Imperial Family Hunting Leopard Cachar Modun Bark of Trees Value of Gold Ch'ing siang Cycle of Twelve Persian. BOOK II. PART II. JOURNEY TO THE WEST AND SOUTH-WEST OF CATHAY : 75 Wine and Vines Christian Monument at Si-ngan fu Khumdan Mubupa Chien tao Sindafu Tibet Wild Oxen Kiung tu Karajang Zardandan Couvade King of Mien Burma Nga- tshaung-gyan Caugigu. BOOK II. PART III. JOURNEY SOUTHWARD THROUGH EASTERN PROVINCES OF CATHAY AND MANZI 91 Ch'ang Lu Salt Sangon Li T'an Sinjumatu Great Canal Caiju Lin Ngan Yanju Yang Chau Siege of Saianfu Fao Alans Vuju Kinsay Silky Fowls Sugar Zaitun. X SYNOPSIS OF CONTENTS. PAGE BOOK III. JAPAN, THE ARCHIPELAGO, SOUTHERN INDIA, AND THE COASTS AND ISLANDS OF THE INDIAN SEA ... 101 Nafun Japanese War Chamba Pulo Condore Locac Lawaki Pentam Tana-Malayu Malacca Sumatra Ferlec Sago Tree Angamanain Dog-headed Barbarians Ceylon Sagamoni Borcan Barlaam and Josaphat Tanjore Chinese Pagoda at Negapatam Suttees in India Maabar St. Thomas Calamina Cail Sappan Fandaraina Gozurat Two Islands called Male and Female Scotra The Rukh Giraffes Zanghibar Aden Esher Dufar Frank- incense. BOOK IV. WARS AMONG THE TARTAR PRINCES AND SOME ACCOUNT OF THE NORTHERN COUNTRIES 127 Russia APPENDICES . 131 LIST OF MSS. OF MARCO POLO'S BOOK so FAR AS THEY ARE KNOWN 133 BIBLIOGRAPHY OF MARCO POLO'S BOOK 137 BIBLIOGRAPHY OF PRINTED EDITIONS . .".'. 137 TITLES OF SUNDRY BOOKS AND PAPERS WHICH TREAT OF MARCO POLO AND HIS BOOK 139 SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE 144 ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS 144 INDEX 151 MARCO POLO AND HIS BOOK INTRODUCTORY NOTICES. MARCO POLO AND HIS BOOK. INTRODUCTORY NOTICES. Introduction, p. 6. SPEAKING of Pashai, Sir Aurel Stein (Geog.Journ^ referring to the notes and memoranda brought home by the great Venetian " traveller, has the following remarks : We have seen how accurately it reproduces information about territories difficult of access at all times, and far away from his own route. It appears to me quite impossible to believe that such exact data, learned at the very beginning of the great traveller's long wanderings, could have been reproduced by him from memory alone close on thirty years later when dictating his wonderful story to Rusticiano during his captivity at Genoa. Here, anyhow, we have definite ' proof of the use of those notes and memoranda which he had brought with him,' and which, as Ramusio's 'Preface' of 1553 tells us (see Yule, Marco Polo, I., Introduction, p. 6), Messer Marco, while prisoner of war, was believed to have had sent to him by his father from Venice. How grateful must geographer and historical student alike feel for these precious materials " having reached the illustrious prisoner safely ! Introduction, p. 10 n. KHAKHAN. "Mr. Rockhill's remarks about the title Khakhan require supplementing. Of course, the Turks did not use the term before 560 (552 was the exact year), because neither they nor ' their name ' Turk had any self-assertive existence before then, ' ' and until that year they were the iron-working slaves of the Jou-jan. The Khakhan of those last-named Tartars naturally would not allow the petty tribe of Turk to usurp his exclusive 4 INTRODUCTORY NOTICES. and supreme title. But even a century and a half before this, the ruler of the T'u-kuh-hun nomads had already borne the title of Khakhan, which (the late Dr. Bretschneider agreed with me in thinking) was originally of Tungusic and not of Turkish origin. The T'u-kuh-hun were of the same race as the half-Mongol, half-Tungusic Tobas, who ruled for two centuries over North was China. The title of Khakhan, in various bastard forms, during the tenth century used by the Kings of Khoten and Kuche, as well as by the petty Ouigour Kings of Kan Chou, Si Chou, etc." (E. H. PARKER, Asiatic Quart. Rev., Jan., 1904, pp. 139-140.) Introduction, p. 19. [The] second start [of the Venetians] from Acre took place about November, 1271. M. Langlois remarks that the last stay of the Polos at Acre was necessarily before the i8th November, 1271, date of the departure of Gregory X. for the West. Cf. Itintraires a Jerusalem et Descriptions de la Terre-Sainte rtdigts en franfais e aux XP, XII et XIII* sttcles, publ. par H. MiCHELANT et G. RAYNAUD (Geneve, 1882), pp. xxviii-xxix : " La date de 1 269, donnee seulement par un des manuscrits de la redaction de Thibaut de Cepoy, pour le premier s6jour & Acre des Polo et leur rencontre avec Tedaldo Visconti, qui allait etre e"lu pape et prendre le nom de Gregoire X., date preTree par tous les editeurs a celles evidemment errone"es de Rusticien de Pise (1260) et des huit autres manuscrits de Thibaut de Cepoy (1250 et 1260), n'est pas hors de toute discussion.