Chapter 18 Section 4 The Arrival of Marco Polo and Ibn Batuta

The peak of the exchanges between China and the West in the Yuan Dynasty was the visit of Marco Polo (AD 1254-1324) to China.Marco Polo was a Venetian in Italy.His father Niccolo and his uncle Maffeo once went to the East to do business, and they arrived in Shangdu with the envoys of Ilkhan Hulagu and met Kublai Khan.Kublai Khan sent them to the Holy See to make contacts.When the Niccolo brothers returned to Europe, it coincided with the death of the old pope and the time when the new pope was not yet established, so they returned to their hometown of Venice first.At this time Marco Polo was already 15 years old. In 1271, he followed his father and uncle to meet the new Pope Gregory X.Then, the three of them walked with the two envoys sent by the pope and set foot on the road to the east.On the way, the two envoys were impatient and handed them the Pope's letter to Kublai Khan and the mission charter.Marco Polo, his father and uncle continued to march along the ancient silk road, and after three and a half years of trekking, they finally arrived in Kaiping (Yuan Shangdu, now east of Zhenglan Banner, Inner Mongolia) in 1275.Marco Polo was very popular in Kublai Khan's court.He has lived in China for 17 years and is often ordered to inspect various places, traveling all over the north and south of the river and inside and outside the Great Wall. In 1291, Marco Polo was ordered to escort the Mongolian princess Kuokuo Zhenyuan to marry Persia. She sailed from Quanzhou to Persia via Sumatra and India.Then, he took the Mesopotamia to the Caucasus by land, and finally returned to his hometown of Venice by boat via Constantinople.Later, Marco Polo participated in the naval battle between Venice and Genoa and was captured in the war.In prison, he dictated his oriental knowledge to fellow prisoners.Later, fellow sufferers compiled Marco Polo's dictation into a book.This is the world-famous "Marco Polo's Travels".This book is not only a bright pearl in the history of cultural exchanges between China and the West, but also has had a profound impact on world history. The situation of China's prosperity, prosperity and cultural prosperity described in it caused a sensation in Europe, which was relatively backward at that time.The book introduces Beijing, the capital of China in the Yuan Dynasty, saying:

There are so many residents in the city and the twelve city gates corresponding to the twelve city gates, and the row upon row of houses, it is really beyond imagination to know the outline.The most rare and precious things in the world can be found in this city.More items are sold here than anywhere else.According to the registration, horse-drawn carts and pack horses were used to transport raw silk to the capital at least a thousand times a day.Silk fabrics and all kinds of silk threads are produced in large quantities here. The book also records: The palace hall is magnificent and imposing, and can accommodate a large group of people to hold a banquet here.There are many discontinuous buildings in the palace. The design is reasonable, the layout is suitable, and they are very beautiful.

Outside of Beijing, "Travel Notes" introduced Zhuozhou, Taiyuan, Xi'an, Chengdu, Yunnan and other places in turn, and especially appreciated the picturesque and blossoming Jiangnan.According to the book, there are 12,000 large and small bridges in Hangzhou, and the city has a population of 1.6 million households. Silk, pepper, gold, silver, and jewelry are abundant in major cities in China. It is a miracle unheard of by Europeans.Although this information shocked the Europeans at the time as "a strange tale from beyond the sky", Marco Polo told his fellow countrymen before his death that he had not yet told half of what he had seen and heard.

Some Italians who were contemporaries of Marco Polo had come to China for trade.Since the 1950s, among the European tombs excavated and discovered in Yangzhou, Quanzhou and other places, there are Italian businessmen who came to China in the Yuan Dynasty, such as the tombstones of Cadlin and Anthony Ilioni at the South Gate of Yangzhou. from Genoa.The "Commercial Manual" compiled by Pegolo of Florence around 1340 is a business travel guide.The records about China in the book also reflected the level of Europeans' understanding of China at that time.Peglo points out: According to merchants who have been to Khitan (referring to China), the whole journey from Tana (on the Crimean Peninsula, which was one of the starting points of the land trade route leading to Central Asia and China at that time) to Khitan was safe and without danger. The time is the same as at night... There are many cities in Khitan, especially Khan Bali, where business is the most prosperous. Merchants from all over the world converge here, and department stores gather here.The city is surrounded by hundreds of miles, and the city is densely populated with a large population.

China's connection with Christian Europe in the Yuan Dynasty was partly based on its close connection with the Muslim world. In the first half of the 14th century, Chinese envoys visited Egypt and presented 700 pieces of brocade to Egypt's Sultan Nasser at that time, some of which had Sultan's name woven on them.During the Yuan Dynasty, a large number of Arabs served in the emperor's court.Axel from Syria was in charge of the astronomy and medicine departments under Kublai Khan.Another Arab, Zhansi, participated in the compilation of an important large-scale book "Jingshi Dadian" because of his high cultural accomplishment in Han Dynasty.

Just as Marco Polo's visit to China marked the peak of China's exchanges with Christian Europe in the Yuan Dynasty, the visit of the great Moroccan traveler Ibn Batuta in the Middle Ages also marked the peak of China's exchanges with the Arab world at that time.Ibn Batuta (1304-1377 AD) was a native of Tangier, Morocco. In 1325, he left his hometown, determined to travel around the world.Ibn Batuta arrived in Egypt via the Mediterranean countries in North Africa, and then traveled to the holy city of Mecca, Persia, the Arabian Peninsula and some city-states on the east coast of Africa. In 1334, he crossed the Black Sea and came to the Qinchak Khanate.Soon, he went to India via the Chahatai Khanate. In 1342, Ibn Batuta came to China from India with the envoys of the Yuan Dynasty. He was killed at sea and traveled to Maldives, Sri Lanka and other places. Later, he sailed from Bangladesh to China via Sumatra and landed in Quanzhou.He traveled to Quanzhou, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Dadu and other places in China, and left China in 1347, and went to many places, such as Spain, West Africa south of the Sahara, and so on.Ibn Batuta traveled on three continents and traveled a total of 120,000 kilometers.In 1354, under the order of the King of Morocco, he dictated his 30-year travel experience and knowledge, which was recorded in Arabic by the clerk appointed by the king, which became the famous "Ibn Batuta's Travel Notes".

In the Chinese part of the book, Ibn Batuta was deeply impressed by China's rich products and outstanding skills.He pointed out: Chinese rivers "are dotted with villages, fields, orchards, and towns along the rivers. Compared with the Nile River in Egypt, the population is more densely populated."It is rich in sucrose, grapes, plums, watermelon, wheat, yellow lentils, peas and so on.He introduced China's porcelain firing, charcoal firing, irrigation and banknote issuance, and pointed out: "Chinese porcelain is exported to India and other regions, until my hometown Maghreb. This kind of porcelain is indeed second to none in the world"; " All Chinese value gold and silverware. There is a great deal of silk production there."In short, "the Chinese have superior skills and artistic talents than other nations. This has been recognized by the world and can be found in many works. Their paintings are so exquisite that they can be said to be unique."

Ibn Batuta also recorded China's developed shipping industry and strict legal system.Before Batuta came to China, he had seen sailboats from all over the world gathered in Kozhikot, India, and there were 13 Chinese ships.He pointed out that Chinese sea ships often have four decks and can carry thousands of people. "China's waters are all sailed by Chinese ships."Ibn Batuta also highly praised China's social order based on his personal experience.He said: "For business travelers, the Chinese region is the safest and most perfect region. Even if a single traveler carries a lot of belongings and travels for several months, he can rest assured." Cavalry and infantry were in charge, as were the stations from Canton to Peking.

Ibn Batuta gave a vivid description of Chinese cities.He pointed out: Erythrina city (that is, Quanzhou, named after Erythrina trees planted all over the city after the end of Tang Dynasty) "is a huge city, and the brocade and silk produced are also named after Erythrina."He also said: "Zitong Port is one of the world's largest ports, and it can even be called the largest sea port in the world. I have seen with my own eyes that there are about a hundred large ships anchored in the port, and there are countless small ships. Here the sea stretches into the land , into a harbor, the port is connected with the big river, and becomes a natural good harbor. There are many gardens in the city, and the houses are built in the middle, which is very similar to the city of Saijlamasa in our country."The city of Saijlamasa is the hub of Morocco's southward Sahara trade route, and it is also a famous garden city in the country.There are many foreign businessmen from the Islamic world in Quanzhou.Ibn Batuta met Sailifuddin, a businessman from Persia, and others there.

Ibn Batuta called Canton Qin Kelan or Qinni Qinni.He thinks that the Pearl River flows into the sea here.He said that Guangzhou "is a big city with beautiful streets and the most prosperous porcelain industry. Porcelain is shipped from here to all parts of China, India and Yemen."He also paid special attention to the situation of Arab Muslims in various parts of China. For example, when introducing Fanfang in Guangzhou, he said: "There is a section of the city where Muslims live. There is a big mosque and a small mosque there; there are markets; there are judges and Xie He (Islamic religious leader)."

Ibn Batuta called Hangzhou his travel destination.The great traveler who traveled all over the world, visiting the courts of Delhi, India, and Cairo, Egypt, used the superlative form of adjectives to praise the prosperity and grandeur of Hangzhou City.He said: "Walking in the city is so grand that it takes three days to cross the whole city. To visit the city, you need to stay and eat."Ibn Battuta divided Hangzhou into six cities, each with a different size. In fact, each residential area has its own boundaries.Among them, Muslims live in the third city, "the urban area is beautiful, and the layout of the city streets is no different from that of Islamic areas."There are many Muslims living in the city, the most prestigious of which are the descendants of the Egyptian Osman ben Afa.Osman had many kinsmen, and his "descendants are the most famous among the Muslims here". Ibn Batuta called Beijing (wangcheng, Dadu) Khan Bali at that time.There is a special section on the Khan's palace.He said that the royal palace is located in the center of the city, and the buildings are mostly exquisitely carved wooden structures with a unique layout. There are seven gates, and the fifth gate is where the prime minister's office is located.The sixth gate is where the emperor lived.The seventh gate is guarded by young manservants.In addition to the Chinese, the guards also included Indians and Abyssinians. The unprecedented smooth communication between China and the West in the Yuan Dynasty brought about a new leap in cultural exchanges between China and the West.The advanced Chinese civilization, especially the high-quality scientific and technological achievements of China at that time, was able to spread westward to the Muslim world, and then spread to Europe through the Arabs.At the same time, the high-quality goods of the advanced Arab civilization were also introduced into China.Even European Christian culture flowed directly into China via the Arab world.