Marco Polo: A Traveller and His Tale

In 1295, Marco Polo, age forty-one, his father, Nicolo, and his uncle, Maffeo, returned to their native Venice.¹ Their return journey from the court of Kublai Khan had lasted nearly three years² , and quarter of a century had passed since the three travelers had left on their great adventure.³ Perhaps we should not call it Marco Polo's native Venice, for Marco had spent some twenty years in China, and much had happened to Venice since he had left it as a youth of fifteen. Venice was the city of his birth and boyhood, but his best years had been spent in the East. Hart expresses it well,

The friends of his late youth and his mature manhood were many thousands of miles away, dwelling in strange lands, speaking strange languages, living strange lives. The men and the women, too, who had shaped his character and who had set his criteria of life and action were but wraiths of the past. He was cut off from them forever; return to them was impossible.

Venice must have been strange to him, removed from all contacts with her and her people since boyhood, probably speaking his mother tongue with an accent born of constant use of the languages of the East. Venice in all likelihood was at first almost as foreign to him as was Cambaluc when first he rode in through its high gates and past its bastioned walls in the morning of his years. He had to begin life anew at forty, to settle down among a people whose ways were no longer his ways, whose thoughts were no longer his thoughts, to live in a sea-girt city of small islands after wandering widely up and down on the winds of the world for many years. Now he had to draw the curtains irrevocably on the glittering pageant of the medieval East with all its vivid, and perhaps romantic, memories.⁴

Marco Polo's tale was not to be written until his capture by the Genoese, presumably in 1296, during an unrecorded skirmish between Genoa and Venice.⁵ The original volume is almost unanimously considered by the various manuscripts to have been completed in 1298.⁶ Unfortunately, this original has not been found and may be lost to the world. Some eighty-five manuscripts of the the book have made it to the present and no two are the same.⁷ It is believed that the original text was written in what has been described as "barbarous French", through the aid of one Rustichello of Pisa, a fellow prisoner of the Genoese.⁸ It is a sign of Marco Polo's relatively privileged place among the prisoners that he had opportunity to prepare his book; moreover that a fellow prisoner was to help him and that he was allowed to ask for and receive from his father the notes which Marco had made in China and elsewhere during his travels.⁹ Of Rustichello, little is known, save that he had written a number of Arthurian romances before his capture; because of this the Description of the World is littered with turns of phrase better suited for mythic tales of chivalry than an account of history and geography.¹⁰ However, in a sense perhaps it is appropriate; Marco's tale is that of the longest ever recorded journey. It is certainly one of history's greatest epics, and that it be cast in the epic idiom of its time is natural. With these facts in mind as to how the tale was told, let us turn to how the adventure began.

In 1260, the brothers Nicolo and Maffeo Polo went to Constantinople to conduct trade, for they were merchants.¹¹ That they did not work through agents but did all the traveling, buying and selling involved in commerce themselves points to the conclusion that they were not very wealthy.¹² Be assured that travel by sea in that day was not pleasant in the least; those that could afford to slept on the deck, while the other unfortunates slept below where there was "a permanent loathsome odor of bilge water, and the damp sand used as ballast was generally full of decayed matter thrown there. Daubed with pitch and tar, the sides of the vessel inside and out were sticky and slimy. The cabin below deck was one long room, infested with rats, cockroaches and other vermin."¹³ Once in Constantinople, the brothers stayed for six years conducting trade.¹⁴ When the political situation became progressively more dangerous, they went to Soldaia, in the Crimea. The trade was not very good and the Polos decided to go further east, hoping to profit from trade with the Mongols there.¹⁵ Here they indeed increased their fortunes, and after a year they prepared to return to Venice. However, yet again politics interfered

[I]mpeded by the sudden breaking out of a war between him [Barka] and another chief, named Alau, who ruled over the Eastern Tartars. In a fierce and very sanguinary battle that ensued between their respective armies, Alau was victorious, in consequence of which, the roads being unsafe for travelers, the brothers could not attempt to return by the way they came; and it was recommended to them, as the only practicable mode of reaching Constantinople, to proceed in an easterly direction, by an unfrequented route, so as to skirt the limits of Barka's territories....[T]hey arrived at length at a well built city called Bokhara, in a province of that name, belonging to the dominions of Persia, and the noblest city of that kingdom, but governed by a prince whose name was Barak. Here, from inability to proceed further, they remained three years.

It happened while these brothers were in Bokhara, that a person of consequence and gifted with eminent talents made his appearance there. He was proceeding as ambassador from Alau before mentioned, to the Great Khan supreme chief of all the Tartars, named Kublai...He was gratified in a high degree at meeting and conversing with these brothers, who had now become proficients in the Tartar language; and after associating with them for several days, and finding their manners agreeable to him, he proposed to them that they should accompany him to the presence of the Great Khan, who would be pleased by their appearance at his court, which had not hitherto been visited by any person from their country; adding assurances that they would be honourably received, and recompensed with many gifts. Convinced as they were that their endeavours to return homeward would expose them to the most imminent risks, they agreed to this proposal and recommending themselves to the protection of the Almighty, they set out on their journey in the suite of the ambassador, attended by several Christian servants whom they had brought with them from Venice.¹⁶

In this way did the brothers Nicolo and Maffeo Polo make their way to the court of Kublai Khan. Marco Polo states that his father and uncle were the first Latins to arrive at the Khan's court; however records show that their visit was not unusual. In 1245, Friar John of Plano di Carpini had visited Karakorum, and wrote an account which was printed many times. In 1253, an envoy of Louis IX of France, Friar William of Rubruck, had visited Mongka Khan at Karakorum. Others at Karakorum included a Parisian goldsmith, William Buchier, who produced for Kublai a silver fountain in the form of a tree.¹⁷ Admittedly, The Polos being the first makes a better story.

Once at the Great Khan's court, the brothers were asked many questions concerning Europe; who were the rulers and what were their ranks, the extents of their lands, what forms did justice and warfare take there. The Khan also inquired deeply about the Pope, and Christianity. Kublai Khan made the Venetians his ambassadors to the Pope, to present his request for "a hundred men of learning, thoroughly acquainted with the principles of the Christian religion, as well as with the seven arts,"¹⁸ While he said he needed these men so his subjects might be converted to Christianity, this was an attempt to gather scholars to help in the rule of China.¹⁹ With this in mind perhaps it is just as well that the two uneducated friars that Pope Gregory X assigned to this mission decided to turn back when danger threatened.²⁰ When the Polos returned in 1275 they came without the learned men Khubilai had desired. However, the fact that they returned at all proved that foreigners would go to great troubles to offer homage to the Great Khan.²¹ While he didnŐt get his scholars, he did get an unexpected bonus; Marco Polo was a clever young man, intelligent and proficient in several languages, including Persian and presumably Mongolian.²² This is the way Marco described the scene

Upon their arrival they were honourably and graciously received by the Great Khan, in a full assembly of his principal officers. When they drew nigh to his person, they paid their respects by prostrating themselves on the floor. He immediately commanded them to rise, and to relate to him the circumstances of their travels, with all that had taken place in their negotiation with his Holiness the Pope.... upon his observing Marco Polo, and inquiring who he was, Nicolo made answer, "This is your servant and my son", upon which the Great Khan replied, " He is welcome, and it pleases me much," and he caused him to be enrolled amongst his attendants of honour. And on account of their return he made a great feast and rejoicing; and as long as the said brothers and Marco remained in the court of the Great Khan, they were honoured even above his own courtiers. Marco was held in high estimation and respect by all belonging to the court.²³

One question seems to always arise concerning Marco Polo's tale; Is it accurate? There are many instances that have proved that he spoke truthfully of matters that then seemed fantastic to his audience. Stones that could be burned, nuts the size of a man's head, paper money. We now know that he spoke of coal, coconuts, and examples of the printed money have been found. In the early twentieth century a number of European explorers returned to the lands described by Marco Polo; they found he had recounted matters quite truthfully.²⁴ However, there are problems in proving much that he says about China. He is not mentioned by name in Chinese sources,²⁵ some places he describes he is the only detailed source, and on occasion he is placed in places he simply could not be. Let us look at some selected examples.

Departing from [Changanor], and proceeding three days' journey in a north-easternly direction, you arrive at a city called Shandu (Shangtu), built by the Great Khan Kublai, now reigning....

The halls and chambers are all gilt, and very handsome. It presents one front towards the interior of the city, and the other towards the wall; and from each extremity of the building runs another wall to such an extent as to enclose sixteen miles in circuit of the adjoining plain, to which there is no access but through the palace....

In the centre of these grounds, where there is a beautiful grove of trees, he has built a Royal Pavilion, supported upon a colonnade of handsome pillars, gilt and varnished. Round each pillar a dragon, likewise gilt, entwines its tail, whilst its head sustains the projection of the roof, and its talons or claws extended to the right and left. The roof, like the rest, is of bamboo cane, and is so well varnished that no wet can injure it. The bamboos used for this purpose are three palms in circumference and ten fathoms in length, and being cut at the joints, are split into two equal parts, so as to form gutters, and with these, laid concave and convex, the pavilion is covered.... The building is supported on every side like a tent by more than two hundred very strong silken cords, and otherwise, from the lightness of the materials, it would be liable to oversetting by the force of high winds. The whole is constructed with so much ingenuity of contrivance that all the parts may be taken apart, removed, and again set up, at his Majesty's pleasure.²⁶

We know a great deal about its measurements and the like from contemporary sources. However, the Englishman S. W. Bushell who explored the site in 1872, and the Japanese archeologists of the 1930's could find only the scantest traces of the city's groundplan. However, countless tiles and glazed roof tile decorations have been found at the site.²⁷ It appears that only Marco's description allows us to envision what it looked like.

Then there is the question of the siege of Hsiang-yang, which supposedly Marco Polo said he took part in though he was not yet in China. In my translation I find no evidence of this account but instead there are details of a siege that Nicolo and Maffeo Polo assisted in.

Sa-Yan-Fu is a considerable city of the province of Manji, having under its jurisdiction twelve wealthy and large towns. It is a place of great commerce and extensive manufactures.... The place is amply furnished with everything that belongs to a great city, and by its uncommon strength it was enabled to stand a siege of three years; refusing to surrender to the Great Khan, even after he had obtained possession of the province of Manji.

The difficulties experienced in the siege were chiefly occasioned by the army's not being able to approach it, excepting on the northern side, the other sides being surrounded with water....

The above facts having come to the knowledge of the brothers Nicolo and Maffeo, who were then resident at the imperial court, they immediately presented themselves to the Emperor, and proposed to him that they should be allowed to construct machines, such as were made use of in the West, capable of throwing stones three hundred pounds in weight....

In a few days they [the construction team] completed their mangonels, according to the instructions furnished by the two brothers; and a trial being made of them in the presence of the Great Khan, and of his whole court,... They were then put on board of vessels, and conveyed to the army.

When set up in front of the city of Sa-yan-fu, the first stone projected by one of them fell with such weight and violence upon a building, that a great part of it was crushed, and fell to the ground. So terrified were the inhabitants by this mischief, which to them seemed to be the effect of a thunderbolt from heaven, that they immediately decided upon surrendering.²⁸

Compare this with the account of Hsiang-yang, which took nearly five years to seize, because it had all the absolute necessities in sufficient quantity.

Two Muslim engineers provided the assistance that the Mongols sought. Khubilai had turned to his nephew, the Il-Khan Abakha of Persia, for the expertise essential for crushing the resistance at Fan-ch'eng and Hsiang-yang. In 1271 Abakha responded to Khubilai's appeal by sending Isma 'il and 'Ala al-Din. After a brief stay at the Mongol court, the two Muslims in late 1272 went to the battle zone, surveyed the scene, and set to work to build war machines. They built a mangonel and a catapult capable of hurling huge rocks over a considerable distance....Fan-ch'eng fell within a few days.... [Hsiang- yang] did not submit immediately. The Muslim engineers therefore "inspected the strength of the position and set up an engine at the southeast corner of the city. The missile weighed 150 catties. When the machinery went off the noise shook heaven and earth; everything that (the missile) hit was broken and destroyed"²⁹ A siege of almost five years duration had ended...³⁰

Could these accounts be tellings of the same battle? Supposedly it took the elder Polos three years for their first return to Venice.³¹ Might they have constructed the siege engines during the first trip? Marco's account does not tell us when the battle occurred, even as little as which trip it was part of. Unfortunately, the dates with which we can associate with Marco and his family with any certainty are few and far between. Marco Polo didn't bother to include dates for many things within his travels; he was not a trained historian nor did he expect to return to Venice and definitely did not plan to write a book. Or maybe the dates got lost as scribes copied, translated and otherwise rendered his tale. The best that I can offer is that the accounts are similar. It is likely that if we stretch the dates we could place the Polos where they are needed; in some instances that appears to be the only way to provide dates for their actions. The problems raised by the accounts of the battle(s) are numerous. If they are the same battle and the Polos were involved, then how did the Muslims get into the account; only one set of siege engineers can be real. If they are not the same battle, then why could the plans used in the first one (whichever that might be) not be used for the second. Again, I think only one pair of planners can be the real ones. I can't prove which is the real account; I can't even prove whether Marco wrote the account that is in his book.

Another vexing question is that of Yan-gui, otherwise known as Yang- chau. This is what the Travels say

The city is the place of residence of one of the nobles before spoken of, who are appointed by his Majesty to the government of the provinces; and in the place of one of these, Marco Polo, by special order of the Great Khan, acted as governor of this city during the space of three years.³²

That is all he says of the city. According to Hart this was a city of 250,000 families, and is thus strange Marco doesn't say more.³³ Olschki argues that as this was a newly conquered province it is unlikely that a foreigner under thirty would be in charge.³⁴ I am not familiar with the evidence he backs his claim with. I doubt that either Marco's age or nationality would have kept Kublai from assigning him; recall that Kublai used an international group to rule China, and that among the Mongols youth was not a serious disadvantage. However, it is quite possible that Marco was not governor; several experts postulate that he was a functionary, perhaps involved with the salt monopoly.³⁵ What is known is that neither Chinese nor other sources support the claim that Marco Polo was governor,³⁶ and some versions of Marco's story don't mention it either.³⁷ The justification for why Marco Polo would call the supervision of the salt administration being governor has to do with money; revenues from salt were very large, and perhaps he considered the job worthy of the title governor.³⁸ We have to admit it would be a more apt way of informing 13th century Westerners about the power he once held, if the theory is correct.

The question is whether Marco Polo ever actually made it to China. Some scholars postulate that he did not but instead based his information on Persian sources.³⁹ I think we had best follow the advice of Herbert Franke in this matter, that is "Until definite proof has been adduced that the Polo book is a world description, where the chapters on China are taken from some other, perhaps Persian, source (some of the expressions he uses are Persian), we must give him a benefit of the doubt and assume that he was there after all"⁴⁰ While many scholars who wish to defend Marco Polo present arguments for why he doesn't mention certain things⁴¹ , I find no use of textual leads that he didn't take his stories from other sources. I believe that an important such lead is found in his treatment of Japan.

We shall here cease to treat further of these countries and islands, as well on account of their lying so far out of the way, as of my not having visited them personally, and of their not being under the dominion of the Great Khan.⁴²

In my view, if the book was a compilation, why would Marco denote one case that he did not personally witness and then not do so with such a quantity of material as China constitutes? And if he had not been in the service of the Khan, why would he mention Japan not being a part of the Khan's domains as a reason not to speak of it further? Thus, for all the problems of proving that Marco was in China, I think there are problems in saying that he wasn't. At that we must leave the questions of Marco Polo's presence in China, and return to his account. It is time for him to return to Venice.

Our Venetians having now resided many years at the imperial court, and in that time having realized considerable wealth, in jewels of value and in gold, felt a strong desire to revisit their native country, and, however honoured and caressed by the Sovereign, this sentiment was ever predominant in their minds. It became the more decidedly their object, when they reflected on the very advanced age of the Great Khan, whose death, if it should happen previously to their departure, might deprive them of that public assistance by which alone they could expect to surmount the innumerable difficulties of so long a journey, and reach their homes in safety; which on the contrary, in his lifetime, and through his favour, they might reasonably hope to accomplish.

Nicolo Polo accordingly took an opportunity one day, when he observed him to be more than usually cheerful, of throwing himself at his feet, and soliciting on the behalf of himself and his family to be indulged with his Majesty's gracious permission for their departure.... [Khan replied] he was ready to give them double of whatever they possessed, and to gratify them with honours to the extent of their desires; but that, from the regard he bore to them, he must positively refuse their petition.⁴³

Fate decided to smile on the Polos and provided them with a means of escape, in the form of a delegation from Persia to fetch a new wife for Arghun, the Il-Khan of Persia.⁴⁴ A bride was picked, the envoy made their way from Kublai's court but the were stopped by war among the Tartar princes.⁴⁵ They returned to the Khan's court, about the same time Marco returned from a sea voyage around the East Indies; the Barons wanted to get back to their land, just as the Polos wished to return to theirs. The two parties conspired to their mutual benefit

[They] should obtain an audience of the Great Khan, and represent to him with what convenience and security they might effect their return by sea, to the dominions of their master;...

Should his Majesty incline to give his consent to their adopting that mode of conveyance, they were then to urge him to suffer the three Europeans, as persons well skilled in the practice of Navigation, to accompany them until they should reach the territory of King Argon. The Great Khan upon receiving this application showed by his countenance that it was exceedingly displeasing to him, averse as he was to parting with the Venetians. Feeling nevertheless that he could not with propriety do otherwise than consent, he yielded to their entreaty. Had it not been that he found himself constrained by the importance and urgency of this peculiar case, they would never otherwise have obtained permission to withdraw themselves from his service.⁴⁶

The voyage appears to have been eventful; two of the barons and about 600 other persons died.⁴⁷ How this occurred Marco doesn't say. On their arrival they rested for nine months and then made their way to Trebizond, to Constantinople, to Negropont and finally to Venice

at which place, in the enjoyment of health and abundant riches, they safely arrived in the year 1295.

On this occasion they offered up their thanks to God, who had now been pleased to relieve them from such great fatigues, after having preserved them from innumerable perils.⁴⁸

However, it was not quite over

[T]he dogs of Venice barked as the travelers knocked on the door of their old home.

The Polos had long been thought dead, and the distant relatives who occupied the house refused admittance to the three shabby and suspicious looking gentlemen. After much questioning, finally, the travelers took advantage of a moment when the bolt was drawn and beat their way into the house, dragging their bundles with them. Other relatives were brought from various parts of Venice and after much discussing, the three Polos, who had long been counted among the dead, finally succeeded in convincing their own kindred that they were not impostors.⁴⁹

According to some accounts the proof that the travelers were the Polos was in the lavish display of wealth they made when all the old friends and kin were assembled.⁵⁰ Here Marco Polo's travels end. I think it is appropriate to end much as we began, with a statement by Hart.

Marco Polo was one of the fortunate mortals of this earth-or perhaps one of the most unfortunate. He was fortunate because Fate granted travel, wealth, and distinction, unfortunate because all these came to him in youth and early manhood. The evening of his years, instead of being a glorious sunset after a brilliant day, seems, from the evidence we have, to have been a fading into a dull and gloomy twilight, deepening into night, far from the lands where he had found joy and excitement and prominence- and , perhaps, love. Destiny decreed that people were not to believe his... tales of wonder, that his townsfolk were to make a mock and a byword of him, and that his book, born of the ardor and fire of the adventures of his best years, was to be accepted as nothing more substantial than a romance and a pleasant tale to read or hear by the fireside of a cold winter's evening, along with tales of King Arthur, Huon of Bordeaux, and Tristan and Iseult.⁵¹

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