Preserved from generation to generation because the
original, Marco Polo, was a friend to their race. The thirteenth-century
European had no monopoly of ability to make himself loved and reverenced.
A position similar to that which he won as an individual is open to-day to
the Anglo-Saxon as a race. But the Mongolian was not afraid of Marco Polo,
and he is afraid of us. It can be attained, therefore, only by fair
dealing and sympathy, supported by an overwhelming preponderance of
fighting strength."
[Dr. Laufer reproduces here the note in Marco Polo, I., p. 76. I may
remark that I never said nor believed that the statue was Polo's. The
mosaic at Genoa is a fancy portrait.]
The question may be raised, however, Are there any traces of foreign
influence displayed in this statue? The only way of solving this problem
seemed to me the following: First to determine the number and the name of
the alleged Marco Polo Lo-han at Canton, and then by means of this number
to trace him in the series of pictures of the traditional 500 Lo-han (the
so-called Lo han t'u).
The alleged Marco Polo Lo-han bears the number 100, and his name is
Shan-chu tsun-che (tsun-che being a translation of Sanskrit arya,
"holy, reverend"). The name Shan-chu evidently represents the rendering of
a Sanskrit name, and does not suggest a European name. The illustration
here reproduced is Lo-han No. 100 from a series of stone-engravings in the
temple T'ien-ning on the West Lake near Hang Chau. It will be noticed that
it agrees very well with the statue figured by M. Cordier. In every respect
it bears the features of an Indian Lo-han, with one exception, and this is
the curious hat. This, in fact, is the only Lo-han among the five hundred
that is equipped with a headgear; and the hat, as is well known, is not
found in India. This hat must represent a more or less arbitrary addition
of the Chinese artist who created the group, and it is this hat which led
to the speculations regarding the Portuguese sailor or Marco Polo. Certain
it is also that such a type of hat does not occur in China; but it seems
idle to speculate as to its origin, as long as we have no positive
information on the intentions of the artist. The striped mantle of the
Lo-han is by no means singular, for it occurs with seventeen others. The
facts simply amount to this, that the figure in question does not represent
a Portuguese sailor or Marco Polo or any other European, but solely an
Indian Lo-han (Arhat), while the peculiar hat remains to be explained.
Introduction, p. 92.
THIBAUT DE CHEPOY.
Thibaut de Chepoy (Chepoy, canton of Breteuil, Oise), son of the knight
Jean de Chepoy, was one of the chief captains of King Philip the Fair. He
entered the king's service in 1285 as squire and valet; went subsequently
to Robert d'Artois, who placed him in charge of the castle of Saint Omer,
and took him, in 1296, to Gascony to fight the English. He was afterwards
grand master of the cross-bow men. He then entered the service of Charles
de Valois, brother of Philip the Fair, who sent him to Constantinople to
support the claims to the throne of his wife, Catherine of Courtenay.
Thibaut left Paris on the 9th Sept., 1306, passed through Venice, where he
met Marco Polo who gave him a copy of his manuscript. Thibaut died between
22nd May, 1311, and 22nd March, 1312. (See Joseph PETIT, in Le Moyen
Age, Paris, 1897, pp. 224-239.)
THE BOOK OF MARCO POLO.
PROLOGUE
II., p. 6.
SARAI.
"Cordier (Yule) identifiziert den von Pegolotti gewaehlten Namen Saeracanco
mit dem juengeren Sarai oder Zarew (dem Sarai grande Fra Mauros), was mir
vollkommen untunlich erscheint; es waere dann die Route des Reisenden
geradezu ein Zickzackweg gewesen, der durch nichts zu rechtfertigen waere."
(Dr. Ed. FRIEDMANN, Pegolotti, p. 14.)
Prof. Pelliot writes to me: "Il n'y a aucune possibilite de retrouver dans
Saracanco, Sarai + Kunk. Le mot Kunk n'est pas autrement
atteste, et la construction mongole ou turque exigerait kunk-sarai."
XIII., pp. 25-26.
SHANG TU.
See also A. POZDNEIEV, Mongoliya i Mongoly, II., pp. 303 seq.
XV., pp. 27, 28-30. Now it came that Marco, the son of Messer Nicolo, sped
wondrously in learning the customs of the Tartars, as well as their
language, their manner of writing, and their practice of war - in fact he
came in a brief space to know several languages, and four sundry written
characters.
On the linguistic office called Sse yi kwan, cf. an interesting
note by H. MASPERO, p. 8, of Bul. Ecole franc. Ext. Orient,
XII., No. 1, 1912.
XV., p. 28 n. Of the Khitan but one inscription was known and no key.
Prof. Pelliot remarks, Bul. Ecole franc. Ext. Orient, IV., July-Sept.,
1904: "In fact a Chinese work has preserved but five k'i-tan characters,
however with the Chinese translation." He writes to me that we do not know
any k'itan inscription, but half a dozen characters reproduced in a work
of the second half of the fourteenth century. The Uighur alphabet is of
Aramean origin through Sogdian; from this point of view, it is not
necessary to call for Estranghelo, nor Nestorian propaganda. On the other
hand we have to-day documents in Uighur writing older than the Kudatku
Bilik.
BOOK FIRST.
ACCOUNT OF REGIONS VISITED OR HEARD OF ON THE JOURNEY FROM THE LESSER
ARMENIA TO THE COURT OF THE GREAT KAAN AT CHANDU.
BOOK I.
VI., p. 63. "There is also on the river, as you go from Baudas to Kisi, a
great city called Bastra, surrounded by woods, in which grow the best
dates in the world."
"The products of the country are camels, sheep and dates." (At Pi-ssi-lo,
Basra.
