- Harris.
[8] This direction must be understood in reference to Kathay; as it is
perfectly obvious, that the entrance here spoken of must be in the
north-east of Mangi. Supposing the C aspirated, Coigan-zu and
Hoaingan-fu, both certainly arbitrarily orthographized from the
Chinese pronunciation, are not very dissimilar. - E.
[9] Perhaps an error in transcription for Hara-moran, or Kara-moran, the
Mongul or Tartar name of the Hoang-ho, or Whang river, near, and
communicating with which, Hoaingan, or Whan-gan-fou is situated. - E.
[10] This is an obscure indication of navigable canals on each side of the
paved road of communication to the south. - E.
[11] Cin-gui, or in the Italian pronunciation, Chin, or Tsin-gui, may
possibly be Yen-tching. Tin-gui may be Sin-Yang, or Tsin-yang, to the
north-east of Yen-tching. - E.
[12] Obviously Yang-tcheou, the latter syllable being its title or
designation of rank and precedency. Marco certainly mistakes, from
distant recollection, the direction of his travels, which are very
nearly south, with a very slight deviation towards the east.
South-east would by this time have led him into the sea. - E
[13] Though called a province, this obviously refers to the city of Nankin;
the Nau-ghin of the text being probably a corruption for Nan-ghin. - E
[14] For west, we ought certainly here to read south-west. - E.
[15] Quiam, Kiang, Kian-ku, Kin-tchin-kian, or Yang-tsi-kiang. In modern
maps, there is a town on the northern shore of this river, named
Tsing-Kiang, which may possibly be the Singui of Marco, and we may
perhaps look for the Sian-fu of the Polos at Yang-tcheou, at the
southern extremity of a chain of lakes immediately to the north of the
river Kian-ku. The subject is however full of perplexity, difficulty,
and extreme uncertainty. - E.
[16] This must be Tchin-kian-fou; the three separate syllables in both of
these oral orthographies having almost precisely similar sounds;
always remembering that the soft Italian c has the power of tsh,
or our hard ch as in the English word chin, and the Italian gh
the sound of the hard English g. - E.
[17] This evinces the great policy of the military government of the
Tartars, in employing the subjugated nations in one corner of their
empire to make conquests at such enormous distances from their native
countries. The Alanians came from the country between the Euxine and
Caspian, in Long. 60 deg. E. and were here fighting Long. 135 deg. E.; above
4000 miles from home.
