It Survives In
Persian And Turki In The Senses Both Of A Post-House And A Post-Horse, And
In Russia, In The Former Sense, Is A Relic Of The Mongol Dominion.
The
ambassadors of Shah Rukh, on arriving at Sukchu, were lodged in the
Yam-Khana, or post-house, by the city gate; and they found ninety-nine
such Yams between Sukchu and Khanbaligh, at each of which they were
supplied with provisions, servants, beds, night-clothes, etc.
Odoric
likewise speaks of the hostelries called Yam, and Rubruquis applies the
same term to quarters in the imperial camp, which were assigned for the
lodgment of ambassadors. (Cathay, ccii. 137; Rubr. 310.)
[Mr. Rockhill (Rubruck, 101, note) says that these post-stations were
established by Okkodai in 1234 throughout the Mongol empire. (D'Ohsson,
ii. 63.) Dr. G. Schlegel (T'oung Pao, II. 1891, 265, note) observes that
iam is not, as Pauthier supposed, a contraction of yi-ma, horse
post-house (yi-ma means post-horse, and Pauthier makes a mistake), but
represents the Chinese character [Chinese], pronounced at present chan,
which means in fact a road station, a post. In Annamite, this character
[Chinese] is pronounced tram, and it means, according to Bonet's Dict.
Annamite-Francais: "Relais de poste, station de repos." (See
Bretschneider, Med. Res. I. p. 187 note.) - H. C.]
NOTE 3. - Martini and Magaillans, in the 17th century, give nearly the same
account of the government hostelries.
NOTE 4. - Here Ramusio has this digression: "Should any one find it
difficult to understand how there should be such a population as all this
implies, and how they can subsist, the answer is that all the Idolaters,
and Saracens as well, take six, eight, or ten wives apiece when they can
afford it, and beget an infinity of children.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 1205 of 1256
Words from 328046 to 328345
of 342071
