And 'tis thus that travellers in those parts do
deliver themselves from those lions.
They have a good deal of silk and other products which are carried up and
down, by the river of which we spoke, into various quarters.[NOTE 5]
You travel along the river for twelve days more, finding a good many towns
all along, and the people always Idolaters, and subject to the Great Kaan,
with paper-money current, and living by trade and handicrafts. There are
also plenty of fighting men. And after travelling those twelve days you
arrive at the city of Sindafu of which we spoke in this book some time
ago.[NOTE 6]
From Sindafu you set out again and travel some 70 days through the
provinces and cities and towns which we have already visited, and all
which have been already particularly spoken of in our Book. At the end of
those 70 days you come to Juju where we were before.[NOTE 7]
From Juju you set out again and travel four days towards the south,
finding many towns and villages. The people are great traders and
craftsmen, are all Idolaters, and use the paper-money of the Great Kaan
their Sovereign. At the end of those four days you come to the city of
Cacanfu belonging to the province of Cathay, and of it I shall now speak.
NOTE 1. - In spite of difficulties which beset the subject (see Note 6
below) the view of Pauthier, suggested doubtingly by Marsden, that the
Cuiju of the text is KWEI-CHAU, seems the most probable one. As the latter
observes, the reappearance of paper money shows that we have got back into
a province of China Proper. Such, Yun nan, recently conquered from a Shan
prince, could not be considered. But, according to the best view we can
form, the traveller could only have passed through the extreme west of the
province of Kwei-chau.
The name of Fungul, if that be a true reading, is suggestive of
Phungan, which under the Mongols was the head of a district called
PHUNGAN-LU. It was founded by that dynasty, and was regarded as an
important position for the command of the three provinces Kwei-chau,
Kwang-si, and Yun-nan. (Biot, p. 168; Martini, p. 137.) But
we shall explain presently the serious difficulties that beset the
interpretation of the itinerary as it stands.
NOTE 2. - Several Chinese plants afford a fibre from the bark, and some of
these are manufactured into what we call grass-cloths. The light
smooth textures so called are termed by the Chinese Hiapu or
"summer cloths." Kwei-chau produces such.
