- Campichiu is undoubtedly Kanchau, which was at this time, as
Pauthier tells us, the chief city of the administration of Kansuh
corresponding to Polo's Tangut. Kansuh itself is a name compounded of
the names of the two cities Kan-chau and Suh-chau.
[Kanchau fell under the Tangut dominion in 1208. (Palladius, p. 10.) The
Musulmans mentioned by Polo at Shachau and Kanchau probably came from
Khotan. - H. C.]
The difficulties that have been made about the form of the name
Campiciou, etc., in Polo, and the attempts to explain these, are
probably alike futile. Quatremere writes the Persian form of the name
after Abdurrazzak as Kamtcheou, but I see that Erdmann writes it after
Rashid, I presume on good grounds, as Ckamidschu, i.e. Kamiju or
Kamichu. And that this was the Western pronunciation of the name is
shown by the form which Pegolotti uses, Camexu, i.e. Camechu. The p in
Polo's spelling is probably only a superfluous letter, as in the
occasional old spelling of dampnum, contempnere, hympnus,
tirampnus, sompnour, Dampne Deu. In fact, Marignolli writes Polo's
Quinsai as Campsay.
It is worthy of notice that though Ramusio's text prints the names of
these two cities as Succuir and Campion, his own pronunciation of them
appears to have been quite well understood by the Persian traveller Hajji
Mahomed, for it is perfectly clear that the latter recognized in these
names Suhchau and Kanchau.
