We Shall Quote The Whole Of His Remarks At The
End Of The Chapters On Kinsay.
[Dr. F. Hirth, in a paper published in the T'oung Pao, V. pp.
386-390
(Ueber den Shiffsverkehr von Kinsay zu Marco Polo's Zeit), has some
interesting notes on the maritime trade of Hang-chau, collected from a
work in twenty books, kept at the Berlin Royal Library, in which is to be
found a description of Hang-chau under the title of Meng-liang-lu,
published in 1274 by Wu Tzu-mu, himself a native of this city: there are
various classes of sea-going vessels; large boats measuring 5000 liao
and carrying from five to six hundred passengers; smaller boats measuring
from 2 to 1000 liao and carrying from two to three hundred passengers;
there are small fast boats called tsuan-feng, "wind breaker," with six
or eight oarsmen, which can carry easily 100 passengers, and are generally
used for fishing; sampans are not taken into account. To start for foreign
countries one must embark at Ts'wan-chau, and then go to the sea of
Ts'i-chau (Paracels), through the Tai-hsue pass; coming back he must look
to Kwen-lun (Pulo Condor). - H.C.]
The 12,000 bridges have been much carped at, and modern accounts of
Hang-chau (desperately meagre as they are) do not speak of its bridges as
notable. "There is, indeed," says Mr. Kingsmill, speaking of changes in the
hydrography about Hang-chau, "no trace in the city of the magnificent
canals and bridges described by Marco Polo." The number was no doubt in
this case also a mere popular saw, and Friar Odoric repeats it.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 372 of 1350
Words from 99505 to 99783
of 370046
