It Is Probable That Polo On Some Occasion Made The
Ascent Of The Ts'ien T'ang By Water, And That This Leads Him To Notice The
Interruption Of The Navigation.
[Mr. Phillips writes (T. Pao, I. p. 222):
"From Fuyang the next point
reached is Tunglu, also another 100 li distant. Polo calls this city
Ugim, a name bearing no resemblance to Tunglu, but this name and Ta Pin Zu
are so corrupted in all editions that they defy conjecture. One hundred
li further up the river from Tunglu, we come to Yenchau, in which I
think we have Polo's Gengiu of Ramusio's text. Yule's text calls this city
Ghiuju, possibly an error in transcription for Ghinju; Yenchau in ancient
Chinese would, according to Williams, be pronounced Ngam, Ngin, and
Ngienchau, all of which are sufficiently near Polo's Gengiu. The next city
reached is Lan Ki Hien or Lan Chi Hsien, famous for its hams, dates, and
all the good things of this life, according to the Chinese. In this city I
recognise Polo's Zen Gi An of Ramusio. Does its description justify me in
my identification? 'The city of "Zen gi an",' says Ramusio, 'is built upon
a hill that stands isolated in the river, which latter, by dividing itself
into two branches, appears to embrace it. These streams take opposite
directions: one of them pursuing its course to the south-east and the
other to the north-west.' Fortune, in his Wanderings in China (vol. li.
p. 139), calls Lan-Khi, Nan-Che-hien, and says:
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