100 from a series of stone-engravings in the
temple T'ien-ning on the West Lake near Hang Chau.
It will be noticed that
it agrees very well with the statue figured by M. Cordier. In every respect
it bears the features of an Indian Lo-han, with one exception, and this is
the curious hat. This, in fact, is the only Lo-han among the five hundred
that is equipped with a headgear; and the hat, as is well known, is not
found in India. This hat must represent a more or less arbitrary addition
of the Chinese artist who created the group, and it is this hat which led
to the speculations regarding the Portuguese sailor or Marco Polo. Certain
it is also that such a type of hat does not occur in China; but it seems
idle to speculate as to its origin, as long as we have no positive
information on the intentions of the artist. The striped mantle of the
Lo-han is by no means singular, for it occurs with seventeen others. The
facts simply amount to this, that the figure in question does not represent
a Portuguese sailor or Marco Polo or any other European, but solely an
Indian Lo-han (Arhat), while the peculiar hat remains to be explained.
Introduction, p. 92.
THIBAUT DE CHEPOY.
Thibaut de Chepoy (Chepoy, canton of Breteuil, Oise), son of the knight
Jean de Chepoy, was one of the chief captains of King Philip the Fair. He
entered the king's service in 1285 as squire and valet; went subsequently
to Robert d'Artois, who placed him in charge of the castle of Saint Omer,
and took him, in 1296, to Gascony to fight the English. He was afterwards
grand master of the cross-bow men. He then entered the service of Charles
de Valois, brother of Philip the Fair, who sent him to Constantinople to
support the claims to the throne of his wife, Catherine of Courtenay.
Thibaut left Paris on the 9th Sept., 1306, passed through Venice, where he
met Marco Polo who gave him a copy of his manuscript. Thibaut died between
22nd May, 1311, and 22nd March, 1312. (See Joseph PETIT, in Le Moyen
Age, Paris, 1897, pp. 224-239.)
THE BOOK OF MARCO POLO.
PROLOGUE
II., p. 6.
SARAI.
"Cordier (Yule) identifiziert den von Pegolotti gewaehlten Namen Saeracanco
mit dem juengeren Sarai oder Zarew (dem Sarai grande Fra Mauros), was mir
vollkommen untunlich erscheint; es waere dann die Route des Reisenden
geradezu ein Zickzackweg gewesen, der durch nichts zu rechtfertigen waere."
(Dr. Ed. FRIEDMANN, Pegolotti, p. 14.)
Prof. Pelliot writes to me: "Il n'y a aucune possibilite de retrouver dans
Saracanco, Sarai + Kunk. Le mot Kunk n'est pas autrement
atteste, et la construction mongole ou turque exigerait kunk-sarai."
XIII., pp. 25-26.
SHANG TU.
See also A. POZDNEIEV, Mongoliya i Mongoly, II., pp. 303 seq.
XV., pp. 27, 28-30. Now it came that Marco, the son of Messer Nicolo, sped
wondrously in learning the customs of the Tartars, as well as their
language, their manner of writing, and their practice of war - in fact he
came in a brief space to know several languages, and four sundry written
characters.
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