On This Occasion,
The Governors Of Provinces, And Rulers Of Cities, And All Who Are In Office
Or Authority, Send Presents To The Khan, Of Gold, Silver, Pearls, And
Precious Stones, Likewise Of Many White Cloths Of Various Kinds, And Other
White Things, And Many White Horses.
It is the custom of those who bring
presents, if they can, to present nine times nine of every particular
article, whether it be gold, or silver, or cloths, or horses; and on this
occasion, the khan sometimes receives 100,000 horses.
On this grand
festival, all the elephants belonging to the great khan, about 5000, are
brought into the great court of the palace, covered with splendid housings
of tapestry, wrought with the figures of various kinds of birds and beasts,
each of them bearing on their backs two chests filled with vessels of gold
and silver; and many camels are paraded on the same occasion, covered over,
with fine silken cloths, and loaded with other necessaries for the court.
On the morning of this festival of the new year, all the captains, barons,
soldiers[4], physicians, astrologers, governors of provinces, generals of
armies, and other officers of the great khan, assemble before the emperor,
in the great hall of the palace, all placed in due order, according to
their rank and dignity, and those who have no place or employment, stand
without, that they may see the ceremonies. One of the heads of their
priests then rises, and cries out with a loud voice, "Bow down and adore,"
on which all who are present bend down their foreheads to the earth. He
then calls out aloud, "God preserve our khan, and grant him long life and
happiness;" and all the people answer, "God grant this." Then he says, "May
God increase and advance his empire, and preserve all his subjects, in
peace, concord, and prosperity;" and the people say, "God grant this our
prayer." All this is repeated four times. Then the chief priest goes
forwards to a red table or altar, richly adorned, on which the name of the
khan is written; and taking a censer, containing rich spices and perfumes,
he perfumes the altar or table with great reverence, in honour of the khan,
and returns to his place in the assembly. After the conclusion of this
ceremony, the various gifts which have been already mentioned are presented
to the khan. And then the tables are prepared, and a most solemn and
splendid dinner is served up, of which all the assistants, with their
wives, partake, eating and drinking with great joy, as formerly described.
In the course of this solemn feast, a tame lion is led up to the khan,
which lies down at his feet as gentle as a whelp, acknowledging and
caressing his lord.
In those three winter months during which the khan resides in Cambalu, viz.
December, January, and February, all the imperial huntsmen who are
maintained in the provinces contiguous to Kathay, employ themselves
continually in hunting, and bring all the larger wild beasts, such as
stags, deer, roe-bucks, bears, and wild-boars, to their governors or
masters of the game; and if within thirty days journey of Cambalu, all
these are sent in waggons to the court, being first embowelled; but such as
are at a greater distance, send only the skins, which are used in making
housings and other military articles.
The khan has many leopards, wolves, and even lions, trained for hunting.
These lions are larger than those which are found near Babylon, and are
variegated with small spots of white, black, and red. They are bred to
catch bears, boars, stags, roe-bucks, wild asses, and wild bulls, and it is
wonderful to see their dexterity and fierceness in the chase. When these
lions are taken out to hunt, they are carried in waggons, two together,
accompanied by a dog, with which they are familiar. They are managed in
this manner, because of their fierce and unruly disposition, and they must
be drawn towards the game against the wind, otherwise the beast would scent
them and fly away. There are also many tame eagles, so trained as to take
hares, roe-bucks, deers, and foxes; and some of these will even seize upon
wolves, and vex them so grievously, that the men may take them without
danger. For the conduct of the imperial hunt, there are two great officers
called Ciurco, or masters of the game, who are brothers, named Boyan and
Mingan, each of whom have the command of 10,000 men; those who belong to
one of these divisions being clothed in red, and the others in sky blue;
and they keep various kinds of dogs, such as mastiffs and others, for
hunting, to the number of 5000 or more. When the khan goes to hunt, one of
these great companies of hunters stretches out on his right hand, and the
other on his left, occupying the plain country to the breadth of a whole
days journey, so that no beast can escape them; and when they have
collected the game into a circle, it is delightful to see the khan going
into the middle, with numbers of dogs, which hunt down the harts and bears,
and other wild beasts. The masters of the game are bound by their
commissions to send to court, between the beginning of October and end of
March, 1000 head of beasts, besides birds of various kinds, and fish, the
best they can procure.
[1] The proper name of this place is Kan-balgassan, or, for shortness,
Khan-balga, signifying the city of the khan. Arabian authors have
changed it to Khan-balick or Khan-baligh; and the Italians to
Chanbalig, Chanbalu, Cambalu, and even Gamelecco. The Chinese call
this northern part of the imperial city King-tshing, which has the
same meaning with the Tartar name, and may be translated Kingstown.
Pe-king, the other part of the same city, signifies the northern court
or residence.
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