Is abundance of
silk, and able artisans, and many merchants, as is universally the case in
all the cities of this kingdom.
[1] Called Tou-tsong by the Chinese historians, the fifteenth emperor of
the nineteenth dynasty, who succeeded to the throne in the year
1264. - Harris.
[2] The name of this general is said to have signified an hundred eyes;
doubtless a Tartar title, denoting his vigilance and foresight. By the
Chinese historians, this general is named Pe-yen; which may have the
same signification. These historians attribute the conquest of Mangi,
or Southern China, to the indolence, debauchery, and extreme love of
pleasure of this emperor, whom they name Tou-Tsong. - Harris.
[3] The names of all places and provinces in the travels of Marco Polo, are
either so disguised by Tartar appellations, or so corrupted, that they
cannot be referred with any certainty to the Chinese names upon our
maps. Coiganzu, described afterwards as the first city in the
south-east of Mangi in going from Kathay, may possibly be Hoingan-fou,
which answers to that situation. The termination fou is merely
city; and other terminations are used by the Chinese, as tcheou
and others, to denote the rank or class in which they are placed, in
regard to the subordination of their governors and tribunals, which
will be explained in that part of our work which is appropriated to
the empire of China. - E.
[4] Or Guinsai, to be afterwards described. - E.
[5] It does not appear where these islands were, situated; whether Hainan
or Formosa, properly Tai-ouan, or Tai-wan, or the islands in the bay
of Canton. - E.
[6] These sagacious diviners must have been well acquainted with the
military energy of the Tartar government, and the abject weakness of
their own; and certainly knew, from their brethren in Kathay, the
significant name of the Tartar general; on which foundation, they
constructed the enigma of their prophecy, which, like many others,
contributed towards its own accomplishment. - E.
[7] About a year after the surrender of his capital, Tou-Tsong died,
leaving three sons, who all perished in a few years afterwards. The
eldest was made prisoner, and died in captivity in Tartary. The second
died of a consumption at Canton, where he had taken refuge at eleven
years of age. The third, named Ti-Ping, after all the country was
seized by the Tartars, was carried on board the Chinese fleet, which
was pursued and brought to action by a fleet which the Tartars had
fitted out for the purpose. When the Chinese lord, who had the charge
of the infant emperor, saw the vessel in which he was embarked
surrounded by the Tartars, he took the young prince in his arms and
jumped with him into the sea. One considerable squadron of the Chinese
fleet forced a passage through that of the Tartars, but was afterwards
entirely destroyed in a tempest. - Harris.
[8] This direction must be understood in reference to Kathay; as it is
perfectly obvious, that the entrance here spoken of must be in the
north-east of Mangi. Supposing the C aspirated, Coigan-zu and
Hoaingan-fu, both certainly arbitrarily orthographized from the
Chinese pronunciation, are not very dissimilar. - E.
[9] Perhaps an error in transcription for Hara-moran, or Kara-moran, the
Mongul or Tartar name of the Hoang-ho, or Whang river, near, and
communicating with which, Hoaingan, or Whan-gan-fou is situated. - E.
[10] This is an obscure indication of navigable canals on each side of the
paved road of communication to the south. - E.
[11] Cin-gui, or in the Italian pronunciation, Chin, or Tsin-gui, may
possibly be Yen-tching. Tin-gui may be Sin-Yang, or Tsin-yang, to the
north-east of Yen-tching. - E.
[12] Obviously Yang-tcheou, the latter syllable being its title or
designation of rank and precedency. Marco certainly mistakes, from
distant recollection, the direction of his travels, which are very
nearly south, with a very slight deviation towards the east.
South-east would by this time have led him into the sea. - E
[13] Though called a province, this obviously refers to the city of Nankin;
the Nau-ghin of the text being probably a corruption for Nan-ghin. - E
[14] For west, we ought certainly here to read south-west. - E.
[15] Quiam, Kiang, Kian-ku, Kin-tchin-kian, or Yang-tsi-kiang. In modern
maps, there is a town on the northern shore of this river, named
Tsing-Kiang, which may possibly be the Singui of Marco, and we may
perhaps look for the Sian-fu of the Polos at Yang-tcheou, at the
southern extremity of a chain of lakes immediately to the north of the
river Kian-ku. The subject is however full of perplexity, difficulty,
and extreme uncertainty. - E.
[16] This must be Tchin-kian-fou; the three separate syllables in both of
these oral orthographies having almost precisely similar sounds;
always remembering that the soft Italian c has the power of tsh,
or our hard ch as in the English word chin, and the Italian gh
the sound of the hard English g. - E.
[17] This evinces the great policy of the military government of the
Tartars, in employing the subjugated nations in one corner of their
empire to make conquests at such enormous distances from their native
countries. The Alanians came from the country between the Euxine and
Caspian, in Long. 60 deg. E. and were here fighting Long. 135 deg. E.; above
4000 miles from home. - E.
[18] By the language in this place, either Sin-gui and Tin-gui-gui are the
same place, or the transition is more than ordinarily abrupt; if the
same, the situation of Sin-gui has been attempted to be explained in a
former note.
