To answer the question of whether Marco Polo went to China or not, one of the most important topics that need to be included is his role in China. Marco Polo was traveling with the identity of a businessman. Before Marco Polo went to China, his father and Uncle were already been there once. His father and uncle were famous traders who traveled between the east and the west. In 1266, they accidentally traveled to Yuan in 1266 because they met the ambassadors sent by the Mongol Empire to the west, and decided to change their destination. After coming back to Venice, Marco Polo’s father decided to start another trip toward Mongol China in 1271. This time Niccolò, Marco Polo’s father, took his son, Marco Polo. They arrived at Kaiping in 1275 and later met the Kublai Khan at the capital (Beijing). They left Yuan in the year 1295 after accomplishing the mission that the Khan assigned to them. Marco Polo suggested that he had stayed in Yuan for seventeen years. In his own book The Description of the World, he claims that Kublai Khan likes him a lot, and even let him rule YangZhou, one of the major cities, for three years. However, his credibility on this claim was being questioned. Not only that, Marco Polo indicated many of his identity in the book including being envies or accompanies. It would help to answer the question of whether Marco Polo went to China or not by analyzing if his claim on his role in China is reliable since there are many unclear mysteries in this topic. There are four major unclear issues about his role in China. His role when sending the princess Cotagion, his role in Yangzhou, his relationship with Kublai Khan, and the fact he was holding letters and gifts from the Pope or not. This essay will mainly focus on the first and the second question.
Clunas's Analysis
Marco Polo’s book, The Description of the World was firstly named Le livre des Merveilles. In 1298, Marco Polo took part in the war between Venice and Genoa and was unfortunately captured on September 7. While in Genova’s prison, he met the Italian writer Rustichello da Pisa, who dictated Marco Polo's story in old French. In the book, Marco Polo wrote that he was being honored by Kublian Khan and liked by the loyal family. However in the book “Did Marco Polo get to China'' written by Craig Clunas, Clunas suggested that even though Marco Polo himself had argued his importance in China, there wasn’t any Chinese record that could prove his credibility. Marco Polo said he was an officer in one of the provinces, but according to Clunas, there were numerous Chinese history books during the period, but none of them had indicted the existence of Marco Polo (Clunas). As a foreigner officer, there should be numerous books writing about this due to its specialties, but there aren’t a single. At the same time, Marco was very unlikely to be appreciated by Kublian Khan since he was just a foreign businessman.
Yang's analysis
Based on Clunas analysis, professor Zhijiu Yang had involved in further research, but ended up in a different perspective in his article “Marco Polo Was In China”. In The Description of the World, Marco Polo had included specific details on his mission before he went back to Venice. Marco Polo wrote about how his family accompanied the princess when traveled to Iran. The princess was named Cotagion, who would become Arghun’s (Argon) new wife since Queen Bulughan was dead. In the book, Marco Polo indicated that he was traveling with three barons: “So Arghun took three of his barons, whose names were these: the first Uladai [Oulatai], the second Apusca, the third Coia; and he sent them to the Great Khan with a very fine entourage to ask that he send a lady of the lineage of his wife Queen Bulughan, who had died”(Marco Polo, The Description of the World, pg 11). Yang suggested that Marco Polo not only includes details like names of the baron in the book, but also the fact that only Coja(Coia) survived, which matched up with what has been recorded in other books such as “Jami Al-tawarikh” written by Rashid al-Din Hamadani-historian in IIkhantte-rule Iran. Yang argues that it is no longer a coincidence when similar affairs were being written in more than two books. On top of that, Marco Polo did not have any chances to read other resources during that time of period, so he must participates in the affair instead of copying. As a result, Marco Polo and his family did serve as accompanying members in the journey. Since the mission of sending the princess was serious and important, simply playing a role as accompanying in such an important mission can already represent that Marco Polo was not just a nobody in China, but trustworthy.
Marco Polo in Yangzhou
Yangzhou is a city that was located in the Yuan dynasty that Marco Polo had mentioned a lot in his book. In the book, he describes Yangzhou as a “noble and large” city. Marco Polo argues that he had ruled this city for three years. But as previously mentioned, no evidence has been found to corroborate this claim. In Marco Polo’s book, he claims that “Know that it is so big and powerful that it has under its rule a good 27 large, good cities of great trade. This city is the seat of one of the Great Khan’s 12 barons, for it was selected by one of the 12 sages”(Marco Polo, The Description of the World, pg 126). For cities that noble and large like Yangzhou, all the officers and governors were required to be recorded in the “Choreography of Yangzhou''. But names related to Marco Polo never appeared. Eventhough Marco Polo may lied about being the ruler of Yangzhou, there are other hypothesis on his role in Yangzhou. Peng Hai, the author of “The period of Marco Polo’s Stay in Yangzhous”, indicates that Marco Polo may have been an officer who manages the salt service. Similar predictions are being found in “ The Mongols” written by David Morgan. “He probably held office in the administration of the government salt monopoly there, which would have been a position of considerable importance, though it might not have seemed so to his European readers had he admitted the truth”(Morgan, The Mongols, 44%). Since Marco Polo had mentioned the importance of salts in China, also named regions that produce salts in China, he seems to be familiar with it. A foreign businessman is unlikely to be familiar with salt services unless he had done jobs related to salt services.The prediction of Marco Polo being the officer of controlling salts were agreed by many experts. In addition, holding the administration of the government salt monopoly would not be recorded in historian books due to its un-importances, which explains that why the name of Marco Polo never appeared in the “Choreography of Yangzhou''. Two assumptions are being made to explain why Marco Polo lied about being the ruler of Yangzhou. Firstly, he was trying to magnify his accomplishments to show off. By telling the readers he had become the ruler of a major city in the strongest country, he would definitely earn more respect from the audience and attract more viewers. On the other hand, since the book has been edited and translated numerous times, mistakes are likely to be made. Marco Polo may have written himself as being the officer who holds on to the salt administration in Yangzhou, but due to edit or translation difficulties, it turns to the "ruler of Yangzhou" accidentally.
Conclusion
Through analyzing, synthesizing, and comparing with all the primary and secondary resources that related the role that Marco Polo played in China, it can be concluded that Marco Polo had come to China. Firstly, since Marco Polo wrote down the details about escorting the princess to Iran, he was not lying about being there. He also played the role of accompanying in such an important mission, representing his trustworthiness. Barons that the Khan assign would never choose foreigners that they are not familiar with to travel. Secondly, even though there is no evidence that can prove what he claimed about being the governor for three years in Yangzhou, it still never impacted the fact that he had gone to China. It was more likely that he was holding the administration of the government salt monopoly for three years. Maybe he was lying because he wished to magnify his story to attract more readers, or the European readers misunderstood what he said. In a ward, although Marco Polo didn’t hold on to much power or play any important role, there are still traces of him suggesting that he had been to China and definitely had some influences.
References
Polo, M. The Description of the World. Translated by Sharon Kinoshita. Hackett Publishing Company, 2016. Yang Zhijiu.马可波罗与中国. Ulrich Vogel, Hans. Marco Polo Was in China : New Evidence from Currencies, Salts and Revenues. Brill, 2012. Wood, Frances. “Did Marco Polo go to China?” Westview Press, 1996. Morgan, David. “The Mongols” Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2007. Yule, Henry. Book of ser Marco Polo Vol 1. John Murray, 1903. Yule, Henry. Book of ser Marco Polo Vol 2. John Murray, 1903. Clunas, Craig. Did Marco Polo get to China.