A thrilling travelogue that allows the West to understand the civilization of the East, a wonderful journey that takes Europeans to explore ancient China, in Marco Polo's description, is actually nothing more than "I have not said half of what I have seen." ”

Marco Polo was a merchant and traveler in Venice, Italy in the 13th century, and most of what people know about him today is based on his personal experience. Considered the most famous travelogue in human history, the first volume of this masterpiece's travelogue recounts Marco Polo's journey through the Middle East and Central Asia, the second volume focuses on China's interactions with Kublai Khan during the Yuan Dynasty, and finally chronicles the war between Mongolia and Russia.

Marco Polo wrote about more than 100 countries and cities, and the customs, products and climates, and merchants and trades of various places are all at a glance, which is an important document for the study of the history of Sino-Western exchanges in the Middle Ages.

Before Marco Polo was born, his father Nicolapolo and uncle Matteo were active in Europe as Far Eastern traders. Nicola and Matteo went to Turkey for business, not intending to go to China at first, but the journey coincided with war, and on the way, they happened to meet Chinese envoys sent by the Yuan Dynasty to the West, so they decided to go to China via the Khitan.

Two years later, the Polo brothers arrived in the Chinese city of Beijing and met with Kublai Khan, the ancestor of the Yuan dynasty. When Kublai Khan learned that they were merchants from the West, he wrote a letter to Nikola to bring back to Rome and hand it to the Pope, asking the Pope to send people to China to exchange the life and culture of the East and the West.

The reason why Kublai Khan acted like this was nothing more than to be considerate of the ethnic minorities in the Mongol Empire at that time. Whether Genghis Khan or Kublai Khan and other kings of the Yuan Dynasty, they showed high respect and courtesy towards different religions, demonstrating the tolerance and magnanimity of the Yuan Empire towards religious beliefs within its borders.

When the Polo brothers returned to Venice, Italy, they forwarded Kublai Khan's letter to Pope Gregory X, and at the same time obtained the Pope's reply, and returned to China. Marco Polo and his father arrived in Shangdu, Mongolia, and returned to Beijing.

At this time, Marco Polo was in his early twenties, clever and clever, and was deeply loved by Kublai Khan, so the Great Khan made him many officials and ordered him to travel around China as a minister. As a result, Marco Polo was able to see the customs and folklore of various parts of China, and to get a glimpse of the cultural achievements of oriental civilization for thousands of years.

Marco Polo was commissioned by Kublai Khan to escort the Mongol princess to the Ilkhanate for marriage, and Kublai Khan promised them that they would return to their homeland after completing their mission. Marco Polo's travel route map is about starting from Venice, Italy, taking the overland route from Turkey to Iran, Afghanistan, Xinjiang, from Gansu to Mongolia and then to Beijing, and the return journey from Quanzhou to Venice by sea from the Hermz Strait.

Marco Polo returned to Europe and settled in Venice. When he first returned to Europe, Marco Polo excitedly shared with the locals what he had seen and heard in China, but most people did not believe in his wonderful experience, let alone such a mysterious country in the East. The following year, Marco Polo participated in the naval battle between Venice and Genoa, but was unfortunately defeated and captured.

During his three years in prison, Marco Polo spent months telling his fellow prisoners about his experience in China. This companion, who was also a novelist named Rustician, copied the legend of Marco Polo. Although the original version that Rustician had copied in prison has long since been lost, Marco Polo's brilliant journey has been continuously copied through the hands of the writer, and there are now more than 140 versions of the biography left to this day, in various languages.

Marco Polo's travelogue was originally called "Il Milione", which means million, because when Marco Polo described what he saw and heard in China, in order to emphasize the beauty and wonder of the Oriental world, he would talk about millions of this and millions of that from time to time, claiming what he had seen, for which Marco Polo himself was also called Mr. Million. Travelogues based on his experiences in places like China or Japan are known as Marco Polo's Travels.

His Oriental observations and legends begin after his return to Europe, in the Middle Ages, when printing was not yet developed and popularized, and many books were often preserved only by manual copying. The publication of "Marco Polo's Travels" caused the oriental fever in Europe in the thirteenth century for hundreds of years, and it was rare to have so many copies and wide circulation, which added to the legend of Marco Polo's journey.

It is said that Columbus, a navigator who was more than 200 years later than Marco Polo, carried Marco Polo's travelogue on board the ship to explore the Pearl of the Orient.

Marco Polo's book tells many interesting stories, when he traveled through Turkey and described seeing what is called Noah's Ark in the Book of Genesis in the Bible, a huge wooden structure stuck on a mountain. What exactly is this behemoth? When he came to Afghanistan, he mentioned a hell-like place called Badaha, a terrible place in the highlands, where no birds flew or lights at night.

When he arrived at Lop Nur in eastern Xinjiang, a legendary moving desert lake, Marco Polo described the place as having no food to find, birds and animals extinct, and pedestrians walking in it at night, they would hear the ghostly sound of wind blowing sand, and if they were not careful, they would get lost in the desert. In the same way, the monk Faxian, who passed through Lop Nur 800 years earlier than Marco Polo, also described that there were no birds and no beasts on this place.

When he left the desert and arrived at the city of Jinai on the border between Gansu and Inner Mongolia, this was the last stop before arriving in Shangdu Jin to meet Kublai Khan. The city is known today as Harahot, which means black city in Mongolian, and has two asymmetrical gates in the east and west, with the east gate slightly north and the west gate slightly closer to the south. Today, the Black City has been buried in sand, leaving only a few archaeological remains.

In addition, Marco Polo's book also mentions many advanced Chinese civilization inventions, such as the world's earliest paper money, which has been in circulation since the Song Dynasty, was called Jiaozi at that time. He was also surprised by the description of the Great Khan's mint in Beijing as alchemy, and the Zhiyuan Tongbao banknotes were banknotes issued under the name of Kublai Khan.

He then went on to mention Zhenjiangfu, a rice warehouse in the south of the Yangtze River, and China's ancient intelligent crystallization canal system. The canal was dug by hand, the water is wide and deep, connecting rivers, rivers, lakes and rivers, transporting supplies from southern China to Beijing from south to north.

When it comes to the city of Hangzhou, Marco Polo is most impressed by the Chinese arch bridge, which has no piers and stone pillars, and even ships can pass under the bridge. The beautiful West Lake and magnificent houses outside Hangzhou also amazed him. Another city is called Thornton City, which is now Quanzhou, which was a famous international commercial port at that time, where valuable, rare and exotic goods, spices, and jewelry from all over the world were traded.

Marco Polo's wonderful Chinese stories have been talked about a lot in a dreamlike way, which has caused repeated debates in later academic circles about the authenticity of his trip to China. But it is undeniable that the influence of "Marco Polo's Travels" on the world and the legend of Marco Polo are an important medium for the broadcast of Chinese civilization around the world.

The virtuous king Kublai Khan in the eyes of Marco Polo, Marco Polo adopted the Mongol title and called Kublai Khan the Great Khan, that is, the king of kings. In Marco Polo's eyes, he was the monarch with the largest number of subjects, the widest territory, the most abundant income, and absolute authority in history.

Kublai Khan was of medium stature, with well-proportioned limbs, a delicate face, and dark eyes, making him shrewd and capable. He was brave and good at war, had outstanding military talents, and was a military commander with outstanding achievements before taking the throne. Kublai Khan was an orthodox descendant of Genghis Khan and the rightful ruler of the Mongols. He gained his dominion solely by virtue of his talents, military exploits, and moral sentiments.

Kublai Khan's four empresses had a total of twenty-two sons, and his concubines had twenty-five sons. The eldest son, Zhenjin, was designated as the heir to the throne, but unfortunately died young, and Zhenjin's son Temur became the rightful heir. Kublai Khan's other sons also had the test of war, and some became provincial and local military governors, ruling their respective territories.

According to Marco Polo's account, the urban layout of Chinese cities is like a chessboard, with large and small streets arranged in straight lines and criss-crossed.

There is a curfew system, and there is a clock tower in the center of the city, which rings the clock at night to tell the time. According to the system, after the third bell ringing, a curfew is imposed in the urban area, prohibiting pedestrians from going out and walking, and violators are immediately detained and handed over to the city defense officials for handling. During the curfew, residents are also prohibited from lighting up and working.

Patrols were set up on all major streets of the city to maintain law and order in the city, and in case of fire, the patrolmen knocked on the wooden pillars to raise an alarm, and the garrisons immediately rushed to the scene to put out the fire. In terms of household registration, each parent is required to register the size and changes of the whole family in the government account book, and at the same time post it on the gate for easy inspection by the government.

Every year, Kublai Khan sent envoys to visit various places to observe the situation of the people, and when there was a famine in the provinces, such as famine or a large number of livestock died, the government not only exempted the victims from taxes, but also provided them with grain relief. Kublai Khan often used his own private property to fund poor families in distress due to natural and man-made disasters, and the government also set up charities in major cities to shelter the elderly, the disabled, and the incapacitated.

The Yuan Dynasty post station is called the station red, the Yuan Dynasty has a fairly complete post station system, "Travelogue" records, Khan Bali has a post road to all parts of the country. There were post stations and inns on the post road, which received the imperial court messengers and business travelers from all over the world, and provided the horses and daily necessities needed by the messengers. There are 200 to 400 stagecoaches in each post station, and there are no less than 200,000 stagecoaches in the country, all of which are supplied by neighboring towns and villages.

Complementing the post station was an express delivery shop, which was responsible for transmitting urgent documents from the imperial court and the local government. "Travelogue" mentions that every few miles between the post stations, there are shop guards, who are responsible for delivering postal parcels, and they are delivered in turn from station to station, which is extremely fast. At river and lake crossings, there were three or four post boats for the use of messengers and pawns, who would travel day and night in the event of a local disturbance or major incident, changing horses from station to stop.

Marco Polo had a clear understanding of the provincial system of the Yuan Dynasty, and the "Travels" clearly stated that the Yuan Dynasty set up twelve provinces, which were originally temporary organs sent by the central government to the local governments, and later fixed as the highest local administrative body. According to the Travels, these twelve provinces had offices in their capitals, and they were only responsible to the Great Khan and had the authority to deal with local money, grain, customs duties, and various other specific matters. However, Marco Polo's reference to the provincial governors of the Yuan Dynasty as barons seems to have been confused with the feudal system of Western Europe.

Marco Polo introduced the Europeans to the scientific and cultural achievements of Yuan Dynasty China, including the use of coal, the invention of paper money, silkworm weaving, asbestos cloth, astronomical instruments, bridge and palace architecture, and urban planning. The "Travelogue" clearly shows that China's achievements in material civilization and scientific and technological culture at that time were far above those of European countries.

Coal, the Chinese knew how to use coal as fuel in the Western Han Dynasty, but most Europeans did not know the use of coal in the thirteenth century. So when Marco Polo saw the Chinese using coal, he thought it was a black stone that could be burned, which shows that in the thirteenth century, China's material civilization was far above that of Western countries.

According to the Travelogue, this black stone is mined from the mines, and burns more than charcoal, even from night to dawn. The "Travelogue" also mentions that these black stones are inexhaustible, used everywhere, and the price is very low. From the records, it can be seen that China's coal reserves are abundant and the popularity of coal used in the Yuan Dynasty.

Paper money, the first country to use paper money, China has used paper money in the Northern Song Dynasty, is the first country in the world to use paper money, Yuan Dynasty paper money throughout the country. The Travelogue records that most of the capitals had mints and used mulberry bark to make paper money, which was worth as much as gold and silver coins.

Because Marco Polo was a businessman, and there was no paper money in the West at that time, Marco Polo used paper money whenever he talked about Chinese cities in "Travels", which shows that he had a deep impression of paper money. The government of the Yuan Dynasty forbade anyone to make and use other currencies anywhere, counterfeiters were punished by death, and the banknotes could be exchanged at the mint after they were worn. The banknotes issued by Kublai Khan in the early period were relatively stable in value and easy to carry, and people were happy to use them.

Astronomical instruments, astronomical achievements of the Yuan Dynasty, astronomy of the Yuan Dynasty was very developed. The Travelogue records that there were more than 5,000 astrologers who made a kind of telescope, on which were engraved the symbols of the stars, their haunting times, and their directions throughout the year. Astrologers predict climate changes and natural disasters based on images of the orbits of the stars, and they also compile almanacs for people to use when they predict various events of the year.

The outstanding astronomer Guo Shoujing created and improved a variety of astronomical instruments such as the Jianyi, and on the basis of a large number of field tests, formulated the "Chronological Calendar", which takes 365.2425 days as a year, which is 26 seconds different from the actual time of the earth's revolution around the sun, which is exactly the same as the current Gregorian calendar, but 300 years earlier than the Gregorian calendar.