Marco Polo · Complete work
Book Two, Chapters 51–60
Book Two, Chapters 51–60 of 8. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
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Des villes de Tadinfu & Singuimatu. Chap. LI.
Passans encores oultre par six journées en tirant vers le Midy, on vient a la grande cité de Tadinfu, en laquelle y avoit un Roy au paravant qu’elle eust esté subjuguée, & faicte tributaire au grand Cham: & d’icelle dependent quarante autres villes, qui luy sont subjectes & ressortissantes, esquelles y à d’excellens jardins, car le pays est plaisant & delectable. Encores oultre icelle a trois journées vers Midy se presente une autre belle cité appellée Singuimatu, en laquelle descend de la coste meridionalle une grosse riviere, que les habitans ont divisée & separée en deux, dont l’une tire en Orient vers la province de Mangi: l’autre à son cours en Occident vers Cathay. Par ces deux bras d’eaue sont amenez a mont la riviere infiniz basteaux chargez de marchandises. De Singminatu, si tousjours vous tirez vers Midy cheminant par douze journées, cous trouverez continuellement par les chemins plusieurs villes & bourgades, bien peuplées & frequentées de marchandz, & ou il se faict de grandes traffiques. Les habitans sont idolatres & subjectz au grand Cham.
Du grand fleuve de Caromoran, & des villes de Corgangui & Caigui. Chap. LII.
En continuant le premier chemin, on rencontre une grosse riviere appellée Caromoran, qu’on dict avoir sa source & origine du royaume de Prestejan. Elle tient de largeur plus d’un grand quart de lieuë, avec une telle & si grande profondité, que les gros navires chargez y peuvent aisement monter & avaller: oultre elle est fort abondante & copieuse en poissons, dont on faict de belle pescheries. Assez pres de la bouche de ce fleuve, a l’endroict ou il se desgorge en la grand mer Occeane, y a environ de quinze mil navires que le grand Cham facit tenir tousjours prestes & garnies de toutes munitions, affin que si le cas advient qu’il soit necessaire passer son armée es Isles de la mer circonvoisines, cela puisse estre facilement & promptement executé. Les aucuns de ces navires sont si grandz, qu’ilz sont capables de recevoir & loger quinze chevaulx, & autant d’hommes, avec tous leurs vivres & fourrages necessaires. Et en chacun navire y a environ de vingt nautonniers & pilotes. Sur les rivages de ceste riviere, & pres l’endroit de la station des navires y a deux belles villes, l’une appellée Corgangui, & l’autre Caigui. Ceste riviere passée, on entre incontinent en la noble province de Mangi: les louanges & singularitez de laquelle seront declairez es chapitres subsequens.
De la province de Mangi, & de la debonnaireté & justice du Roy d’icelle. Chapitre LIII.
La province de Mangi a eu autresfois un Roy nommé Facfur, qui estoit si riche & puissant, qu’il n’avoit en tout le pays son superieur en puissance, hors mis le grand Cham. Son royaume estoit si bien fortifié, qu’on l’estimoit invincible, au moyen dequoy nul ne l’osoit assaillir, ne s’attacher a luy: ce qui fut cause que tant le Roy, que son peuple delaisserent & misrent en nonchallance l’usage & exercice des armes. Chacune des villes estoit ceincte & environnée de grandz & larges fossez remplis d’eaue, toutesfois ilz n’avoient point de chevaulx, car ilz ne craignoient ame: Telle asseurance a esté moyen & occasion que le Roy s’est donné du bon temps, prenant continuellement ses plaisirs & delices. Il avoit ordinairement a sa court mil gentilzhommes, sans son train de ses serviteurs & officiers, qui estoit grand & honorable. Toutesfois il avoit en singuliere recommendation la justice: il aymoit la paix & tranquilité, & estoit fort misericordieux. Nul n’osoit offenser, & faire tort a son prochain, ou troubler la tranquilité publique, autrement il estoit puny. Brief son royaume estoit en telle franchise & asseurance, que souventesfois les artisans laissoient de nuict leurs boutiques ouvertes, & neantmoins ne se trouvoit aucun qui osast y entrer. Les estrangers & viateurs passans le pays y pouvoient aller & de jour & de nuict en grande seureté, & sans crainte d’homme vivant. Aussi le Roy estoit fort debonnaire, & charitable envers les pauvres, & ne delaissoit jamais ceulx qui estoient en urgente necessité, ou souffreteux & indigens. Oultre par chacun an il retiroit & amassoit grand nombre d’enfans exposez, & qui estoient delaissez & abandonnez de leurs meres, lesquelz quelquesfois revenoient jusques au nombre de vingt mil, qu’il faisoit nourrir & entretenir a ses despens: Car en ce pays les pauvres femmes communement dejectent & abandonnent leurs enfans, affin qu’ilz soient receuz & nourriz par autres. Toutesfois des enfans que le Roy faisoit ainsi recueillir, il en departoit aux plus riches & plus apparens de son royaume, mesmement a ceulx qui n’avoient point d’enfans, & leur commandoit les adopter & recevoir pour leurs enfans. Et au regard de ceulx qu’il eslevoit & entretenoit, il les marioit par apres aux filles de mesme condition, & qui semblablement avoient esté des leurs enfance abandonnées de leurs parens, & leur bailloit quelque revenu pour eulx vivre & entretenir.
Comment Baiam chef de l’armée du grand Cham conquesta la province de MangiChapitre LIIII.
En l’an de nostre salut mil deux cens soixantehuict, le grand Cham Cublai estant affectionné de joindre a son empire la province de Mangi, la conquesta & assubjectit a sa seigneurie en ceste maniere. Il dressa une grosse armée tant de gens de cheval que de pied, de laquelle il feit son lieutenant & capitaine un nommé Baiam Chinsam capitaine.Baiam Chinsam, (qui signifie en leur langue la lumiere de cent yeulx) & l’envoya avec ceste armée en la province de Mangi: en laquelle de premiere arrivée il vint assieger la ville de Coniganhuy, & feit sommer les habitans d’icelle de se rendre, & prester fidelité & obeissance a l’Empereur Cublai, ce qu’ilz refuserent faire: au moyen de quoy leur response oye, il leva le siege, & se departit sans leur faire aucun desplaisir ne molestation. Puis en feit autant a l’autre prochaine ville, qui semblablementfeit pareil refuz. Ruze de guerre.Passant oultre feit sommer les trois, quatre & cinqiesmes villes, qui toutes furent reffusantes. Mais venant a la sixiesme il l’assaillit de grande furie, & tellement la pressa, qu’il la print d’assault. Ce faict se retourna contre les autres villes, lesquelles semblablement il print d’assault: en sorte qu’en peu de temps il subjuga & print douze villes: car il avoit en son armée de fort braves & vaillantz hommes, tous gens d’eslite, hardiz & bien adextres aux armes. Oultre que le grand Cham luy envoya recharge d’une autre armée non moins grande que la premiere. Qui fut cause de donner grand crainte, voire desespoir a ceulx de Mangi, tellement que le cueur leur commença a deffaillir. Ce pendant Baiam s’en alla droictement camper devant La ville de Quinsai assiegée.la ville de Quinsay, qui estoit la capitale & metropolitaine de la province, & en laquelle estoit la court du Roy de Mangi: Lequel cognoissant la force & vaillance des Tartares, & voyant leur grand audace fut merveilleusement estonné: au moyen de quoy se meit sur mer, avec la plus grande compaignie qu’il peust assembler, & se retira en certaines Isles imprenables, ayant avec soy environ mil navires, & laissant la garde de la ville de Quinsay en la disposition de la Royne sa femme, comme si en elle y eust eu grand support & defense. Toutesfois la Royne prenant courage viril, s’y porta prudentement, ne delaissant riens en arriere de ce qui estoit necessaire pour la tuition & deffense de la ville. Mais quand elle eut entendu que le chef de l’armée des Tartares estoit nommé Baiam Chinsam, (c’est a dire cent yeulx) elle fut grandement effrayée, & perdit toute force & vertu: mesmement qu’elle avoit este advertie par ses astrologues & magiciens, que la cité de Quinsay ne pouvoit jamais estre prinse, que par un homme qui eust cent yeulx. Ce qu’elle estimoit estre impossible & contre nature, qu’un homme eust cent yeulx. Toutesfois oyant que ce presage quadroit a ce capitaine, elle ne voulut resister aux destinées & fatales dispositions: ains feit appeller le capitaine de l’armée des Tartares: auquel apres avoir parlamenté, elle rendit liberallement & la ville, & tout le royaume. Ce que entendu par les bourgeois & citoiens d’icelle, & autres habitans du royaume, voluntairement presterent le serment de fidelité & obeissance au grand Cham. hors mis toutesfois une ville appellée Sianfu, laquelle s’oppiniastra, & soustint le siege par trois ans au paravant que de se rendre, comme cy apres sera descript. Quant a la Royne elle se retira en la court du grand Cham, qui la receut & traicta honorablement. Et au regard du Roy de Mangi son mary, continuant sa demeurance es Isles, il y fina ses jours, & le reste de sa vie.
De la ville de Conigangui. Chap. LV.
La premiere ville qu’on trouve a lentrée de la province de Mangi est appellée Conigangui, qui est bien fameuse, grande & opulente en tous biens, assise sur la riviere de Caromoran, qui y faict un beau port, auquel arrivent grande quantité de navires. En ceste ville se faict artificiellement si grande quantité de sel, qu’il suffist pour fournir quarante villes, dont le grand Cham retire grand profit & emolument. Les habitans de la ville, ensemble tous les païsans d’alentour sont idolatres, font brusler les corps des defunctz au lieu de sepulture.
Des villes de Panchy & Cain. Chap. LVI.
Oultre Conigangui a une journée d’icelle, en tirant vers le vent Siroch est située la ville de Panchy, qui est grande &fameuse pour les negociations & traffiques de marchandise qui s’y exercent. En icelle se trouve grande quantité de soye, semblablement des vivres en grande abondance, joinct qu’elle est en bonne assiette & sur le grand chemin par lequel passent toutes les finances qui sont apportées de la province de Mangi au grand Cham. Aussi le chemin qui est depuis Conigangui jusques a Panchi est entierement pavé de belle pierre, & n’y à autre chemin ne endroict par lequel on puisse entrer en la province de Mangi que cestuy la. Oultre Panchi a distance d’une journée se descouvre la ville de Cain, laquelle semblablement est belle & de grand renom: alentour d’icelle y à de belles percheries, & chasses, tant de bestes rousses que d’oyseaux, mesmement de phaisans, qu’on y trouve en grande quantité.
De la cité de Tingui. Chap. LVII.
De la tirant oultre, a une journée de chemin on parvient en la ville de Tongui, laquelle encores qu’elle ne soit pas grande, toutesfois est bien garnie & abondante de toutes sortes de vivres. En icelle y a assez bon port auquel plusieurs navires viennent surgir, a cause qu’il n’y a pas grande distance jusques a la pleine mer: & oultre y a plusieurs salines, pres desquelles est située & assise la ville de Tingui. A une autre journée de laquelle en tirant vers le Siroch, se presente une autre belle & plaisante ville, assise en bon pays & doulx territoire. Soubz le gouvernement & jurisdiction de laquelle dependent plusieurs autres villes & jusques au nombre de vingtsept comme moy Marc Paule puis certainement asseurer, pour en avoir esté gouverneur l’espace de trois ans par le commandement du grand Cham.
Par quelz moyens la ville de Sianfu fut prinse par les Tartares. Chap. LVIII.
Sur la coste d’Occident se descouvre une province appellée Nauiguy, qui est opulente & riche, située en beau paisage, & en laquelle on faict des riches draps d’or, & de soye: semblablement y croist le bled froment en grande abondance. La ville principale de ceste province est appellée Sianfu, & d’icelle dependant douze autres villes ses subjectes & justiciables. Ceste ville de Sianfu a esté tenue assiegée par les Tartares l’espace de trois ans pendant le temps qu’ilz subjuguerent & conquirent la province de Mangi, sans que toute l’armée, ne les forces des Tartares y peussent riens faire: car elle est de toutes pars environnée d’eaue, & de grans lacz, en sorte qu’elle ne peut estre assaillie, & n’y a moyen d’entrer que par le costé de Spetentrion: au moyen dequoy les habitans d’icelle tenoient si peu de compte des Tartares que pendent leur siege ilz faisoient ordinairement sortir & entrer dedans le port plusieurs navires chargées de vivres & munitions sans empeschement ne resistence aucune: ce qui faschoit & contristoit grandement le grand Cham dont il ne pouvoit venir a chef de son entreprinse. En ce temps mon pere, mon oncle & moy estions a la court & suitte de l’Empereur, auquel remonstrasmes, que s’il luy plaisoit nous entendre & acquiescer a ce que luy conseillerions faire, que luy baillerions des moyens par lesquelz en brief la ville pourroit estre prinse & reduicte en son obeissance. Assavoir de certains engins artificielz, dont au pays ilz n’avoient encores eu l’usage, ce que voluntiers il accorda. Au moyen de quoy nous fismes dresser par aucuns charpentiers Chrestiens qu’avions en nostre compaignie, trois instrumentz & engins pour jecter pierres de telle grandeur, que chacun engin chassoit une pierre de trois cens livres pesant. Ces engins furent incontinent chargez en deux navires, & envoyez au camp. Et apres les avoir dressz contre la ville de Sianfu, on commença a charger & jecter de gros moilons & quartiers de pierre dedans la ville, dont la premiere tumba sur une maison, de telle violence & impetuosité, qu’elle fouldroya & abbatit la plus grand part d’icelle. Ce que voyans les Tartares, mesmes ceulx qui assiegeoient la ville, furent merveilleusement estonnez & esbahys. Et au regard de ceulx qui estoient dedans la ville plus grandement effraiez de ces nouveaux assaultz, & congnoissans en quel danger & extremit& ilz estoient reduictz par leurs ennemys, en sorte que mesmes dedans leurs maison ils n’estoient en seureté, pour obvier que la ville par le moyen de la violence de telles pierres fust demolie & ruynée, & les habitans affolez, demanderent a parlamenter & se rendre a la subjection & obeissance du grand Cham: a quoy ilz furent receuz.
De la ville de Singui, & du fleuve de Quiam, surlequel elle est assise. Chap. LIX.
De la ville de Sianfu a distance de cinq grandes lieuës, on parvient en la ville de Singui, en laquelle (combien qu’elle ne soit de grande estendue) arrivent neantmoins grande quantité de navires chargez de marchandises: car elle est située sur le rivage d’une grosse riviere appellée Quiam, qui veritablement est l’une des plus grosses rivieres qui soit en tout le monde, & ne pense qu’elle ayt la pareille, car en quelques endroictz elle à plus de trois grandz lieuës de largeur, en autres peu moins, & le plus communement deux lieuës. Son cours s’estend en longueur le chemin de cent journées. En icelle font voille infiniz navires, tellement qu’on jugeroit estre impossible en pouvoir encor autant trouver en tout le monde. Brief ceste ville est fort renommée pour les grandes traffiques, foires & negociations qui s’y exercent, a cause de la grande quantité de marchandise qu’on y apporte par le moyen de ceste grosse riviere. Oultre y a plusieurs autres villes assises sur les rivages de ce fleuve, & jusques au nombre de deux cens: car il passe & faict son cours par les limites & destroictz de seize provinces, la moindre desquelles faict voguer sur iceluy le nombre de cinq mil navires. Or les plus grandes naufz du pays ne contiennent qu’un estage, & n’ont qu’un mast pour soustenir & estendre la voille. Ilz n’usent point de cordes de chanvre, sinon pour le mast & la voille, mais ilz s’aydent de certains pilorches ou cordes faictes de grandz rouseaux, dont quelquesfois ilz se servent a tirer le long du fleuve leurs navires, & les font en telle maniere: Ilz fendent & divisent en pieces ces grandz rouseaux, dont les aucuns ont sept ou huict toyses de longueur, les boutz desquelz ilz lient les uns aux autres, & les retortent en telle façon, qu’ilz en font de grandes & longues cordes, & jusques a la longueur de cent cinquante toises, lesquelles sont plus fortes, que celles du chanvre.
De la ville de Caigui. Chap. LX.
La ville de Caigui est petite, assise sur le bord de ce gros fleuve de Quiam, vers la coste du vent de Syroch, au territoire de laquelle croist si grande quantité de bled & de riz, que de la on le transporte jusques a la court du grand Cham. Aussi qu’au chemin qui traverse d’un lieu en autre y à plusieurs grandz lacz & fleuves, lesquelz estoient si proches & a peu de sitance les uns des autres, que facilement le grand Cham les à faict joindre & assembler en un, en sorte qu’ilz sont a present capables pour porter & donner passaige aux navires, pour commodement aller & venir aux provisions: combien qu’en aucuns endroictz (pource qu’on n’a encores entierement retranché les terres moytoiennes) on soit contrainct descharger les navires, & faire charger & porter par terre les bledz a un autre lac, ou lon trouve d’autres navires prestz pour les recevoir & transporter oultre. Pres la ville de Caigui y à une isle au mylieu du fleuve, dedans laquelle est erigé un grand monastere remply de moynes qui servent aux idoles, lequel est le chef & superieur de tous les autres monasteres du pays dediez au service des idoles.
Musean translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation of Book Two (the empire of Kublai Khan and China), made directly from the 1556 French text (Groulleau, Paris), for fidelity, the traveler’s voice, and modern clarity. The long s is normalized to s.
Of the cities of Tadinfu and Singuimatu. Chap. LI.
Traveling another six days south, one comes to the great city of Tadinfu. It had a king before it was subdued and made tributary to the Great Khan, and forty other cities depend on it and fall under its jurisdiction. These have excellent gardens, for the country is pleasant and delightful. Three days farther south lies another fine city called Singuimatu, into which a great river flows from the south. The inhabitants have divided it into two branches, one flowing east toward the province of Mangi and the other west toward Cathay. Up these two waterways come countless boats laden with merchandise. From Singuimatu, if you continue south for twelve days, you will continually pass many cities and towns along the road, well populated and frequented by merchants, where extensive trade is carried on. The inhabitants worship idols and are subject to the Great Khan.
Of the great river Caromoran and the cities of Corgangui and Caigui. Chap. LII.
Continuing along the same road, one encounters a great river called Caromoran, said to rise in the kingdom of Prestejan. It is more than one great quarter of a league wide and so deep that large laden ships can readily sail up and down it. It is also exceedingly rich in fish and supports fine fisheries. Quite near its mouth, where it empties into the great Ocean Sea, the Great Khan keeps about fifteen thousand ships always ready and fully provisioned, so that, should it become necessary to send his army to the neighboring islands in the sea, he can do so easily and promptly. Some of these ships are large enough to accommodate fifteen horses and as many men, with all the food and fodder they need. Each ship has about twenty sailors and pilots. On the banks of this river, near the anchorage of the ships, stand two fine cities, one called Corgangui and the other Caigui. Once across this river, one enters the noble province of Mangi. Its glories and remarkable features will be related in the following chapters.
Of the province of Mangi, and the kindness and justice of its king. Chapitre LIII.
The province of Mangi once had a king named Facfur, so rich and powerful that no one in all the country surpassed him in power save the Great Khan. His kingdom was so well fortified that it was thought invincible, and no one dared attack or challenge him. Consequently both king and people neglected the practice and exercise of arms. Each city was encircled by great, broad moats filled with water. Yet they had no horses, for they feared no one. Such security enabled the king to enjoy himself and indulge continually in pleasures and delights. His court ordinarily held a thousand gentlemen, besides his large and honorable retinue of servants and officers. Nevertheless, he held justice in particular esteem: he loved peace and tranquillity and was very merciful. No one dared harm or wrong his neighbor or disturb the public peace, or he was punished. In short, his kingdom enjoyed such freedom and security that craftsmen often left their shops open at night, yet no one dared enter them. Foreigners and travelers crossing the country could journey by day or night in complete safety, fearing no living person. The king was also very kind and charitable to the poor, never abandoning those in urgent need or suffering want and poverty. Moreover, each year he took in and gathered a great number of exposed children whom their mothers had left and abandoned—sometimes as many as twenty thousand—and had them fed and cared for at his own expense. For in this country poor women commonly cast out and abandon their children in the hope that others will take them in and feed them. Some of the children the king gathered in this way he assigned to the wealthiest and most prominent people of his kingdom, especially those who had no children, ordering them to receive and adopt them as their own. Those he himself brought up and supported he later married to girls of the same condition, likewise abandoned by their parents in childhood, and gave them some income on which to live and support themselves.
How Baiam, commander of the Great Khan’s army, conquered the province of Mangi. Chapitre LIIII.
In the year of our salvation one thousand two hundred and sixty-eight, the Great Khan Kublai, wishing to add the province of Mangi to his empire, conquered it and brought it under his rule in the following way. He raised a great army of cavalry and infantry, made a man named Baiam Chinsam his lieutenant and commander over it—his name means in their language “the light of a hundred eyes”—and sent him with this army into Mangi. On arriving there Baiam first besieged the city of Coniganhuy and summoned its inhabitants to surrender and swear loyalty and obedience to Emperor Kublai. They refused. On hearing their answer, he lifted the siege and went away without harming or harassing them in any way. He then did the same at the next city, which likewise refused him. Moving on, he summoned the third, fourth, and fifth cities, and all refused. But when he came to the sixth, he attacked it furiously and pressed it so hard that he carried it by assault. Having done so, he turned back against the other cities and likewise took them by assault, subduing and capturing twelve cities in a short time. For his army contained very brave and valiant men, all picked soldiers, bold and well skilled in arms. Moreover, the Great Khan sent him reinforcements in another army no smaller than the first. This struck the people of Mangi with great fear, indeed despair, and their courage began to fail. Meanwhile Baiam marched directly to camp before Quinsai, the capital and chief city of the province, where the king of Mangi held his court. Recognizing the strength and valor of the Tartars and seeing their great audacity, the king was profoundly alarmed. He took to the sea with the largest company he could assemble and withdrew to certain impregnable islands with about a thousand ships, leaving the defense of Quinsai in the hands of his wife the queen, as though she could offer it powerful support and protection. Nevertheless, the queen took courage and acted prudently, neglecting nothing needed for the city’s safety and defense. But when she heard that the commander of the Tartar army was named Baiam Chinsam, that is, “a hundred eyes,” she was greatly frightened and lost all her strength and resolve. Her astrologers and magicians had warned her, in particular, that Quinsai could never be taken except by a man who had a hundred eyes. She had thought it impossible and contrary to nature for a man to have a hundred eyes. Now, hearing that the prophecy fitted this commander, she would not resist destiny and the decrees of fate. Instead she summoned the commander of the Tartar army and, after negotiating with him, freely surrendered both the city and the whole kingdom. When its townspeople and citizens and the other inhabitants of the kingdom heard this, they willingly swore loyalty and obedience to the Great Khan. One city alone, called Sianfu, held out stubbornly and withstood the siege for three years before surrendering, as will be described later. The queen withdrew to the Great Khan’s court, where he received and treated her honorably. Her husband, the king of Mangi, continued to live on the islands, and there spent the rest of his life and died.
Of the city of Conigangui. Chap. LV.
The first city one finds on entering the province of Mangi is called Conigangui, a famous city, large and rich in all good things. It stands on the river Caromoran, which provides it with a fine harbor where many ships arrive. So much salt is artificially produced in this city that it suffices to supply forty cities, and from it the Great Khan draws great profit and revenue. The city’s inhabitants and all the peasants around it worship idols and burn the bodies of their dead instead of burying them.
Of the cities of Panchy and Cain. Chap. LVI.
One day beyond Conigangui, toward the sirocco wind, stands the city of Panchy, large and famous for the commerce and trade conducted there. It has a great quantity of silk and likewise abundant provisions. Moreover, it is well situated on the main road along which all the revenues brought from the province of Mangi to the Great Khan pass. The entire road from Conigangui to Panchy is paved with fine stone, and there is no other road or place through which one can enter Mangi. One day beyond Panchy appears the city of Cain, likewise fine and celebrated. Around it there are excellent places for fishing and hunting, both deer and birds, particularly pheasants, which are found there in great numbers.
Of the city of Tingui. Chap. LVII.
A day’s journey farther on one reaches the city of Tongui, which, though not large, is well stocked and abundantly supplied with every kind of provision. It has a fairly good harbor where many ships put in, since it lies not far from the open sea. There are also many saltworks, near which the city of Tingui is situated. Another day from this city in the direction of the sirocco lies another fine and pleasant city, set in good country and gentle surroundings. Under its government and jurisdiction are as many as twenty-seven other cities, as I, Marco Polo, can confidently affirm, having governed it for three years at the Great Khan’s command.
By what means the city of Sianfu was taken by the Tartars. Chap. LVIII.
To the west lies a province called Nauiguy, prosperous and wealthy, set in beautiful country, where rich cloths of gold and silk are made and wheat grows in great abundance. The chief city of this province is called Sianfu, and twelve other cities depend on it, subject to its jurisdiction. Sianfu was besieged by the Tartars for three years while they subdued and conquered Mangi, yet their whole army and all their forces could do nothing against it. It was surrounded on every side by water and great lakes, so that it could not be attacked, and the only way in lay to the north. Accordingly its inhabitants thought so little of the Tartars that throughout the siege they regularly sent ships laden with food and supplies into and out of the harbor without any hindrance or opposition. The Great Khan was greatly vexed and saddened at being unable to accomplish his purpose. At that time my father, my uncle, and I were at the emperor’s court and in his service. We explained that, if he would hear us and agree to follow our counsel, we could give him the means to take the city and bring it under his rule in a short time: certain ingenious engines that had never yet been used in that country. He willingly consented. We therefore had some Christian carpenters in our company construct three machines and engines for throwing stones, each capable of hurling a stone weighing three hundred pounds. These engines were immediately loaded into two ships and sent to the camp. Once they were set up against Sianfu, they began to hurl great stones and blocks of rock into the city. The first fell upon a house with such force and violence that it shattered and brought down most of it. When the Tartars saw this, especially those besieging the city, they were greatly amazed and astonished. Those inside the city were even more frightened by these new assaults. Realizing the danger and distress to which their enemies had reduced them, so that they were not safe even in their own houses, they sought to prevent the city from being demolished and ruined by the violence of such stones and its inhabitants from being maimed. They asked to negotiate and submit to the rule and authority of the Great Khan, and their surrender was accepted.
Of the city of Singui, and the river Quiam on which it stands. Chap. LIX.
Five great leagues from Sianfu one reaches the city of Singui. Although it is not very extensive, many ships laden with merchandise arrive there, for it stands on the bank of a great river called Quiam, truly one of the largest rivers in the whole world. I do not think it has an equal: in some places it is more than three great leagues wide, in others a little less, and most commonly two leagues. Its course stretches a hundred days’ journey in length. Countless ships sail upon it, so many that one would think it impossible to find as many again in all the world. In short, this city is renowned for its extensive trade, fairs, and commerce, owing to the vast quantity of merchandise brought there by this great river. Many other cities stand on its banks, as many as two hundred, for it passes through the territories and districts of sixteen provinces, the smallest of which sends five thousand ships sailing upon it. Now the largest ships of the country have only one deck and one mast to support and spread the sail. They use no hempen ropes except for mast and sail, relying instead on certain hawsers or ropes made of great reeds, which they sometimes use to tow their ships along the river. They make them this way: they split the great reeds, some of them seven or eight toises long, into strips, tie their ends together, and twist them into great long ropes, as long as a hundred and fifty toises, stronger than those made of hemp.
Of the city of Caigui. Chap. LX.
Caigui is a small city on the bank of the great river Quiam, toward the sirocco wind. So much wheat and rice grows in its territory that supplies are carried from there all the way to the Great Khan’s court. Along the route from one place to another lie many large lakes and rivers, so close to one another and separated by so little distance that the Great Khan has easily had them joined into one waterway. They can now carry ships and provide passage for supplies to go conveniently back and forth. In some places, however, because the intervening land has not yet been entirely cut through, ships must be unloaded and the grain carried overland to another lake, where other ships stand ready to receive it and take it farther. Near Caigui an island lies in the middle of the river. On it stands a great monastery full of monks who serve idols; it is the head and superior house of all the other monasteries in the country dedicated to the service of idols.
Plain English translation
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition of Book Two, made independently and directly from the 1556 French text (Groulleau, Paris). The long s is normalized to s.
On the cities of Tadinfu and Singuimatu. Chap. LI.
Traveling six more days south, one reaches the great city of Tadinfu. It had a king before it was conquered and made tributary to the Great Khan. Forty other cities depend on it and are under its jurisdiction. They have excellent gardens, for the country is pleasant and delightful. Three days farther south is another fine city called Singuimatu. A large river comes down to it from the south, and the inhabitants have divided it into two branches. One flows east toward Mangi; the other flows west toward Cathay. Countless boats loaded with goods come upstream along these two waterways. If you continue south from Singminatu for twelve days, you will constantly pass numerous towns and villages along the roads, well populated and visited by merchants, where much trade takes place. The inhabitants worship idols and are subject to the Great Khan.
On the great river Caromoran and the cities of Corgangui and Caigui. Chap. LII.
Continuing along the same road, one comes to a large river called Caromoran. It is said to rise in the kingdom of Prestejan. It is more than a large quarter of a league wide and so deep that large loaded ships can easily travel both up and down it. It has an abundance of fish, supporting excellent fisheries. Quite near the mouth of the river, where it flows into the great Ocean Sea, the Great Khan keeps about fifteen thousand ships ready and fully supplied. If he needs to send his army to the nearby sea islands, he can thus do so quickly and easily. Some ships are large enough to accommodate fifteen horses and as many men, together with all the food and fodder they need. Each ship has about twenty sailors and pilots. On the riverbanks near the ships' station stand two fine cities, one called Corgangui and the other Caigui. As soon as one crosses the river, one enters the noble province of Mangi, whose outstanding qualities will be described in the following chapters.
On the province of Mangi and the kindness and justice of its king. Chapter LIII.
Mangi once had a king named Facfur. He was so rich and powerful that no one in the country was stronger except the Great Khan. His kingdom was so well fortified that people thought it impossible to conquer, and no one dared attack or challenge him. As a result, the king and his people neglected the use and practice of arms. Every city was surrounded by wide, deep moats full of water, but they had no horses, since they feared no one. This confidence allowed the king to enjoy himself continually. He regularly kept a thousand noblemen at court, besides his large and distinguished staff of servants and officers. Yet he paid particular attention to justice. He loved peace and quiet and was very merciful. No one dared harm his neighbor or disturb public peace, or he would be punished. In short, his kingdom was so free and secure that craftsmen often left their shops open at night, and no one dared enter them. Foreigners and travelers could go through the country safely by day or night, without fear of anyone. The king was also very kind and charitable to the poor. He never abandoned people who were in urgent need or suffered from want. Moreover, every year he took in many exposed children abandoned by their mothers, sometimes as many as twenty thousand, and had them fed and supported at his expense. Poor women in this country commonly cast out and abandon their children so that other people will take them in and raise them. The king gave some of the children he gathered to the richer and more prominent people of his kingdom, especially those without children, and ordered them to adopt them as their own. As for those he raised and supported himself, he later married them to girls in the same situation, likewise abandoned by their parents in childhood. He gave them some income to live on and support themselves.
How Baiam, commander of the Great Khan's army, conquered Mangi. Chapter LIIII.
In the year of our salvation one thousand two hundred sixty-eight, the Great Khan Kublai wanted to add Mangi to his empire. He conquered and brought it under his rule as follows. He assembled a large army of cavalry and infantry and put a man called Baiam Chinsam in command as his lieutenant and captain. In their language the name means the light of a hundred eyes. He sent him and the army into Mangi. Baiam first laid siege to Coniganhuy and demanded that its inhabitants surrender and pledge loyalty and obedience to Emperor Kublai. They refused. On hearing their answer, he lifted the siege and left without causing them any injury or trouble. He did the same at the next city, which likewise refused. He went on to demand the surrender of the third, fourth, and fifth cities, all of which refused. But at the sixth he launched a furious attack, pressing it so hard that he captured it by storm. He then turned back against the other cities and likewise captured them by storm. In a short time he took twelve cities. His army included very brave and valiant men, all picked troops, bold and skilled in war. Moreover, the Great Khan sent him reinforcements in the form of a second army no smaller than the first. This struck such great fear, even despair, into the people of Mangi that they began to lose heart. Baiam then went directly to camp before Quinsai, the capital and chief city of the province, where the king of Mangi held court. When the king recognized the Tartars' strength and courage and saw how boldly they acted, he was greatly alarmed. He took to the sea with the largest company he could assemble and withdrew to some islands that could not be captured. He had about a thousand ships with him. He left the defense of Quinsai to his wife the queen, as though she could provide great support and protection. The queen, however, acted with manly courage and good judgment. She neglected nothing necessary for the city's defense. But when she heard that the Tartar commander was called Baiam Chinsam, meaning a hundred eyes, she was terrified and lost all her strength and courage. Her astrologers and magicians had told her that Quinsai could only be taken by a man with a hundred eyes. She had thought it impossible and contrary to nature for a man to have a hundred eyes. Hearing now that the prophecy fit this captain, she did not want to resist fate and its decrees. Instead she summoned the Tartar commander, spoke with him, and freely surrendered both the city and the entire kingdom. When the citizens and residents of that city and the other people of the kingdom heard this, they willingly swore loyalty and obedience to the Great Khan. The only exception was a city called Sianfu, which held out under siege for three years before surrendering, as will be described below. The queen went to the Great Khan's court, where he received and treated her honorably. Her husband, the king of Mangi, remained in the islands and spent the rest of his life there, where he died.
On the city of Conigangui. Chap. LV.
The first city one finds on entering Mangi is Conigangui. It is famous, large, and rich in all kinds of goods. It stands on the river Caromoran, which forms a fine harbor there, visited by many ships. So much salt is made in this city that it can supply forty cities, bringing the Great Khan much profit and revenue. The city's inhabitants and all the surrounding country people worship idols and burn the bodies of the dead instead of burying them.
On the cities of Panchy and Cain. Chap. LVI.
One day's journey beyond Conigangui, toward the sirocco wind, stands the city of Panchy. It is large and famous for its commerce and trade. It has plenty of silk and abundant food. It is also well placed on the main road along which all the revenues brought from Mangi to the Great Khan pass. The entire road from Conigangui to Panchi is paved with fine stone. There is no other road or place by which one can enter Mangi. One day's journey beyond Panchi is the city of Cain, also fine and well known. There are good fisheries and opportunities to hunt wild animals and birds around it, especially pheasants, which are found there in abundance.
On the city of Tingui. Chap. LVII.
One day's journey farther on one reaches Tongui. Though it is not large, it is well supplied with all kinds of food. It has a fairly good port visited by many ships, since it is not far from the open sea. It also has many saltworks, near which the city of Tingui stands. Another day's journey from Tingui toward the sirocco wind is another fine, pleasant city, in a good location and gentle countryside. As many as twenty-seven other cities fall under its government and jurisdiction. I, Marco Polo, can say this with certainty, since I governed it for three years by order of the Great Khan.
How the Tartars captured Sianfu. Chap. LVIII.
To the west lies a province called Nauiguy. It is rich and prosperous, with beautiful countryside, and makes costly cloth of gold and silk. Wheat also grows abundantly there. Its principal city is called Sianfu, and twelve other cities depend on it and fall under its jurisdiction. During their conquest of Mangi the Tartars besieged Sianfu for three years without the whole army and all the Tartar forces being able to accomplish anything. The city is surrounded on all sides by water and large lakes. It can only be attacked and entered from the north. Its inhabitants therefore cared so little about the Tartars that throughout the siege they regularly sent ships loaded with food and supplies in and out of the harbor without any interference or resistance. The Great Khan was deeply distressed that he could not complete his enterprise. At that time my father, my uncle, and I were at the emperor's court and in his service. We told him that, if he would listen and agree to follow our advice, we could provide a means to capture the city and bring it under his rule quickly. We proposed certain ingenious engines that had not yet been used in that country, and he readily agreed. We therefore had some Christian carpenters who were with us build three machines for throwing stones. Each machine could hurl a stone weighing three hundred pounds. The machines were immediately loaded onto two ships and sent to the camp. Once they had been set up against Sianfu, they began to throw heavy blocks and pieces of stone into the city. The first stone struck a house with such force that it shattered and destroyed most of it. The Tartars, even those who were besieging the city, were amazed and astonished at this. Those inside were more frightened still by these new attacks. They saw the danger and desperate position their enemies had put them in, since they were not safe even inside their houses. To prevent the city from being destroyed by the force of these stones and its people from being injured, they asked to negotiate and surrender to the Great Khan's rule and obedience. Their surrender was accepted.
On the city of Singui and the river Quiam on which it stands. Chap. LIX.
Five great leagues from Sianfu lies Singui. Though it is not very large, many ships loaded with goods arrive there. It stands on the bank of a large river called Quiam, truly one of the largest rivers in the world, and I do not think it has an equal. In some places it is more than three great leagues wide, in others a little less, and most often two leagues wide. Its course extends the distance of a hundred days' travel. Countless ships sail on it, so many that one might think it impossible to find that many more in the entire world. In short, the city is famous for the great trade, fairs, and business conducted there because of the huge quantities of merchandise brought in on this river. Many other cities stand along its banks, as many as two hundred. The river passes through the boundaries and territories of sixteen provinces, the smallest of which sends five thousand ships sailing on it. The largest ships of the country have only one deck and one mast to hold and spread the sail. People use no hemp ropes except for the mast and sail. Instead they use cables or ropes made from large reeds, sometimes to tow their ships along the river. They make them as follows. They split the large reeds into pieces, some reeds being seven or eight fathoms long. They bind the ends together and twist the pieces into long ropes, as much as a hundred and fifty fathoms long, stronger than hemp ropes.
On the city of Caigui. Chap. LX.
Caigui is a small city on the bank of the great river Quiam, toward the sirocco wind. So much wheat and rice grow in its territory that these crops are carried from there to the Great Khan's court. There are many large lakes and rivers along the route from one place to the other. They lay so close together that the Great Khan easily had them joined into a single waterway, now able to carry ships and let supplies pass conveniently in both directions. In some places, however, the intervening land has not yet been fully cut away. There the ships must be unloaded, and the grain must be carried overland to another lake, where other ships are ready to receive it and take it on. Near Caigui there is an island in the middle of the river. It holds a large monastery full of monks who serve idols. This monastery is the head and superior of all the other monasteries in the country dedicated to serving idols.