So was Marco Polo really a governor for the Khans and did he really tell the truth that he traveled to and fro from Chyna?
>>18104979I don't see why it would be made up.Venice was an end point for the Silk Road, ultimately, in competition with Constantinople. May as well travel all the way to the other end.
Born into a wealthy trading family, he journeyed with his father and uncle to the court of Kublai Khan, the Mongol emperor of China, where he served as a trusted emissary for nearly two decades. His detailed accounts of the wealth, culture, and innovations of the Mongol Empire, recorded in The Travels of Marco Polo, introduced Europeans to the wonders of Asia, including paper money, coal, and the imperial postal system. Though some questioned the veracity of his tales, his book inspired later explorers like Christopher Columbus and shaped medieval Europe's understanding of the world.
After reading the book, there is no way he wasn't in China. It gets often pointed out that he doesn't mention some things about China you think he would mention like the writing system, but he doesn't mention any of that stuff about Georgia, Tibet or India either. He cares about what they produce as an economy, tells you a quirk about their local culture or city and moves on.The problem is, we don't know how much Rustichello or he himself embellished his role in the Yuan court but it's not improbable that the Mongols hired him as some minor official just for the reason that he has no ethnic loyalty to anyone in the empire and isn't bothered with long traveling times, they did that a lot with Persians as well, which we know from both Chinese sources and Marco Polo.
>>18104979How many hones """Venetian Merchants""" have you ever heard of? Exactly. Goes to """China""" doesn't mention chop sticks.It's all so tiresome.......
>>18104979Marco Polo was likely proto-Anglican btw.
