Did Marco Polo Go to China?

Rating:
Summary: I disagree with the author
Review: About Frances Wood's Did Marco Polo Go To China?

In 1995 Dr Frances Wood published a book titled Did Marco Polo Go To China?, which became Marco Polo Did Not Go To China in the German version. This book, purporting to unmask Marco Polo as a fraud, has enjoyed considerable attention - which it fully merited as an entertaining piece of light reading. Unfortunately, Wood's argument appears to have been taken at face value in some academic circles, so much so that a word of warning now seems appropriate: Wood's story is neither original, nor is it scholarly. The gist of Wood's argument has been commonplace through the ages and, especially, in the 19th century. In its present form it was suggested in a lighthearted way some years ago by the eminent German sinologist Herbert Franke who now categorically rejects Wood's thesis. As for the scholarship of Wood's book, it is impugned on a series of counts, notably in an exhaustive study published in 1997 by Igor de Rachewiltz of the Australian National University wherein Wood's arguments are discussed one by one, not infrequently on the basis of documents that the author overlooked, or even deliberately ignored as inimical to her story. One case in point shall suffice here to cripple Wood's thesis. It concerns the accounts in a 15th century Chinese encyclopaedia (publ. in 1941 by Yang Chih-chiu) and in the Persian historian Rashid al-Din's Collection of Histories (discussed by F.W. Cleaves in 1976) of the 1291-3 naval expedition conveying the Mongol princess Kokecin from China to Persia - of which Marco Polo bears detailed witness as a participant. It really should be incumbent on authors in Dr Wood's position, as a matter of intellectual correctness, clearly to signal the distinction between historical fancy and the reporting of serious research. Canberra, Australia

Rating:
Summary: Did Marco Polo go to China? A matter of perspective
Review: As with any book of historical perspective, the reader should take into account the historian's viewpoint, but also what is not said. Indeed history is interpreted through it's interpreters, historians, through facts that they believe to be accurate. There are, however, other viewpoints or perspectives that can be as well supported through facts.
"Did Marco Polo Go to China?" piques the issue and raises some considerable debatable questions on whether one of history's greatests myths is indeed fact and to what level cultural diffusion took place between the east and west during that specific time period.
Please read this book with objectivity and do not consider it to be the answer, as the answer should be found after reading all different viewpoints through a self-exploration process.

Rating:
Summary: Something to think about
Review: Frances Wood provides a semi-revisionist view on the travels of Messer Marco Polo. Wood offers a number of contentions (chopsticks, the Great Wall, cormorant fishing, Chinese writing, paper, tea, foot binding, not being mentioned in Mongolian and Chinese historical records, not learning Chinese, and the who invented ice cream/spaghetti debate) that make it seem highly unlikely that Polo actually went as far east as China. I will list each of Woods main arguments and then offer my own explanation.

Chopsticks: this is a good argument, however, there are many people in Central Asia that use chopsticks. In the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China for example, most if not all Uighurs use chopsticks when eating noodles and dumplings. Perhaps Polo would have been surprised to see people in Central Asia using chopsticks at first, but by the time he traveled all the way eastward to China he had become accustomed to seeing the use of chopsticks and so this was not such an exciting thing. And what about the Middle East where people eat with their right hand and wipe with their left? Why is'nt this mentioned by Polo?

The Great Wall: another decent argument. However, there is absolutely no way to verify the exact route Polo took and so how can we discern if he ever had the chance to actually see the wall or not? Many travelers have tried to trace his route but none have succeeded. Wood describes the Wall as being made of yellow sand and mud. If you have ever been to China, you will see how well the old original parts of the wall blends in with the countryside. Only now can we really make out the wall with all of its brick renovations/restorations. It would be like someone coming to visit New York City and seeing the Empire State Building. Impressive? Yes. But would that person be so excited about it that they would write about it? Probably not.

Comorant fishing: It's not like all of China fishes with cormorant birds. This is a very specialized brand of fishing in a very small portion of China. It's very possible that Polo never even had a chance to visit this area.

Chinese writing : Woods argues that Polo never mentions anything about Chinese writing/caligraphy. But if Polo was a sycophant of Kublai Khan and Mongolia being the dominant country at the time, there would be no reason for Polo to learn Chinese. But surely he must have learned some Chinese but he just did'nt mention it. Besides, Mongol script is very similar to Arabic script and so again, this would not be anything new to Polo having traveled throughout Persia and the Middle East.

Paper: what is so exciting about paper when the great Khan gives you a golden tablet for unmolested travel back to Venice?

tea: tea was available everywhere in the Middle East and India. Why would this be a revelation?

Foot binding: most Chinese women who had their feet bound were of the upper class. Supposedly done to make women look more sexy, it was in reality more or less a sinister way of not allowing women freedom and the opportunity to cheat on their husbands. If a woman was unhappy in her marriage, there was absolutely no way for her to "walk out" so to speak. Most foot bound women stayed at home inside so Polo may not have had much opportunity to see this practice.

Not being mentioned in historical records: Polo probably exaggerated greatly his importance within the Imperial Court. He was also not the the first European to visit Mongolia/China. And even if he was a high official, was it not more the responsibility of the Mongols to document this as opposed to China as Mongolia was the ruling country?

Who invented Ice Cream and Spaghetti, Italy or China?: I think it is pretty obvious that these two foods originated in Central Asia, if not the Middle East. Woods admits this herself. Having been to Central Asia, it seems to me highly likely or quite possible that these could have originated in West/Central Asia. Dumplings are a regular staple of many within Central Asia.

After 17 years in a foreign land, it would have been very difficult to remember every single thing that Polo saw. Polo himself said that he had not told the half of what he saw.

All in all, this is an excellent book worth reading. Wood says that this is not the ultimate answer or authority on whether Polo actually visited China, but a book to read so that people can think more analytically and critically about Marco Polo.

A very readable book with a number of passages that describe the power and ferocity of the Mongols: "like the reprisal against Burma (1277) when the Muslim general of the Mongol army Nasir al-Din, aware that he was outnumbered , ordered his archers to fire on the two thousand Burmese war elephants, covering them with arrows and causing a frenzied stampede."

A book well worth reading but buy it used!

Rating:
Summary: Something to think about
Review: Frances Wood provides a semi-revisionist view on the travels of Messer Marco Polo. Wood offers a number of contentions (chopsticks, the Great Wall, cormorant fishing, Chinese writing, paper, tea, foot binding, not being mentioned in Mongolian and Chinese historical records, not learning Chinese, and the who invented ice cream/spaghetti debate) that make it seem highly unlikely that Polo actually went as far east as China. I will list each of Woods main arguments and then offer my own explanation.

Chopsticks: this is a good argument, however, there are many people in Central Asia that use chopsticks. In the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China for example, most if not all Uighurs use chopsticks when eating noodles and dumplings. Perhaps Polo would have been surprised to see people in Central Asia using chopsticks at first, but by the time he traveled all the way eastward to China he had become accustomed to seeing the use of chopsticks and so this was not such an exciting thing. And what about the Middle East where people eat with their right hand and wipe with their left? Why is'nt this mentioned by Polo?

The Great Wall: another decent argument. However, there is absolutely no way to verify the exact route Polo took and so how can we discern if he ever had the chance to actually see the wall or not? Many travelers have tried to trace his route but none have succeeded. Wood describes the Wall as being made of yellow sand and mud. If you have ever been to China, you will see how well the old original parts of the wall blends in with the countryside. Only now can we really make out the wall with all of its brick renovations/restorations. It would be like someone coming to visit New York City and seeing the Empire State Building. Impressive? Yes. But would that person be so excited about it that they would write about it? Probably not.

Comorant fishing: It's not like all of China fishes with cormorant birds. This is a very specialized brand of fishing in a very small portion of China. It's very possible that Polo never even had a chance to visit this area.

Chinese writing : Woods argues that Polo never mentions anything about Chinese writing/caligraphy. But if Polo was a sycophant of Kublai Khan and Mongolia being the dominant country at the time, there would be no reason for Polo to learn Chinese. But surely he must have learned some Chinese but he just did'nt mention it. Besides, Mongol script is very similar to Arabic script and so again, this would not be anything new to Polo having traveled throughout Persia and the Middle East.

Paper: what is so exciting about paper when the great Khan gives you a golden tablet for unmolested travel back to Venice?

tea: tea was available everywhere in the Middle East and India. Why would this be a revelation?

Foot binding: most Chinese women who had their feet bound were of the upper class. Supposedly done to make women look more sexy, it was in reality more or less a sinister way of not allowing women freedom and the opportunity to cheat on their husbands. If a woman was unhappy in her marriage, there was absolutely no way for her to "walk out" so to speak. Most foot bound women stayed at home inside so Polo may not have had much opportunity to see this practice.

Not being mentioned in historical records: Polo probably exaggerated greatly his importance within the Imperial Court. He was also not the the first European to visit Mongolia/China. And even if he was a high official, was it not more the responsibility of the Mongols to document this as opposed to China as Mongolia was the ruling country?

Who invented Ice Cream and Spaghetti, Italy or China?: I think it is pretty obvious that these two foods originated in Central Asia, if not the Middle East. Woods admits this herself. Having been to Central Asia, it seems to me highly likely or quite possible that these could have originated in West/Central Asia. Dumplings are a regular staple of many within Central Asia.

After 17 years in a foreign land, it would have been very difficult to remember every single thing that Polo saw. Polo himself said that he had not told the half of what he saw.

All in all, this is an excellent book worth reading. Wood says that this is not the ultimate answer or authority on whether Polo actually visited China, but a book to read so that people can think more analytically and critically about Marco Polo.

A very readable book with a number of passages that describe the power and ferocity of the Mongols: "like the reprisal against Burma (1277) when the Muslim general of the Mongol army Nasir al-Din, aware that he was outnumbered , ordered his archers to fire on the two thousand Burmese war elephants, covering them with arrows and causing a frenzied stampede."

A book well worth reading but buy it used!

Rating:
Summary: Shakes up the establishment!
Review: From my own research, I have found no reliable eye-witness accounts to substantiate Marco Polo's travels. Instead I have found the accounts to read like a novel recounting a popular character. Author, Frances Wood, has opened up a fresh look at the evidence that has been under dusty tomes of historical hubris all this time. Wood lets the wind out of Marco Polos' sails! Anyone interested in truly good investigative reporting will be well rewarded by this intelligent account.

Rating:
Summary: Worth reading -- but in balance
Review: Marco Polo, whose very name is a byword for travel and adventure, is worth reconsidering; but the case Frances Wood builds against him is primarily negative: Polo didn't mention the Great Wall, or cormorant fishing, or binding women's feet. All these matters are more than adequately answered in John Larner's MARCO POLO AND THE DISCOVERY OF THE WORLD, a book I recommend for balance. The thesis of Marco Polo not going to China is compelling, and Wood's style is fast-paced and keeps at a high level. But she seems to rebut her own argument in some places -- for instance, even mentioning a name close to "Polo" where Marco was said to have been, but dismissing it just as quickly by saying it couldn't have been him (the answer comes in a later chapter, but by the time you reach it, the author has made the argument look specious).

Marco Polo may indeed have exaggerated his own importance. Instead of being ruler of a province, being a major player in the salt business, on the face of it, was probably more likely his position. But Marco was a businessman brought up in a mercantile family. Unlike the author's idea, a seventeen year old in the thirteenth century was not considered a "boy" -- in fact, he was coming up on half his life expectancy. Even if the "great wall" of that day was the wall we see today (it wasn't, the impressive brick facade came later), we can hardly expect boyish wonder.

Without positive evidence, Frances Wood runs across the problem of those who believe Shakespeare didn't write his plays, or that he didn't exist. They can only argue from negative evidence, and a negative can't be proven. It cannot be proven that, because the Khan of Khans didn't mention a Venetian traveller, that the traveller who says he was there was lying -- although it can may suggest that he wasn't as important in the Khan's court as he intimates.

This book is only for those who wish to find out all aspects of the Polo problem. It's not recommended for the general reader, especially one who just wants to see famous people debunked. Debunking western European figures is a cottage industry at the turn of the twenty-first century, but in the case the evidence is very thin for the revisionists.

For someone who wants a good, solid, general overview of Polo and his mystique, check the John Larner book.

Rating:
Summary: Worth reading -- but in balance
Review: Some readers no doubt have heard of a forthcoming book, The City of Light, which purports to be the account of a 13th-century Italian-Jewish merchant visiting China four years before Marco Polo. With doubts being raised as to its authencity, because, among other reasons, the manuscript's owner refuses to allow its inspection, publication by Little, Brown has been postponed. Disappointed readers may take solace however in the recent publication of Did Marco Polo Go To China? (London: Secker & Warburg, 1995; Westview Press October 1, 1996, Hardcover, 187 pages, ISBN: 0813389984). Frances Wood, also author of the China entry for the famous Blue Guide series of travel guides, offers a critical look at what for many was the first inspiration of interest in Central Asia and the Silk Road. The book is a tour through the history of the various Il Milione manuscripts and the question of their authorship, but never bogs down into dry detail. Instead it asks a number of thoughtful questions which will give the reader pause. If Polo actually did visit all the places he claimed, why does he never mention those oddities such as chopsticks, footbinding and others which have caused the most comment among Westerners? And why does he seem to dwell so consistently on certain other topics such as markets and fortifications? Wood points out that despite Polo's claims of contacts with the Kublai Khan and other high officials, he is not mentioned in the court documents of the period. But if we doubt some of Polo's tale, how much is true and what are the true sources of this information? You will have to reach some of your own conclusions, but Wood skilfully and always engrossingly presents all the evidence you'll want to solve this detective tale.

Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful Work Resembles Detective Story
Review: Some readers no doubt have heard of a forthcoming book, The City of Light, which purports to be the account of a 13th-century Italian-Jewish merchant visiting China four years before Marco Polo. With doubts being raised as to its authencity, because, among other reasons, the manuscript's owner refuses to allow its inspection, publication by Little, Brown has been postponed. Disappointed readers may take solace however in the recent publication of Did Marco Polo Go To China? (London: Secker & Warburg, 1995; Westview Press October 1, 1996, Hardcover, 187 pages, ISBN: 0813389984). Frances Wood, also author of the China entry for the famous Blue Guide series of travel guides, offers a critical look at what for many was the first inspiration of interest in Central Asia and the Silk Road. The book is a tour through the history of the various Il Milione manuscripts and the question of their authorship, but never bogs down into dry detail. Instead it asks a number of thoughtful questions which will give the reader pause. If Polo actually did visit all the places he claimed, why does he never mention those oddities such as chopsticks, footbinding and others which have caused the most comment among Westerners? And why does he seem to dwell so consistently on certain other topics such as markets and fortifications? Wood points out that despite Polo's claims of contacts with the Kublai Khan and other high officials, he is not mentioned in the court documents of the period. But if we doubt some of Polo's tale, how much is true and what are the true sources of this information? You will have to reach some of your own conclusions, but Wood skilfully and always engrossingly presents all the evidence you'll want to solve this detective tale.