Marco Polo and Matteo Ricci Accounts of China - Essay Example

The imperial power of the Chinese passes from the father to the son, however the people have a say in the staying in power of a ruler. When the people grow inept of a ruler they have the ability to strip him the throne and place a new man with courage and the qualities of being a leader. The Chinese prefer dying honorable death rather than be under a monarch who is usurping and swear allegiance to him. They therefore use and employ the ideologies of this proverb more frequently that, “no woman is moral who has two husbands nor any vassal faithful who has two lords”.

The laws that are governing China are not enshrined to any logical way, however any person who succeeds in getting the throne makes his own laws and he who succeeds him is obliged to implement the laws .The Chinese people have a government that is monarchial ,however to certain degrees this government is an aristocracy .Decisions in relation to governance are made by the magistrates but the king has to make confirmations by writing though he has no powers to make any final decision without first consulting with the magistrates.

The income does not go to the exchequer but is a resource of the public and is taken to the public treasury. The running of most of the national issues like the military and management of the prisons are met by the national treasury and where the funds cannot be met by the available resources, new taxes are imposed to raise the extra income to meet the national demands of the republic of china (Kashlansky). The magistrates are grouped into two, those from the national levels and those at the provincial levels.

Besides the magistrates there is a group of about 60 philosophers who have proved allegiance to the king and are loyal to the realm. This group is kept by the king for the good of business and benefits to the royalty. In addition to the magistrates ,at the national palace there are various organizations which are instituted for various purposes .there are also members of the cabinet who have no public administrative powers but have the highest office dignity. Marco gives an account of the tartars who had an eloquent ruler who came into power with approved integrity, justice and valor.

The king came into power with so much moderation and fairness that his fame spread all over the world. By finding himself as the head of so many brave men he ordered them to arm themselves with arrows and bows so as to fire an assault to the neighboring provinces. The king ensured that he developed love with the people and gained their respect. However in later stages he became a dictator and developed strict regulation which had even penalties for death of defaulters of regulations .The tartars had a nomadic life and never stayed in one place, constantly moving in search of greener pastures.

They had women with courage and virtue for the management of their homes (Marco).The women observe chastity and no quarrel is heard of or experienced in the families with the women always taking care of the children and the provision of food for the family. The city of Kin say is reported to have men and women who love life and use gold and silver. The authority of this city equally felt quite insecure and made it a rule to guard its numerous bridges with numerous precautions especially after dusk such