The Travels of Marco Polo by Colin Thubron - Essay Example

The Travels of Marco Polo by Colin Thubron The Travels of Marco Polo by Colin Thubron has been one of the most important resources to know more about the Chinese cities of the earlier periods. The travels of Marco Polo have ever been of utmost significance in the history of humanity and his vivid descriptions of the splendid cities and people he encountered during his journey along the Silk Road through the Middle East, South Asia, and China have been the fundamental resources that opened up the fascinations of the East to the Western readers. The Travels of Marco Polo by Thubron has been incredible with the colourful stories and the description of the great kings and cities of China and these descriptions offer an important material for comparison with other descriptions of the Chinese cities. In the book, the author provides dazzling portraits of the cities in China long ago and the descriptions of the city of Quinsai in chapter 68 till chapter 70 illustrate the essential nature and relevance of the overall descriptions in the book. Thus, the author provides reliable information about the various aspects of the city and the descriptions are highly factual and realistic. There are important descriptions of many towns, castles, and villages and the readers are given factual descriptions about the people, the kings, and the currency in the city. “At the end of three days, you reach the noble and magnificent city of Quinsai, a name that signifies ‘the celestial city’, and which it merits from its pre eminence to all others in the world, in grandeur and beauty, as-well as from its abundant delights, which might lead inhabitants to imagine himself in paradise. In all seasons there is, in the markets, a great variety of herbs and fruits, especially pears of an extraordinary size… Each of the 10 markets squares is surrounded with high dwelling houses, in the lower part which are shops, where every kind of manufacture is carried on, and every article of trade is sold, such as spices drugs trinkets and pearls...” (Thubron, 209) Therefore, the book provides great details about the various aspects of the city and the readers are able to gather some essential factual data regarding the cities of ancient China. Two other articles which deal with the great cities of ancient China are “The Attractions of the Capital” and “Recollections of Northern Song Capital”. A reflective analysis of these resources in comparison to each other provides an enlightening understanding of the great cities of ancient China. Therefore, this paper undertakes a comparative analysis of The Travels of Marco Polo by Colin Thubron with these articles in order to verify the reliability of the information provided in each resource, the focus of the authors in them, and the details about the city. In a reflective analysis of the descriptions of the markets in each of the resources, it becomes lucid that the authors provide certain general elements of the city, while they are distinct in their focus of writing. Whereas The Travels of Marco Polo tells about ten market squires (“Each of the 10 markets squares”), the two other articles emphasises the area of the market and the position of the market. The Travels of Marco Polo mentions about the trading of “a great variety of herbs and fruits especially pears of an extraordinary size…” in the markets, while, according to other resources, “the food and drink, the flowers and fruits fresh with each season, fish and shrimp, turtles and crabs, quail and rabbit, dried and jerked meat, gold, jade, precious baubles, and clothes sold here are the most marvellous in the world.” (Recollections of Northern Song Capital, 408) Similarly, the article “The Attractions of the Capital” also mentions the trading of various identical items. “Here we find pearl, jade, talismans, exotic plants and fruits, seasonal catches from the sea, wild game – all the rarities of the world seem to be gathered here.” (The Attractions of the Capital) Therefore, the authors provide descriptions of similar aspects of the city (here market), while they seem to be different in their focus of descriptions. In all these resources, the authors emphasises the significance of silk products in the ancient China, and there are important descriptions of the people of the land. “The inhabitants of the city are idolators, and they use paper money as currency. The men as well as the women have fair complexions and are handsome. The greater part of them is always clothed in silk – produced in the territory of Quinsai.” (Thubron) Therefore, there is no reason to question the reliability of the information provided in each of the resources, while the discrepancy in the focus of the authors suggests that each of the resources was intended to reveal certain specific aspects of the city. In the article “The Attractions of the Capital”, the author has been focused in giving details about the various attractions of the city, especially the commercial aspect of the city. Thus, the article suggests that Kaifeng and Hangzhou were not merely administrative centres, but also flourishing commercial cities. As these cities were located at the centres of communication, there was great scope for development and there existed in these cities a distinctively unban style of life, with their concentration of people and wealth. In the article, the author provides detailed descriptions of the markets, commercial establishments, wine shops, restaurants, teahouses, the four departments and six offices, entertainment centres, clubs, gardens, speciality stores, warehouses, hustlers, etc. Therefore, the focus of the author becomes palpable from the descriptions provided. “Various businesses are designated by the word ‘company’, which is a taxation category imposed by the government and is used for all businesses dealing in commodities, regardless of their size.” (The Attractions of the Capital, 179) Similarly, the article “Recollections of Northern Song Capital” provides a detailed description of the great inner city and the author gives details of the various aspects of the city. The author deals with the various locations in the city such as the markets, avenues and alleys in every side of the city, streets and alleys outside the Gate, shops and stalls, restaurants, wine, food and fruits, etc. The author is more interested in giving details of the events such as the visits of the Imperial Retinue in the Taoist temple of the five march-mounts on the fourteenth day of the first month. Therefore, the article provides descriptions of the various practices, rituals, important events of the city along with describing the important areas of the city. In The Travels of Marco Polo by Colin Thubron, the author provides as much details as possible about the various aspects of the people and life-style in the city. There are descriptions about the celebrations, entertainments, places of importance, articles of significance etc. “When the inhabitants of the city have occasion to celebrate a wedding, or to give a sumptuous entertainment, they resort to one of these islands, where they find ready for their purpose every article that can be required, such as napkin vessels napkin table linen etc...” (Thubron) All through the book, the author provides a first-hand account of the various elements of the city and it provides the work much more reliability and acceptance in comparison to the other resources under discussion. As the account is given with personal commentaries, the readers are easily immersed into the details given. “Master Marco, happening to be in the city Quinsai at the time of making the annual report to his majesty commissioners of the amount of revenue and the number of inhabitants, had an opportunity of observing that the latter were registered at 160 toman on fire laces, that is to say, of families dwelling after the same roof; and as a tall man is 10,000 it follows that a whole city must have contained 1 million 600 thousand families, amongst which multitude of people there was only 1 church of Nestorian Christians.” (Thubron) Thus, The Travels of Marco Polo by Colin Thubron provides more reliable information regarding the city and the author focuses on giving the details of the city and its people in great detail. Compared to the other resources, this work has a better appeal with regard to the reliability criteria and it also provides much more details about the city. Works Cited “Recollections of Northern Song Capital.” Thubron, Colin. The Travels of Marco Polo. W. Marsden. (Transln). New York: Everymans Library. P 209-226. “The Attractions of the Capital.” Read More