Marco Polo and His Travels to China
Up to now, the book “The Travels of Marco Polo” is still considered the basis of the exploration journey as well as expanding the knowledge of the “East” of the Westerners in the 13th century, according to many European historians. However, behind the book and the interesting things that Marco Polo experienced, there are still many unanswered questions.
Marco Polo’s Book About His Travels
One day in the very last of the winter in 1295, there were three strangely dressed men with dirty faces at the door of the Polo family — a famous merchant family in the city of Venice (Italia).
They spoke Italian, apparently not very well. One of them said to the doorman that he was a member of the Polo family, returning from trading in the East. After a while of observation, the owner confirmed that they were from the Polo family. These were Nicolai Polo, Maffeo Polo, and Marco Polo.
About 24 years ago, father and son Nicolai Polo, his brother, and Marco Polo went to China. Since then, no one has seen or heard from them. All those years, family members assumed they were dead or missing.
The news of the return of the three people from the Far East quickly spread throughout the city of Venice. Curious people came to Polo’s house to meet them. Marco Polo happily recounted to them interesting things in the East.
The vast majority of listeners did not believe, even most thought that these were made-up stories created by 3 vagabonds. Someone even mocked Marco: Why was he coming back from the Wealthy East but dressed in such rags? To prove his story, Marco threw a big party. At the banquet table, each time they offer a dish, they change a set of clothes, the latter being more beautiful than the former. Finally, they wore the initial tattered clothes. When they tore their sleeves, many gold and silver treasures hidden in them fell to the ground. Almost everyone marveled at this huge pile of wealth. But then, the outbreak of the Venice-Genoa War in 1298 caused the Venetians to quickly forget the travels of Marco Polo.
According to Venetian law, during the war, warships were built on wealthy people’s budgets. Marco spent a large amount of money building the ship “Oriental”, personally participating in the battle as the captain.
The Venetian Navy failed, and Marco was taken prisoner. In prison, he stayed with the writer Rustichello. Rustichello recorded Marco’s stories in the book “The Travels of Marco Polo”. Four years later, Marco was free. He published this explosive book “The Travels of Marco Polo” also known as “The Book of the Marvels of the World and Il Milione, c. 1300”.
At the time, many people thought he was a braggart. However, this book had a very important influence on many explorers at that time, especially Christopher Columbus, who later found a way west to China and Japan.
Marco Polo was not the first European to reach Beijing, but he was the first to describe in detail the palaces, lifestyle, and court of the Great Khan of the Yuan Dynasty in Beijing. He was even the first to talk about the regions of Java, Sumatra, Thailand, and Burma. The wealth of China in the 14th century was the doubt and dream of Westerners, who wondered how to reach that rich land. Marco Polo spent 24 years living in a world that was strange and mysterious to Europeans. Marco Polo’s travels to China were considered a kind of myth, and for 200 years, his book “Book of the Marvels of the World and Il Milione” has been the main source of news about an unknown eastern land.
1/ Trading Trip of the Father, Nicolo Polo
In the 13th century, Europe had just experienced the Dark Ages and isolation and transitioned to a period of trade and war with the Near East. The population of Europe increased, and cities began to expand, creating a demand for goods. At that time, aristocrats often underestimated the trade industry, so there was an appearance of a middle class consisting of merchants in some big and small cities. Of the growing populace, nowhere was more suitable for commerce than Venice. This was the ideal place on the Adriatic Sea and near the East.
In 1254, Nicolo Polo and his brother Maffeo, two jewelry merchants, made a long trip to Constantinople. Then, also due to trade, these two went as far as eastward to Bukhara, deep into the land then controlled by the Mongols. The Mongols came from the northern part of China, invaded Europe, and established new territories ruled by the Khagans. In Russia, the Mongols were called Tartars.
These two merchant brothers were trapped in the land of the Tartars for three years because of the wars around the area and the looting on the way back. Finally, on a visit to the imperial court of Khagan in China by Prince Tartars, the two Polo brothers were invited to accompany him. This was an opportunity to safely leave the Bukhara region, so the two merchants were on the road with the emissary.
After more than a year of hardship on the road, the brothers Nicolo and Maffeo reached Beijing in 1265 and were warmly welcomed by Kublai Khan. Khagan was the grandson of Genghis Khan, the emperor who founded the vast Mongol Empire, which stretched from northern Asia to the eastern parts of Europe.
Twenty years ago, several Europeans who were merchants or monks had reached China and Mongolia, but Nicolo and Maffeo were the first two Europeans to be presented to the court of Khagan. When two Venetian merchants came to Beijing, they were surprised by many new things.
The capital was surrounded by high walls, and the interior lands were divided into several regions with the royal palace in the middle. The Polo brothers were also impressed by the Khagan’s hospitality. The arrival of strangers from an unknown land interested Kublai Khan. The Khagan also wondered about Christianity, so when the Polo brothers left China, the king asked them to bring a letter to the Pope, asking him to send 100 scholar monks to the Mongol court. Khagan also sincerely invited the Polo brothers to return to China and issued them a license stamped with gold to ensure safety on the road.
In 1269, the Polo brothers returned to Venice when they knew that Nicolo’s wife had died after giving birth to a son named Marco Polo, who was raised by members of the family. At this time, Marco Polo was a 15-year-old boy who was agile, and resourceful, often played around at the pier, and knew quite a few sailors.
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