
- Nowhere is he mentioned in Chinese writings and the Chinese were well known for documentation and certainly they would have documented at least something about Marco Polo especially as he was claimed to be a mayor of some small province.
- A Man called Marco Polo did live in Venice but that was not the Marco Polo we learned about.
- What a disappointment!
In a book published in 1995, “Did Marco Polo Go to China?”, Frances Wood, the head of the Chinese section at the British Library, also argued that he probably did not make it beyond the Black Sea.
She pointed out that despite being an acute observer of daily life and rituals, there is no mention in Marco Polo’s chapters on China of the custom of binding women’s feet, chopsticks, tea drinking, or even the Great Wall.
“There’s nothing in the Venetian archives to say that the Polo family had direct contact with China at all,” Dr Wood told The Daily Telegraph. “Nothing from China has ever been found in the possessions they left behind.
“One theory is that Marco Polo copied a sort of guide book on China written by a Persian merchant. Only about 18 sentences in the entire manuscript are written in the first person – it is extremely rare for him to say ‘I saw this with my own eyes’.
“I believe that rather than being one person’s account, it’s a sort of medieval database of European knowledge of the Far East at the time.
you can also read all about MP in Wikipedia of course. That is if you never read his travels.
Jan 04, 2018 @ 15:38:04
Ai dis lekker om weer iets van jou te sien!
Hoop jy het ‘n wonderlike 2018
Jan 04, 2018 @ 16:22:12
En dieselfde vir jou xxx
Jan 04, 2018 @ 20:20:20
He certainly had an interesting life, though! 🙂 🙂 Happy 2018 to you!
Jan 04, 2018 @ 20:43:55
And a very happy 2018 to you too. xxx
Jan 04, 2018 @ 20:45:22
🙂
Jan 05, 2018 @ 00:23:34
Well. Louise, I guess we’ll never know for sure!
Found online:
“Today there are a school of experts conducting research and authentication of Marco Polo and his Travels. Much of what he wrote, which regarded with suspicion at medieval time was, confirmed by travelers of the 18th and 19th centuries. Marco Polo is receiving deeper respect than before because these marvelous characters and countries he described did actually exist. What’s more interesting is that his book becomes great value to Chinese historians, as it helps them understand better some of the most important events of the 13th century, such as the siege of Hsiangyang, the massacre of Ch’angchou, and the attempted conquests of Japan. The extant Chinese sources on these events are not as comprehensive as Marco’s book.”
Whatever the result; I believe he was indeed an intrepid traveller!
Jan 05, 2018 @ 05:27:07
Thanks, this is very interesting! So many views. There certainly are more than one school of thought.
A very happy 2018 to you and yours. And before we know it the year will come to an end. Life is now going very fast for me,
xxx
Jan 05, 2018 @ 06:01:44
Happy 2018.
Jan 05, 2018 @ 06:07:49
Thanks and to you too.
Jan 05, 2018 @ 11:58:39
Ag, nou het ek lekker gelees! Hou tog so van sulke skrywes, leer altyd iets nuuts.
Jan 05, 2018 @ 12:37:10
Baie dankie en n baie gelukkig 2018 vir jou. Blog jy nie op Ou Litte nie?
Jan 05, 2018 @ 12:44:30
Dankie vir die wense. Mag jy ook ñ geseënde nuwe jaar beleef. Ek blog van einde 2016 af hier, nie voorheen op ñ ander plek nie.
Jan 05, 2018 @ 12:47:34
Ok want ek lees jou maar kon lank nie eens like nie want ek het my kode verloor . Ek het gelding ek moet nog een dag na jou winked toe😋
Jan 05, 2018 @ 12:51:20
Jy is so welkom om te kom inloer. Sal heerlik wees. Laat weet my net vooraf, sodat ek kan sorg dat ek die dag wel hier is.
Jan 11, 2018 @ 18:47:28
Ack! I wonder if what else we’ve been told that didn’t happen… History isn’t truly objective…
Jan 11, 2018 @ 19:31:14
We have been told a heck of a lot 😋 hope you have a great 2018 xxx
Jan 15, 2018 @ 22:27:40
Thanks and wishing you a nice 2018 too 🙂
Jan 12, 2018 @ 13:41:34
So btw I do see you on Goodreads but it is not the kind of books I read. Have just read for the second time that beautiful book of William Kent Kruger _ Ordinary Grace. Five stars at least