Marco Polo's impressions of China by Robin Sidhu https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp en-us 2021-06-28 23:38:14 UTC 2026-02-15 06:23:30 UTC hello@padlet.com Which modern Chinese city is Marco Polo writing about? rsidhu5 https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629054995 2021-06-28 23:39:16 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629054995 John https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629119436 Christianity affects Marco Polos perspective of China as he views  many of the practices with disdain and apprehension, such as the worship of idols, in which he uses the term Idolator which in itself has negative connotations. As well he is surprised and somewhat aghast by the types of animals that the Chinese eat such as dog, stating that no christian could be induced to eat such things.

The city in question is that of Tinsay, or modern day Hangzhou, with the lake he describes being the west lake which still exists today.]]> 2021-06-29 00:31:20 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629119436 Dimah https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629126218 * He said it is a finest city according to a description from the Queen. 
* he wrote about the city of Kinsay.
* he was impressed by the well construction of the city. 
* ]]> 2021-06-29 00:35:49 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629126218 He has described the city of Kinsey, it was the largest city in the world at that time. Today is known as Hangzhou https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629129565 Zeinab 

]]> 2021-06-29 00:37:46 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629129565 Sultan https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629129774 His Christian belief impacts him in the way he refers Buddhists as Idolaters.
It is interesting to note that China at the time is occupied by the Mongols, the Yuan dynasty, a people not native to China. ]]> 2021-06-29 00:37:52 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629129774 Christaniaty impacted Marco Palo's belief as he saw China from his own perspective. https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629130199 2021-06-29 00:38:08 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629130199 Ryan https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629131306 Kinsay, the city is beyond dispute the finest and noblest in the world, they eat every kind of flesh even that of dogs 🐶 ]]> 2021-06-29 00:38:49 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629131306 Zane https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629134276 Marco Polo wrote about the city of Kinsay which was the one of the largest cities in the world. Today Kinsay is known as the city of Hangzhou.]]> 2021-06-29 00:40:26 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629134276 https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629137211 Also he seems to be quite intrigued by the uhhhhh shall we say courtesans ahahah]]> 2021-06-29 00:42:05 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629137211 https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629142207 2021-06-29 00:45:06 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629142207 https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629142250 2021-06-29 00:45:08 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629142250 https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629142286 2021-06-29 00:45:09 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629142286 https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629142354 2021-06-29 00:45:11 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629142354 https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629142400 2021-06-29 00:45:13 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629142400 https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629142430 2021-06-29 00:45:14 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629142430 https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629142473 2021-06-29 00:45:15 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629142473 https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629142509 2021-06-29 00:45:16 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629142509 https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629142560 2021-06-29 00:45:18 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629142560 Faysal https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629143209 Central lake, with two islands in the middle.]]> 2021-06-29 00:45:41 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629143209 https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629143362 2021-06-29 00:45:47 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629143362 Samuel https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629146475 Refers to the leader of China as a "King" - using the western vernacular, despite the leader of China being known as the Emperor - though at this time under Mongolian occupation, the person in charge was the "Great Khan". Neither are a king.]]> 2021-06-29 00:47:35 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629146475 https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629157392 2021-06-29 00:54:05 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629157392 https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629157574 2021-06-29 00:54:13 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629157574 https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629157715 2021-06-29 00:54:18 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629157715 Samuel - 2 https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629160509 '...it was an ordinance laid down by the king that every man should follow his fathers business and no other; no matter if he possessed 100,000 bezants'

Not only does this line tell us about a form of hereditary caste system enshrined in law, but it shows the breadth of Polo's travels - a traveller from central Italy, using the currency of the Byzantines/Byzantium in the eastern roman empire (the modern-day middle east), to describe wealth all the way in China!]]> 2021-06-29 00:55:55 UTC https://padlet.com/rsidhu5/v18iz0s2poy0nssp/wish/1629160509