IIIF Color HighRes
National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
| |||||||||
|
| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Marco Polo : vol.1 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Citation Information
II
THE DESCRIPTION OF THE WORLD FROM SUGIU TO CIANGAN the rest of the world.' But they are mean men and not men used to the exercise of arms; z z but I tell you that they are clever and discreet merchants and cunning men of all L crafts, and also there are great very wise •men called Sages, like our philosophers, and z R great natural physicians who know nature very well and recognize diseases and give the R
due remedies for them; • there are also many • others called • magicians and diviners. Moreover z R z
I tell you quite truly that there are quite six thousand bridges all of stone in this FB city, below the greater part of which one galley and two would well pass . And again z
I tell you that in those mountains of this town the rhubarb grows there in the R
utmost perfection, and it goes through the whole province, and ginger also grows there in very R L great abundance. For it is so cheap there that I tell you that for as much silver as is a R VA Venetian groat you would have quite forty' pounds of fresh ginger which is [66a] very good. And you may know that it has sixteen' very large important cities and z of great trade and of very great industry under its rule . And you may know that FB the name of this city which is called Sugiu means to say in French4 city of the R Earth, and the name of another city named Quinsai which is near here is called city of z z R the Heaven. And they have these names given for their great nobility and power. z z And we shall tell you of the other noble city which is called Heaven after this. z Now we will leave Sugiu and will go forward to a city which is found, called Vugiu. FB z And you may know that this Vugiu is one days journey distant from Sugiu. And FB it is a very great city and good and of great trade and of great industry. And because there is nothing of novelty which does to mention we will leave it and will go and V will tell you of another city which is called Vughin. And this Vughin is also a very great city and important, the people of which they are idolaters and subject to y the rule of the great Kaan, and have money of notes . And there is great quantity of y FB silk and of many sorts of other costly goods. And they are clever merchants and z FB clever at handicraft. Now we will leave this city and will tell you of another city also, z named the town of Ciangan. Now you may know that this city of Ciangan is very great and noble and rich. They are idolaters and are subject to the great Kaan, and L have money of notes, and they live by trade and by handicraft. Very fine sendals of FB R many fashions are made there [66b] in very great quantity, and are carried through R
151.
1 VB: se fosseno audai et uerjlj et atj ale bataglie njúno dubita che ala moltjtudene de giente i sono non che i foseno domjnatj ma conquisterebono tuta quela proujnzía et molto piuj oltra VA: non se poria chonquistar da tuto el mondo
2 TA,LT,VB,R: "forty" P,LT(margin): "eighty" FA,FB,VA,L,V,Z: "sixty
3 FA,FB,TA',VA,P,L,V,Z: "sixteen" TA': "fifteen" LT,VB: "twelve" See PN.
4 VA: in nostra lengua latina VB: in latino Both are Venetian versions made, presumably, from a French original. cf. p.453. But Latin sometimes meant nothing more than European.
325
;~
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright (C) 2003-2019 National Institute of Informatics and The Toyo Bunko. All Rights Reserved.