IIIF Color HighRes
National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Marco Polo : vol.1 |
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Citation Information
~J
.154.
153•
If+
il
t
I
THE DESCRIPTION OF THE WORLD': REVENUE FROM QUINSAI and many of them died. And Master Marc, as he says, saw the head of that fish with his own eyes in a certain temple of idols, etc.. Now I have told you a part of these things and next
I wish to tell you of the great revenue which the great Kaan has from this city with FB its dependencies, which is one of the nine' parts of that province or generation of TA3 Mangi.
HERE HE TELLS OF THE GREAT REVENUE WHICH THE GREAT KAAN HAS FROM QUINSAI. Now I wish to speak and tell you something of the very z R great amount of revenue which the great Kaan has each year from this z FB city of Quinsai aforesaid, and from the other lands which are under her domain, FA z which is one of the nine parts, or the ninth kingdom, of the province of Mangi. z Now I will tell you first of the salt, because it is of more value for revenue. Now you may know therefore quite truly that the salt of this town pays each year as a z rule eighty toman of gold altogether, and each toman is 70000 saggi of gold, so FB that the eighty toman amount to 5000 thousand and 600 thousand saggi of gold;2 while each saggio is worth more than one florin of gold or than one ducat of gold. And this is quite a marvellous thing and a very great sum of money. And the revenue z of salt is so great in this city for this reason, because it is in the borderland next to the sea where • there are many lagoons or marshes where the water of the sea is condensed in the summer, R and • a great quantity of salt is made, and •they take thence so great a quantity of salt that. z R from this city quite five •other •kingdoms of Mangi are supplied with salt for their uses. And z R z since I have told you of the salt, now I will tell you of the other things and merchandise also, for the duty which they pay. I [68d] tell you that sugar, which pays three FB R and a third per cent, grows and is made in this city and its dependencies, which is one of FB the nine parts of the province of Mangi, and it is also made in the other eight parts of the said province everywhere, and so it is made in this province in very great quantity and more than z double that which is made in all the rest of the world;3 many people say it in truth; and FB FA this is again a very great source of revenue. And then the spicery which is there without Z TA3 measure. But I will not tell you of each thing by itself, but I will tell you of all spicery together. For you may know that all spiceries pay three and a third per cent; and of all goods they pay also three and a third' per cent to the king. And TA from the wine which they make of rice and of spices they have very great revenue also, FB TA
' TA, LT: "eight"
2 TA', R: 8o toman, 80000 saggi, total 6400000 P: 8o, 80000, 5600000 Z: 8o, 70000, omitting the total. The vagaries of other MSS. need not be recorded.
3 FB: par tout lautre monde ne sen fait pas la moitie.
4 .iii.& tres (twice) FB: .iii.et tiers (once only,
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