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Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

°i

60MARCO POLO.   VOL. I. BK. I.

the consummation of the marriage the new consorts appear in

dreams to their respective parents-in-law. Should this custom

be discarded, the unhappy defuncts might do mischief to their

negligent relatives. . . . On every occasion of these nuptials

both families give some presents to the match-maker (" Kwei-

mei "), whose sole business is annually to inspect the newly-

deceased couples around his village, and to arrange their weddings

to earn his livelihood.' "

Mr. Kumagusu Minakata adds :

" The passage is very interesting, for, besides giving us a

faithful account of the particulars, which nowadays we fail to find

elsewhere, it bears testimony to the Tartar, and not Chinese,

origin of this practice. The author, Kang Yu-chi, describes

himself to have visited his old home in Northern China shortly

after its subjugation by the Kin Tartars in 1126 A.D. ; so there

is no doubt that among many institutional novelties then

introduced to China by the northern invaders, Marriage of the

Dead was so striking that the author did not hesitate to describe

it for the first time.

" According to a Persian writer, after whom Pétis de la Croix

writes, this custom was adopted by Jenghiz Kân as a means to

preserve amity amongst his subjects, it forming the subject of

Article XI X. of his Yasa promulgated in I205 A.D. The same

writer adds : ` This custom is still in use amongst the Tartars at

this day, but superstition has added more circumstances to it :

they throw the contract of marriage into the fire after having

drawn some figures on it to represent the persons pretended to

be so marry'd, and some forms of beasts ; and are persuaded

that all this is carried by the smoke to their children, who there-

upon marry in the other world ' (Pétis de la Croix, Hist. of

Genghizcan, trans. by P. Aubin, Lond., 1722, p. 86). As the

Chinese author does not speak of the burning of papers in this

connection, whereas the Persian writer speaks definitely of its

having been added later, it seems that the marriage of the dead

had been originally a Tartar custom, with which the well-known

Chinese paper-burning was amalgamated subsequently between

the reigns of Genghiz and his grandson Kúblai—under the latter

Marco witnessed the customs already mingled, still, perhaps,

mainly prevailing amongst the Tartar descendants."

LV., p. 266. Regarding the scale of blows from seven tó 107,

Prof. Pelliot writes to me that these figures represent the theoretical

number of tens diminished as a favour made to the culprit by three

units in the name of Heaven, Earth and the Emperor.