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Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

do I find anything similar to Godinho's text. Godinho very often blunders, but even so he provides
bits of interesting information. It is a pity that his editor and translator has left the text without
a note. The new translation by J. N. Mills in J. Mal. Br. R.A.S. 1930, part I, throws no light
on this particular point; cf. also H. BERNARD, La découverte de Nestoriens Mongols aux Ordos,
Tientsin, 1935, 8vo, 29-30.

359. THAI

thai R

The paragraph on the twelve « Thai », parallel to the twelve « Scieng », has been simply ignored
by YULE and PAUTHIER, in spite of its evident interest. While the twelve « Scieng » refer to the
metropolitan and provincial administration dependent on the Chung-shu-shêng or Grand Secretariat,
the twelve « Thai » represent the 御 史 臺 Yü-shih-t'ai and its representatives in the provinces
(cf. Perceval YETTS in RR, 436-437). I have kept the spelling thai, because the word is written
thus in RAMUSIO, our only source here, but tai would be as much, or even more, in agreement
with what we may believe to have been Polo's original form; in any case, the -h- is purely orthogra-
phical, and has nothing to do with the aspirate in t'ai.

We generally translate Yü-shih-t'ai by « Board of Censors », and just as there was a metropolitan
Chung-shu-shêng at the capital and « moving » (行 hsing) Chung-shu-shêng (or simply hsing-
shêng) in the provinces, there was a metropolitan Yü-shih-t'ai and several « moving » (hsing) Yü-
shih-t'ai (or simply hsing-t'ai). But Polo is wrong when he says that the twelve « Thai » had super-
vision over military affairs: that was, in principle at least, the office of the 樞 密 院 Ch'u-mi-yüan
and of its provincial delegates, the « moving » Ch'u-mi-yüan (or simply hsing-yüan). But Polo
is right in a way when he says that the promotion or the dismissal of officials was incumbent upon
the « Thai »; it was the duty of the Yü-shih-t'ai to report on the behaviour of individuals.

If the name of « Thai » seems certain, and must refer to the Yü-shih-t'ai, it is more difficult
to account for the number of « twelve » given by Polo. It seems as though there was some confusion
in his mind in regard to the numbers of the « Scieng » and the « Thai », and moreover, even in the
case of the « Scieng », he seems to have gone somewhat astray. It is a matter of regret that we have
here only R, and not Z, as there is some reason to believe that the original text of this chapter may
have read rather differently (see « Scieng »). It is not true that the « Thai » ranked above the
« Scieng ».

On the Yü-shih-t'ai, cf. YS, 86, 12 a-14 b.

By a puzzling coincidence, Rašīdu-'d-Dīn says that the commanders of armies are called طايفه
ṭaifu (cf. Y³, III, 120; Bl, II, 470), which is obscure, and one may be tempted to suppose some
connection with Polo's « Thai ». YULE thought of the modern 撫 台 fu-t'ai; but this was the
colloquial title of the Ch'ing provincial governors or hsün-fu, and must be left out of account.