National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

382. VUGUEN

inquin VB uynquem G vquen V
uguchu VL vnguem R vuguen FA, FB
uinque TA³ vnque TA¹ vuiaen Z
uuqen F vnquen LT, P, VA vugen F, L

Has been variously located at 閩清 Min-ch'ing, 永春 Yung-ch'un, 芋原 Yü-yüan, 尤溪 Yu-ch'i (cf. TP, 1890, 225; 1896, 226). My own feeling is that the only place of importance between Chien-ning and Fu-chou is 延平 Yen-p'ing. Yen-p'ing was called 南劍 Nan-chien in Sung and Yüan times (at least until a date posterior to 1278; cf. YS, 62, 9 a), and it is only under the name Nan-chien that it appears in the postal itineraries in Yung-lo ta-tien, 19426, 10 a. Nan-chien (then Nam-kiem) would be *Namguem in Polo's transcription; and Vuguen might be the outcome of *Nāguem. I am fully aware that such an identification does not agree with the interpretation generally given to the six and three days and fifteen miles mentioned by Polo in this chapter; but these mentions of duration and distance are not always so clear as YULE would have them to be. Moreover, I admit that the solution I propose is purely conjectural.


383. YANGIU

angiu F, L ianguy FA, FB yangu Z
cangui G languin V yangiu F, Ft, L
cingni TA¹ mangui VLr yangui Fr, P⁵
cingu, nangi TA³ nangui LT, VL yanguy P
iangui V, VA; R pagui VB

All authorities agree that this is 揚州 Yang-chou, the next postal stage after the northern bank of the Yang-tzŭ. Except for a short time in 1284-1285, Yang-chou was the seat of a special province from 1276 to 1291. This province of Yang-chou was counted by Rašidu-'d-Dīn as the fifth province of China, after that of « Namging » (= K'ai-fêng in Honan) and before that of Hangchou; Rašidu-'d-Dīn writes the name يڭلو Yanglu, wrongly read Šukču and identified with Ssŭ-ch'uan in Bl, II, 488-489. When I said this in 1928 (TP, 1928, 166-167), I failed to call attention to the fact that according to Rašid (Bl, II, 488), توقان Toqan then resided in « Yanglu »; BLOCHET has added in a note that this Toqan can have nothing to do with Toqan, eleventh son of Qubilai. But, on the contrary, we know from YS that Toqan (Toyan), Qubilai's son, was banished from the Court after his failure in Tonking, and governed Yang-chou from 1291 to his death in 1301; his