100 must-read books for college students

Chapter 28 Spreading the Experience of Eastern Civilization
Chapter 27 The Experience of Spreading Eastern Civilization: "Marco Polo's Travel Notes"

The travel notes dictated by an Italian in prison more than 600 years ago promoted the development of European navigation in the 15th century and inspired

Columbus went to discover new worlds, which Marco Polo himself never thought of.For the precision made by this adventurer

The world is amazed by his memory and observation ability.Therefore, it deserves to be called "the world's

What is even more amazing is that this Marco Polo from Venice, in his youth for nearly 20 years, actually

Forged an indissoluble bond with the Great Khan of the Mongolian Khanate and the future Emperor Kublai Khan of the Yuan Dynasty.

A Journey to the East is a Book in Prison

The great traveler Marco Polo (1254-1324) was born in a wealthy merchant family in Venice, Italy.Marco Po
When Luo was 17 years old, he embarked on a mysterious journey to seek the Eastern world with his father Niccolo and his uncle Ma Fei'a.This time the transcontinental haul

Trek across Syria and Tigris-Euphrates two river basins, cross Iran, go north to the Amu Darya River, and travel through the deserts of Central Asia
Crossing the Pami Plateau to the east, entering the border of China, passing through Kashgar, Khotan, near Lop Nur, east to Dunhuang, Yumen, Jiuquan,
Passing through Ningxia, after three and a half years of trekking and arduous adventures, in 1275, they arrived at Kaiping Mansion (now the capital of Kublai Khan), the capital of Emperor Kublai Khan.
Northwest of Duolun, Mongolia), it has been almost 10 years since I met Kublai Khan for the first time.When Kublai Khan found the Polo brothers beside him

A handsome young man asked who is this person?Niccolo replied: "This is Your Majesty's servant, my son." The Khan said:

"I am glad to welcome him," and ordered that Marco's name be added to the roster of squires.Since then, Marco Po

Luo and his father and uncle became officials of the Yuan Dynasty for 1275 years from 1292 to 17.

At the beginning of 1292, three members of the Polo family and more than 3 entourages escorted Kuo Kuo Zhen, who was married to the king of Persia, on the return journey, and it took 600 months to sail.

Arrived in the Kingdom of Aru. They returned to Venice at the end of 1295, twenty-four years after leaving home.They brought back many treasures from China
Treasures, became famous in Venice rich.However, Marco Polo was not blessed to be his justice of the peace. In 1298, William

Genoa, the enemy of Nice, sent a fleet to attack Venice, and Marco Polo paid for the construction of a warship to participate in the Venetian war.
He fought against Genoa in his fleet, and personally boarded and commanded it.As a result of the fierce battle, Venice was defeated, and Marco Polo's ship

The ship was captured by the Genoese, and Marco Polo became a prisoner and put in a Genoese prison.During about 10 months of prison life,

Marco Polo recounted his legendary experience in the East to a fellow prisoner named Rustician, a writer from Pisa

, proficient in French, Marco Polo's dictation was recorded in French and passed down to the world. This is the famous "Marco Polo

"Travel Notes", or "Oriental Experience Records".There are many editions of this book. The Chinese translation was first published in 1913, and there are 6 kinds in total.
The quotations are from the latest Chinese translation published by Chen Kaijun, Dai Shuying and others based on the English translation in 1981.

Travel anecdotes Chinese customs and customs

"Marco Polo's Travels" is divided into 4 volumes.The first volume is "According to the various places along the way from small Armenia to the Great Khan"

". This part includes people from Armenia, Mesopotamia, Persia, Central Asia, the Pamirs, the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, etc.

Love, business conditions, including some local historical stories and folklore.There is a special chapter in this volume describing the Lob Desert,

Huang, Hami, Jiuquan, Zhangye (Marco Polo's father and uncle lived here for nearly a year) and Qinghai, Ningxia
some cities within.The last part of this volume describes "the luxurious palace built by the Great Khan in Shangdu and the etiquette in the royal hall", which is

Westerners have first-hand information about the architectural scale of the Mongolian court and the living habits of the Mongolian Great Khan at that time.

The second volume is "Kublai Khan and his capital, court, government, and cities and provinces passed through in the Southwest Journey.
". This part describes the political activities and wars during the reign of Kublai Khan (1256-1294) in the early years of the Yuan Dynasty, including the suppression of the imperial
Shu Naiyan's rebellion, there is also a description of Kublai Khan's appearance: "Kublai Khan, known as the Great Khan or King of Kings, is a
He is of medium build, slender and moderate, with well-proportioned limbs, and the whole body fits harmoniously.He has delicate features and a heroic spirit, sometimes
His face was rosy, and his color was like a rose, which added to his appearance.His eyes are black and handsome, and the bridge of his nose is straight and straight. "Can
It can be said that this may be the closest description of Kublai Khan's appearance.Marco Polo's observation of Beijing, the capital of the Yuan Dynasty (called by the Mongols)
Khan Bali)'s description shows his deep admiration.In the Yuan Dynasty, Beijing "was square as a whole, with a range of 38 kilometers.
About ten kilometers each side. ...The whole city is designed with linear planning.In general, all the streets are straight and go straight to the bottom of the wall.
. ...The land allotted to the residents of the whole city to build houses is also square, and they are neatly arranged in a straight line with each other.
Each lot has plenty of room to build beautiful homes, yards and gardens, etc. ...the entire urban area is laid out in a square, such as
The same chessboard.The sophistication and beauty of the design are simply beyond words. "The book also uses a special chapter to describe Kublai Khan's "

Magnificent and magnificent palace". Use "resplendent", "magnificent", "extraordinary workmanship", "reach the pinnacle" and so on

words.After reading Marco Polo's description of Beijing and Kublai Khan's palace, one can feel the grandeur of Beijing more than 600 years ago.

potential.

Travel notes refer to the former jurisdiction of the Southern Song Dynasty as the "Manzi Province". Judging from Marco Polo's description of these areas, it seems that he

He didn't understand that "barbarian" is a word associated with uncivilized, because he gave many "barbarian" cities the cultural landscape

For example, "Suzhou City is amazingly beautiful", while Hangzhou (Jingshi) is praised as "majestic and beautiful".
It is beautiful and can be called the crown of other cities.” Many other cities in the south have been described in detail. Travel notes share half of the
The length of the book introduces more than 40 cities in China, and there are many precious historical materials that the author personally experienced.But what puzzles Chinese and foreign researchers is that

In fact, Marco Polo did not mention the Great Wall in his travel notes in northern China. In fact, the route he passed passed through several times.
Is it the negligence of Marco Polo, or the omission of the recorder?

The third volume of travel notes deals with the Japanese archipelago, South India, and the coasts and islands of the Indian Sea.The fourth book is about the Tatar princes

The war between the two countries and the general situation of the northern countries.These are the anecdotes and anecdotes collected from Marco Polo's travels, which seem to be not as good as
He has been so meticulous about China, where he has lived for 17 years.

The content of this travel note is rich and peculiar, and the descriptions of various exotic folk customs and customs have unveiled the mysterious veil of the oriental world
, especially introduced the civilization and style of China in the 13th century to Western people, and became a "window" for Europe to understand China at that time

. "

For example, the book introduces the Marco Polo Bridge on the Yongding River in the southwestern suburbs of Beijing with praise: "...there is a beautiful bridge on the river.
Bridge, this is perhaps the largest stone bridge in the world.The bridge is 300 steps long and 8 steps wide; 10 people ride side by side without feeling

To the narrow inconvenience.The bridge has 24 arches, supported by 25 piers standing in the water and supporting the bridge body; the arches are built with curved stones

It shows the superb bridge-building technology... Marble slabs are embedded between the stone pillars on the bridge, and exquisite carvings are engraved on them.
At this time, the whole bridge is magnificent and magnificent. "

The travel notes also recorded the use of coal in China at that time, which opened the eyes of Europeans.At that time, Europeans did not know that coal was
What Marco Polo called "black stones", Chapter 30 of the book reads: "There are found everywhere in the whole Khitan province.
A black stone, dug from the mines, which runs in veins underground, and which, when lit, is as effective as charcoal, and its flame

But bigger and stronger than charcoal.It can even burn from night to dawn and still not go out.This kind of stone, unless the small piece is first set on fire
, otherwise it does not usually catch fire.If it catches fire, it will emit huge heat. "

A Traveler's GuideChinese-Western Cultural Exchange

"Marco Polo's Travel Notes" describes in detail what Marco Polo saw and heard from West Asia to East Asia, especially for him.
Living in China for 17 years
Recorded in detail.The richness of the East shown in the book fascinates Europeans.Columbus loved to read "Marco Polo's Travels" since he was a child. In his travel preface, he bluntly stated that he would sail to China to find the Great Khanate in Marco Polo's book.this
The book played a huge role in promoting the development of the European navigation industry in the 15th and 16th centuries.

This magnificent work, full of anecdotes and true feelings, was quickly translated into dozens of languages ​​and spread widely.it was studied in the 13th century
An important historical record of the history and geography of China and Asian countries, based on which some European geographers drew the early "Map of the World"

".Some other travelers, adventurers, businessmen, etc. discovered the ancient and wealthy Oriental land from "Marco Polo's Travel Notes".
Civilization has aroused the desire and determination to travel across oceans to communicate with China, India and other countries.On August 1492, 8, Columbus brought
A letter from the King of Spain to the Emperor of China, leading a small fleet to China and India, just drifting with the wind and unintentionally "floating"
"It's all in America. It is in this sense that some people think that Columbus opened up the world under the influence of Marco Polo.
The route to America "discovered" the New World.

Yu Shixiong, a Chinese historian who studies Marco Polo, pointed out that "Marco Polo's Travels" has a great influence on the European navigation industry around the 15th century.

Development has played a huge role in promoting.For example, after the Italian navigator Columbus read "Marco Polo's Travel Notes" when he was young, he immediately
Zhidong tour, practice navigation, study astronomy, mathematics, history, geography, etc., in preparation for traveling to the East.He from 1492
, under the sponsorship of the King of Spain, made several voyages to the northeast corner of Central America and South America. He mistakenly thought that he had reached India,
So he called the local aborigines "Indians" (this name has been used to this day), he regarded Mexico as Hangzhou, and Cuba as Hangzhou.

Do Japan.This geographical misunderstanding has turned a new page in history—opening up a new sea route from Europe to America.
History dedicated the laurels of discovering America to Columbus.The Latin text "Marco Polo's Travels" he read is still preserved in the

lisbon.In the preface to the travel notes written by Columbus, he even stated that he would sail to China to find the Great Khan in "The Travels of Marco Polo".

country.In the Ming Dynasty, the German Da Gama, the British Capote, the Jenkinson brothers, the Portuguese Benedict, etc.
The purpose of traveling eastward by sea or land respectively is to search for the Khitan Kingdom deliberately described in "Marco Polo's Travels" (Chinese

Northern part of the country).

A book promotes the communication and development of communication, culture and commerce between China and the West, which is where its charm and influence lie.in China and the West
In terms of cultural exchanges, "Marco Polo's Travels" is undoubtedly an extremely glorious page.

(End of this chapter)