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Scholar: Marco Polo Did Visit China
A professor with the Beijing University has claimed to have found new evidence proving that Marco Polo (1254-1324), an Italian traveler, did come to China.
Dang Baohai, a history professor, disclosed this at an international seminar on the relationship between Marco Polo and China in the 13th century, which was held here recently.
Dang cited three examples from the travel note taken by Marco Polo: a legend about the birth of a Khan of Ouigour, an ancient nationality in northwest China; Mongolian authorities forced to pull down ramparts built by Han Nationality during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368); and Kublai Khan ordered to plant trees along roads.
These records accord with the Chinese and Persian historical documents, local chronicles and laws issued during the Yuan Dynasty, said Dang.
These three examples are minor things that people usually neglect, Dang said, adding it would be impossible for Marco Polo to put them down in his travel note if he had never seen them with his own eyes.
Frances Wood, a British scholar, has written a book in 1995 putting a question mark on Marco Polo's travel note. She doubted that Marco Polo had ever gone to China and what he described in the well-known travel note was a copy from some Persian travel guide, maps and historical data.
Dang saw it as a pity that Doctor Wood did not figure out specifically what Marco Polo had referred to. Dang is confident that none of the existing Persian documents could surpass Marco Polo's book in the over-all and thorough coverage of China.
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