by Robin Brown
I have known of really urgent cases where the relay goes right on into the night, when, in the absence of a moon, runners bearing lights precede the messengers. (This goes a bit slower, of course.) Messengers with this kind of stamina are held in very high esteem.
In spite of his fearsome reputation I can tell you that Kublai is capable of great benevolence. Every year he sends commissioners to areas where the people have suffered crop damage from storms, violent rains, locusts, worms or other plagues. He not only refrains from demanding his normal tribute from these poor people, but from his own granaries furnishes them with as much corn as they need to survive and to plant a new crop.
He stockpiles grain during times of plenty and stores it in granaries in several provinces. These granaries are carefully tended to ensure their contents keep for three to four years. They are always kept full to guard against times of famine and when the grain is sold he hands out four measures for the price of one.
Similarly, any heavy mortality of cattle is compensated for from his own herds which are sustained by his one-tenth levy on the national herd. Indeed, all his thoughts are directed to assisting his people in order that they may live well and improve their standing in life.
I also want to mention a peculiarity of the Grand Khan; when there has been an accident caused to domestic stock by lightning – no matter how large the herd may be – he waives his one-tenth tithe for three years. This applies even to ships laden with goods. He waives any customs duty or share of the cargo. The reason is that such incidents are regarded as ill omens. God, he says, has shown himself to be displeased with the owners of the goods and he is reluctant to allow goods bearing the mark of divine wrath to enter his treasury.
On both sides of the public roads the Grand Khan has caused to be planted beautiful dense boulevards of trees. Planted just two paces apart these trees offer shade from the summer heat, and when the road is covered in snow, markers to assist and comfort travellers. These boulevards are planted wherever there is soil to support them. In deserts and over rocky mountains he has caused stones to be placed and columns raised to serve the same purpose. High-ranking officers ensure that the roads are kept in good order. Interestingly, the Grand Khan is following his astrologers when he plants these trees, believing it will bring him long life.
The majority of the people of China drink a wine brewed from rice mixed with a variety of spices and herbs. This is so flavoursome no one could wish for better. It is clear, bright, easy on the palate and because it is drunk hot, gets you drunk quicker than any other wine I know.
In the mountains of this province they mine a sort of black stone. There are big seams of it. When lit it burns like charcoal and gives off much more heat than wood and will burn throughout the night and still be going in the morning. The stones flame a bit when first lit but then glow, giving off considerable heat. Abundant and cheap in a country where admittedly there is also an abundance of wood, these stones make possible the continuous firing of stoves and baths. Warm baths are taken by everyone at least three times a week and daily in winter, if a person can afford it.
As well as providing famine relief for people in the provinces, Kublai also takes care of people in the city. Any family of quality falling on hard times because of illness will receive a year’s supply of grain. There is a special palace where officials distribute this largesse after considering a written report on the needs of the claimant. Kublai gets a tenth of the Empire’s production of wool, silk and hemp which he has woven into different sorts of cloth in a factory built for that purpose where shifts of workers are obliged to work one day a week in his majesty’s service. Garments, both summer and winter items manufactured from these stuffs, are given to the poor families. Wool clothing, paid for from the ‘Imperial Tenth’, is also prepared for the army at factories in various towns.
I should note that it was not the traditional practice of the Tartars, who had not yet adopted the religion of idolatry, to give alms. They sent beggars packing with the warning: ‘God sends bad seasons. Had he loved you as it appears he loves me, you would have prospered like me.’ The wise men of the idolaters (particularly the backsi) have got to him, however, and these days providing for the poor is seen as ‘good work’ and much appreciated by their deities.
Essentially no one is denied food and clothing who comes to court asking for it and not a day passes without some twenty thousand containers of rice, millet and panicum being handed out. As a result, the people all regard Kublai as a god.
There are a huge number of astrologers at Kanbula; at least five thousand astrologers and soothsayers among the Saracens, Christians and Chinese for whom Kublai provides food and clothing in the same manner as he does for the deserving poor. They all have astrolabes inscribed with the signs of the planets, the hours based on a calculation of the meridian and their implications for the whole year. The astrologers (also known as almanac makers) are divided into several sects, each making prognoses from the movement of the heavenly bodies and their positions relative to the moon. They can thus forecast the state of the weather, peculiar phenomena of each and every month, for example thunder and storms in one, earthquakes in another; lightning and violent rains, diseases, mortality, wars, discords and conspiracies. They consult their astrolabes and make such predictions but always with the proviso that God, according to his own good pleasure, may do more or less than they have forecast. They write their predictions upon small squares, called Takuni and sell them to all who want to peer into the future.
Those making the most accurate predictions, the perfect masters of the art, are the most honoured. Anyone who is contemplating a big project or undertaking a long journey consults an astrologer. The latter demands information about the year, the month and the hour in which he was born and bases his calculations on the relationship of these to ascending stars. From these predictions the astrologer then suggests whether the adventure should be pursued or not.
You should be aware that the Tartars tell time by a cycle of twelve years. The first of these is called lion and subsequently, ox, dragon, dog and so on. When a person is asked his birthday he replies, ‘in the year of the dragon’ upon such a day and at such an hour and minute. This has been carefully recorded for him by his parents in a book. Upon completion of the twelve-year cycle it starts all over again.
All the people here are now idolaters and their god is represented by a tablet placed high on the wall with his name written on it. They pay homage to this and burn incense, lifting their hands and striking their heads against the floor three times, praying for a sound mind and a healthy body.
On the floor is usually a statue called Natigai which is the god of the earth and terrestrial things. Natigai has a wife and children, and they also worship him as I have described, praying for good weather, abundant crops, children and the like. These people believe themselves to be immortal in the sense that when a person dies the soul enters into another body. If the person has acted virtuously or wickedly in his lifetime he can expect a like host. His future state will thus become progressively better or worse.
A poor man who has lived a worthy and decent life could therefore expect to be reborn from the womb of a gentlewoman and himself become a gentleman, later a nobleman from the womb of a woman of rank and so ever onwards and upwards on the ladder of existence until he is united with the Divinity. On the other hand, if the son of a gentleman behaves unworthily, in the next state he will be a buffoon then a dog, descending each time to a condition ever more vile than the one before.
Everyone treats everyone else courteously and they salute each other politely. They have an air of good breeding, eat their food cleanly and appear well satisfied with life. Parents are treated with respect, in fact if a child acts disrespectfully or neglects his parents he can be tried for filial ingratitude by a public tribunal and may receive a severe punishment.
Criminals guilty of a great variety of crimes are executed by strangling. Prison sentences are limited to three year
s whereupon the miscreant is released with a mark imprinted on his face so that he may be recognised as such.
The present Grand Khan has banned gambling and other forms of cheating in an edict which affirms, ‘I subdued you by the power of my sword. Consequently, everything you possess belongs to me. If you gamble, therefore, you are sporting with my property.’ He does not exercise these rights, however. (This law, by the way, has been necessitated by the fact that the people of this country are more addicted to gambling than is anyone else on earth.)
I should note that strict rules apply when you approach the Grand Khan. Come within half a mile of Kublai and you are obliged to adopt a humble, placid and quiet demeanour and not call out or indeed speak. Each man of rank carries a small spittoon which he must use in order to avoid spitting on the floors of the hall of audience. You spit, replace the cover, then make your salutation. It is likewise customary to take with you into the hall handsome slippers – buskins – made of white leather. Just before an audience you change into these (leaving your ordinary shoes in the care of a servant) to avoid soiling the colourful carpets worked with silk and gold.
It is time I moved on to describe parts of the Empire other than northern China and the city of Kanbula. I had by this time been appointed the Grand Khan’s ambassador to the West and this involved a journey of four months.
Ten days out of the capital you come to the Pulisangan river which discharges itself into the ocean and carries all manner of merchandise to and from the sea. The most spectacular bridge in the world spans this river. Constructed of stone it is fully 1,000 feet long and 25 feet wide. Ten men can easily ride abreast across it. Twenty-four arches, supported on twenty-five pieces of serpentine stone, all constructed with great skill, span the river. There is a handsome parapet formed in a masterly style of marble slabs and pillars.
You ascend on to the bridge on a slightly wider road but thereafter it runs straight as a die. There is a massive, lofty column resting upon a marble tortoise. Nearby stands the figure of a lion that is echoed by a similar figure atop the column (as the bridge slopes down there is another handsome column with a lion a few feet away from the other one). In the spaces between the pillars along the whole length of the bridge there are curiously carved marbles all surmounted by lions – all in all a beautiful spectacle. These parapets are also designed to prevent accidents to passengers using the bridge.
The next 30 miles of my journey west took me through country rich in fine buildings, vineyards and well cultivated, fertile ground. Here is the large, impressive city of Goaza where the idolaters have a great number of convents.
The people are in the main traders and manual workers. They make gold tissue and the most beautiful fine gauzes. There are a great number of inns for travellers. A mile from here the road divides, one going to the west across Cathay (Northern China) and the other south-east to Manji (Southern China). If you take the southern route there are many fine cities and strongholds in a kingdom known as Ta-in-fu [Tai-yuen-fu, capital of the modern province of Shan-si], with flourishing manufacturing and commerce and there are more cultivated lands and vineyards. Grapes from here are carried into the interior of China where you do not find them. You also see groves of mulberry trees for silkworms from which the people produce a great deal of silk. These people are reasonably civilised as a result of their cosmopolitan contacts with the numerous towns of the region. There are lots of markets and fairs, one after the other, and the merchants travel round them with their goods.
A further five days on, I am told, there is a city still larger and more impressive than Ta-in-fu called Archbaluch. Kublai’s hunting grounds extend as far as this and apart from his family and those on the Grand Falconer’s list no one may hunt here. Beyond this anyone of rank may hunt. Kublai rarely takes his sport on this side of the country and as a consequence the game, especially hares, is so prolific it represents a real danger to the province’s corn. When this threat becomes too great the Grand Khan and his court come in and take huge multitudes of animals.
The city of Ta-in-fu is famous for the manufacture of arms and military ordnance, very convenient for Kublai’s army. The city is large and very beautiful, surrounded by vineyards, and grapes are gathered in vast abundance. Although no vines are found other than in the immediate vicinity of Ta-in-fu, they produce enough grapes to supply the whole of the province. Other fruits are plentiful, as is the mulberry tree for feeding the worms that produce silk.
West again and we arrive at the spectacular fortress of Thai-Gin, which was supposedly built in very ancient times by a king called Dor. Within the walls there is a spacious and finely ornamented palace, the hall of which boasts a superb exhibition of portraits of all the princes who, from ancient times, have reigned here.
There is a remarkable story told about Prince Dor. A powerful ruler, he was waited upon by a vast number of young women of extraordinary beauty. By way of recreation he was drawn in a small carriage about his palace by these beauties. They were entirely devoted to him and provided every convenience and, it has to be said, sexual pleasure.
Notwithstanding, he was an active monarch who ruled with dignity and justice and ran a strong administration from his castle. According to reports I have heard, his castle was all but impregnable. He was, however, the vassal of Unc-Khan, who as I have said was also known as Prester John.
King Dor rebelled against Prester John’s rule who, while furiously angry, knew the Dor castle was too strong for him to take, and that any attack on it would probably fail.
This stalemate went on for some time until seven cavaliers of his retinue offered to try and capture King Dor and bring him before Prester John alive. The offer was favourably received and the group was promised a large reward.
Then the seven, purporting to have come from a distant land, moved into King Dor’s territory and were soon performing so ably and diligently in the King’s service they earned his respect and many royal favours. For example, he always took them with him when he went hunting.
Then one day when the King was engaged in the chase and had put a river between himself and the rest of his party, the seven spotted their chance, drew their swords, surrounded King Dor and took him forcibly to Prester John. None of the King’s own people were in a position to help him.
When they arrived at the court of Prester John he gave orders that the prisoner should be humiliated by being dressed in rags and made to work as a cowherd. King Dor remained in this wretched condition for two years, carefully guarded against escape.
Then Prester John summoned him, King Dor trembling with fear that he was going to be put to death. Instead the King delivered a sharp and severe admonition, warning Dor against the pride and arrogance that might tempt him to rebel in future. Then he was dressed in royal apparel and sent back to his principality accompanied by a guard of honour. I am told that thereafter he behaved himself.
Twenty miles from Thai-gin you come to the river called Karamoran (the Yellow River), which is so incredibly deep and wide that no solid bridge could span it. Along its banks are to be found many important trading cities and castles. Silk and ginger are produced in large quantities. There is a multitude of bird life, especially pheasant costing three to the Venetian groat. They also grow a special kind of large cane here, about 18 inches in circumference, which is employed locally in a number of useful ways.
Cross the river and travel a further three days and you come to Ka-chan-fu where the inhabitants are idolaters. They trade industriously and manufacture a great variety of goods: silk, ginger, galangal (a medicinal root), spikenard (another) and a great many medicinal products all but unknown in our part of the world. They also produce silk and gold tissue.
I then headed west for eight days, through cities and commercial towns, gardens and cultivated lots where they grow an abundance of mulberry trees for silk production, to Ken-zan-fu. Idolaters are in the majority but you also find Nestorian Christians, Turkomans and Saracens. The wildlife of the surrounding coun
try provides excellent sport and it is a fine place to hunt birds.
In ancient times Ken-zan-fu was the capital of an extensive, noble and powerful kingdom, the seat of many kings of venerable ancestry who were distinguished soldiers. At the moment it is governed by a son of the Grand Khan, named Mangalu, who was made King by his father. It is a hive of industry and commerce producing raw silk in large quantities, tissue of gold and worked silks as well as every kind of army ordnance. Food is abundant and cheap.
In a plain some 5 miles distant stands King Mangalu’s palace, a beautiful place boasting many fountains and water features both inside and out. There is a fine park of almost 5 acres where all manner of wild animals are kept for sport. It is enclosed behind high battlements.
The symmetry and beauty of the central palace simply cannot be surpassed. Its rooms and halls are decorated with painting of gold, the finest azure and a great profusion of marble. Mangalu, who lives by his father’s example when it comes to government and maintains strict equity, is much loved by his people. He is also very keen on hunting and hawking.
It is about time I said something about the two distinctive states of China, Cathay in the north and Manji to the south. Travel three days from Mangalu through towns and cities whose people subsist on commerce and manufacturing, particularly in silk products, and you come to a region of mountains and valleys which lie within the province of Kun-kin [Szechwan]. The people, mostly farmers, worship idols. They also take much of their food from the wild lands, the area being covered with woodland. Lions [tigers], bears, lynxes, fallow deer, antelope and stags provide exciting and useful sport.