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The Travels of Marco Polo (1) If I lived in 14 th century, there is no doubt, in my mind, that before reading Marco Polo's book, I would think of East with the great amount of aversion and hate. The memories of Chengiz Khan's invasion were still very fresh, at the time. Basically, the whole European civilization was brought to the brink of complete annihilation by the hordes of Asiatic barbarians, whose only the task seemed to cause as much destruction, as possible. Yet, after having read Travels of Marco Polo I would definitely become much more opened minded about the people of Asian descent and about the Asia, as whole. Partially, this would be due to the fact that Polo mentions the great amount of wealth, to be found in the East, by anyone with the taste for adventure.
In 14 th century, the cup made out of fine Chinese porcelain, for example, could cost a whole fortune, because the secret of fine ceramic works was unknown to Europeans, at the time. Yet, in his book, Polo goes a great length, confirming the fact that the porcelain cups were a common place items for the Chinese. In his book, Marco Polo mentions the monstrous birds that were able pick elephants off the ground. Ironically enough, it is the most improbable things that I would find most believable. The lack of credible information about the East, was causing people to think about this part of the world in mythological terms. This is because it corresponded to the Catholic doctrine, which draws parallels between the evil and the unknown.
One of the reasons that Polo's book became so avidly read is because he managed to fuse the truth and the lies, in such manner, that they became virtually inseparable, but this is exactly why Travels of Marco Polo was so appealing to the medieval mind. It corresponded to people's inner anxieties. If I believe that the Mongols like to swap wives (which is actually true), I might as well believe in dragons and in people who have tales and horns. It is important to remember that in 14 th century Europe was the brewing ground for what, in the future, will become known as the Age of Discovery. Apart from purely economic and socio-political reasons, which prompted Europeans to explore a new worlds, there were also a spiritual ones. Apparently, the Europe was becoming little too well known for its inhabitants, they needed a new grounds to expand their minds.
Polo's book allowed them to do so, before they were able to actually travel. As person living in medieval times, I would probably be very unlikely to change my attitude towards the Asia from negative to a positive one, after having read Polo's book, but it would definitely broaden my horizons on many things. The most important thing it would instigate my greed for wealth and luxury, which could be found in the East. The desire to acquire easy riches might have become so strong that I would be willing to travel Westwards, in order to reach East. (2) Marco Polo's book is a good source of information about the origins of many things, which became part of our everyday lives.
What impressed me the most, is the fact that it leaves no doubt that the paper money were being invented in China. Before, I used to think that, for the first time, they were introduced in Europe in 18 th century. Yet, Polo leaves no doubt that I was wrong: With these pieces of paper they can buy anything and pay for anything. And I can tell you that the papers that reckon as ten bezants do not weight one (Polo). At the same time, it confirmed my idea that the true origins of such concepts as democracy and despotism have biological nature. Apparently, the paper money could only serve as currency, in the ancient societies with well developed bureaucratic apparatus.
Such were (and still is) China and the ancient civilizations of Maya, Incas and Aztecs, before being conquered by the handful of European adventurers. The despotisms, which do not allow individual freedom, are very vulnerable from within. That is why the description of Mongolian Khan's funeral is especially insightful, in this respect. During the funeral procession, anyone who happened to be caught, while standing nearby, was immediately killed, so that he could serve Khan in the afterlife. This explains why in countries, where the democracy was being imposed by the foreign pressure, it can never survive on its own. Because people are simply not genetically pre inclined towards it.
Marco Polo was one of the first Europeans who described a certain peculiar's of Buddhism and Islam, in details. Even before Europeans came to the realization of the full threat of Islam in 17 th century and in our present time, he was able to give us an insight onto this religion. While describing the Buddhist monasteries in India, Polo says that the locals could not bring themselves to kill the animals and that they had to invite Muslims to do this for them, which was more of a pleasure than the job: The people of the province do not kill animals nor spill blood; so if they want to eat meat they get the Saracens who dwell among them to play the butcher (Polo). It is well known that in Medieval times, the name Saracens was being applied to the Muslims, as the whole. But even person, as tolerant as Marco Polo, could not quite hide his aversion of Muslims. And I think that this is not only because he was on the mission from Pope.
The part in Travels, where author describes his actual traveling, appears to be much more compelling than the tales of Khan's unimaginable wealth. This is because we can compare his impressions of the distant lands with the information about them that we have now. The numerous inconsistencies can be also explained by migratory factor, which changes cultures' geographical dispositions, but cannot change their essence. (3) The historical importance of The Travels of Marco Polo can hardly be underestimated. Besides the fact that this book inspired the whole generation of future explorers and conquerors, it also helped the Europeans to grow more tolerant towards the people of different cultures. Ever since the book become available to the public, it brought a lot of criticism upon itself. Skeptics were rightfully pointing out to the fact that Polo fails to mention the Great Chinese Wall, even though that he claims to have travelled across China many times.
This, of course, deprives his work of complete credibility. The mythological elements, found in it, leave no doubts about author being a person with well developed imagination. Nevertheless, we cannot think of The Travels of Marco Palo from strictly literature prospective. It is more than just a book, therefore one should be more lenient towards the author, in this case, while analysing the properties of his work. Book's apparent faults seem to be unimportant, when we remember the fact that the copy of The Travels of Marco Polo was found among Columbus' belongings, as one of his most cherished possessions.
Columbus' notes were being found on every page of Polo's book, apparently he was using it to guide him to the land of Cathay. This is another irony - the spirit of adventurism, instilled into Columbus by Marco Polo, prompted him to make geographical discoveries on the other side of the world, even though that he strongly believed that he was in Asia. If term bestseller could be applied to describe the popularity of medieval book, Polo's Travels certainly deserves it, as it was being translated into many foreign languages, even before his death. In time of Marco Polo this was being unheard of. He became a sort of celebrity and the taste for the excessive dramatization had never left him.
While lying on his death bed, Polo exclaimed: I only told you about the half of what I saw! . Many people, even in our time, find it hard to stop reading Polo's book, once they start. We can say that he started a whole literature genre, which can be referred to as geographic adventure. It is known that even the travelers in 16 th century were using Polo's data, while plotting their own journeys. This is despite the fact that Travels became hopelessly outdated by that time. Still, such was the Polo's hold over peoples' minds that they would rather take his word, in regards of social customs in Asia, than considering more contemporary reports.
Vast De Gama was also greatly influenced by the Travels. Just as Columbus, he wanted to find the shortest route to Cathay by sailing around the Africa. Portuguese were the first to establish trade links with Asia, reaching as far as Japan. And they acted in the best traditions of Marco Polo, by exaggerating the amount of wealth, associated with semi mythical country Cathay. But their exaggerations, just as Polo's, were not intentional. European idealism is what caused Marco Polo to indulge in over-dramatization, but this is exactly the reason why White people went all over the world, exploring and conquering, while contributing to the progress of civilization.
Many Russian explorers of Siberia had found that the aboriginal people, they encountered during their journeys, actually matched Polo's descriptions of them, although he traveled through the Siberia a couple of centuries earlier. If one travels through Russia today, he will find that the Asiatic aborigines haven't changed a lot, since the time of Marco Polo. The same absence of basic hygiene, polygamy and never ending drunken stupor this is their way of life. This gives us a reason to conclude that the real value of Polo's book is in the fact that it represent the spirit of European idealism, which prompts people to explore new lands and to discover new technologies, while people who are totally deprived of such spirit, were never able to progress beyond the stone age. Outline The effects of Polo's book on his contemporaries. What impressed me the most.
The Travels of Marco Polo in historical context.
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Research essay sample on The Travels Of Marco Polo
