The Travels of Marco Polo

Introduction

The book's original title was The Description of the World, and it was written in a language mixing Old French and Italian. Marco Polo describes the mountains and rivers, cities, products and customs along the way from the Mediterranean to China, and gives an especially detailed picture of Kublai Khan's court, the grandeur of Khanbaliq, the postal relay system, paper money, the 'black stones' burned as fuel, which were coal, and the splendour of Hangzhou, which he called 'the finest and most splendid city in the world'. He also records what he learned of Japan, Southeast Asia, India and the east coast of Africa. The book kindled in Europe an endless longing for the East; Columbus filled the margins of his own copy with notes before he set sail.