[679] E.g. his elder brother Mangku who showed favour to Buddhists, Mohammedans and Nestorians alike. He himself wished to obtain Christian teachers from the Pope, by the help of Marco Polo, but probably merely from curiosity.
[680] More accurately hPhags-pa. It is a title rather than a name, being the Tibetan equivalent of Arya. Khubilai seems to be the correct transcription of the Emperor's name. The Tibetan and Chinese transcriptions are Hvopilai and Hu-pi-lieh.
[681] For this curious work see B.E.F.E.O. 1908, p. 515, and J.A. 1913, I, pp. 116-132. For the destruction of Taoist books see Chavannes in T'oung Pao, 1904, p. 366.
[682] At the present day an ordinary Chinese regards a Lama as quite different from a Hoshang or Buddhist monk.
[683] The Yüan Emperors were no doubt fond of witnessing religious theatricals in the Palace. See for extracts from Chinese authors, New China Review, 1919, pp. 68 ff. Compare the performances of the T'ang Emperor Su Tsung mentioned above.
[684] For the ecclesiastical abuses of the time see Köppen, II. 103, and de Mailla, Histoire de la Chine, IX. 475, 538.
[685] See Wieger, Textes Historiques, III. p. 2013, and De Groot, Sectarianism and Religious Persecution in China, I. p. 82. He is often called Hung Wu which is strictly speaking the title of his reign. He was certainly capable of changing his mind, for he degraded Mencius from his position in Confucian temples one year and restored him the next.
[686] See de Mailla, Histoire de la Chine, IX. p. 470.
[687] Often called Yung-Lo which is strictly the title of his reign.