[8] This direction must be understood in reference to Kathay; as it is perfectly obvious, that the entrance here spoken of must be in the north-east of Mangi. Supposing the C aspirated, Coigan-zu and Hoaingan-fu, both certainly arbitrarily orthographized from the Chinese pronunciation, are not very dissimilar.--E.
[9] Perhaps an error in transcription for Hara-moran, or Kara-moran, the Mongul or Tartar name of the Hoang-ho, or Whang river, near, and communicating with which, Hoaingan, or Whan-gan-fou is situated.--E.
[10] This is an obscure indication of navigable canals on each side of the paved road of communication to the south.--E.
[11] Cin-gui, or in the Italian pronunciation, Chin, or Tsin-gui, may possibly be Yen-tching. Tin-gui may be Sin-Yang, or Tsin-yang, to the north-east of Yen-tching.--E.
[12] Obviously Yang-tcheou, the latter syllable being its title or designation of rank and precedency. Marco certainly mistakes, from distant recollection, the direction of his travels, which are very nearly south, with a very slight deviation towards the east. South-east would by this time have led him into the sea.--E.
[13] Though called a province, this obviously refers to the city of Nankin; the Nau-ghin of the text being probably a corruption for Nan-ghin.--E.
[14] For west, we ought certainly here to read south-west.--E.
Sian-Fu is a large and noble city in the province of Mangi, having twelve great and rich cities under its jurisdiction. This city is so strong that it was three years besieged by the army of the Tartars, and could not be vanquished at the time when the rest of the kingdom of Mangi was subdued. It was so environed with lakes and rivers, that ships came continually with plenty of provisions and it was only accessible from the north. The long resistance of this city gave much dissatisfaction to the khan; which coming to the knowledge of Nicolo and Maffei Polo, then at his court, they offered their services to construct certain engines, after the manner of those used in Europe, capable of throwing stones of three hundred weight, to kill the men, and ruin the houses in the besieged city. The khan assigned them carpenters, who were Nestorian Christians, to work under their direction, and they made three of these engines, which were tried before the khan and approved of. These were accordingly sent by shipping to the army before Sian-fu, and being planted against the city, cast great stones into it, by which some of the houses were beaten down and destroyed. The inhabitants were very much astonished and terrified by the effect of these machines, and surrendered themselves to the authority and dominion of the khan, on the same conditions with the rest of Mangi; and by this service, the Venetian brethren acquired great reputation and favour.
From this city of Sian-fu, to another called Sin-gui, it is accounted fifteen miles to the south-east. This city, though not very large, has a prodigious number of ships, as it is situate on the greatest river in the world, called Quiam [l5], being in some places ten, in others eight, and in others six miles broad. But its length extends to a distance of above an hundred days journey from its source to the sea, receiving numberless navigable rivers in its course, from various and distant regions, by which means incredible quantities of merchandize are transported upon this river. There are about two hundred cities which participate in the advantages of this river, which runs through, or past, the boundaries of sixteen provinces. The greatest commodity on this river is salt, with which all the provinces and cities which have communication with its water are supplied. I, Marco, once saw at Singui five thousand vessels, yet some other cities on the river have a greater number. All these ships are covered, having but one mast and one sail, and usually carry 4000 Venetian Canthari and upwards, some as far as 12,000. In these vessels they use no cordage of hemp; even their hawsers or towing ropes being made of canes, about fifteen paces long, which they split into thin pieces from end to end, and bind or wreath together into ropes, some of which are three hundred fathoms long, and serve for dragging their vessels up or down the river; each vessel having ten or twelve horses for that purpose. On that river there are rocky hillocks in many places, on which idol temples, with monasteries for the priests are built, and in all the course of the river we find cultivated vallies and habitations innumerable.
[15] Quiam, Kiang, Kian-ku, Kin-tchin-kian, or Yang-tsi-kiang. In modern maps, there is a town on the northern shore of this river, named Tsing-Kiang, which may possibly be the Singui of Marco, and we may perhaps look for the Sian-fu of the Polos at Yang-tcheou, at the southern extremity of a chain of lakes immediately to the north of the river Kian-ku. The subject is however full of perplexity, difficulty, and extreme uncertainty.--E.