Marco Polo Mongols
The Travels of Marco Polo and the Reception of Kublai Kahn
Marco Polo was a Venetian Christian diplomat that gained the trust of one of the most powerful men in history: Kublai Khan. The book outlines the assimilation of one man into Mongol culture. The Mongols were very accepting of other cultures so cases like these are far from rare. One other example is the Flemish Monk Willem van Ruysbroeck’s first hand account of the Mongols. In both pieces of literature you see the culture of the Mongol Empire completely awe the travelers. The movie Marco Polo questioned whether or not all aspects of the book were credible because some, few, things Marco Polo talked about partaking in didn’t line up with historical dates. In the Movie Dr. Morris Rossabi, a Professor of History at Columbia University questioned whether or not he actually made it to China. The movie alleged that although Marco Polo claimed to fight in a Major Battle against the Yuan dynasty however “unfortunately the battle occurred 3 years before Marco Polo actually reached China.” (00:19:04-00:19:11). If this is the truth however that means that it is …show more content…
This leads us to wonder how credible the source is. If the story was not a single person’s personal journal, the narrator of the story, Marco Polo himself, might have misrepresented or altered the story to more appeal to his companion. Even if the story is altered, we do know however that Kublai Khan loved Marco Polo. As a loyal agent of the Khan, Polo would do whatever the Khan desired. Because The Khan knew that Polo was charming and good at diplomatic affairs he sent him on many reporting jobs. These first hand investigations of the Empire illustrated greet us as readers with a sense of exploration highlighting everything from flora, fauna, and habitats, to encounters with people living in this brand new
Marco Polo was a Venetian Christian diplomat that gained the trust of one of the most powerful men in history: Kublai Khan. The book outlines the assimilation of one man into Mongol culture. The Mongols were very accepting of other cultures so cases like these are far from rare. One other example is the Flemish Monk Willem van Ruysbroeck’s first hand account of the Mongols. In both pieces of literature you see the culture of the Mongol Empire completely awe the travelers. The movie Marco Polo questioned whether or not all aspects of the book were credible because some, few, things Marco Polo talked about partaking in didn’t line up with historical dates. In the Movie Dr. Morris Rossabi, a Professor of History at Columbia University questioned whether or not he actually made it to China. The movie alleged that although Marco Polo claimed to fight in a Major Battle against the Yuan dynasty however “unfortunately the battle occurred 3 years before Marco Polo actually reached China.” (00:19:04-00:19:11). If this is the truth however that means that it is …show more content…
This leads us to wonder how credible the source is. If the story was not a single person’s personal journal, the narrator of the story, Marco Polo himself, might have misrepresented or altered the story to more appeal to his companion. Even if the story is altered, we do know however that Kublai Khan loved Marco Polo. As a loyal agent of the Khan, Polo would do whatever the Khan desired. Because The Khan knew that Polo was charming and good at diplomatic affairs he sent him on many reporting jobs. These first hand investigations of the Empire illustrated greet us as readers with a sense of exploration highlighting everything from flora, fauna, and habitats, to encounters with people living in this brand new