The Travels of Marco Polo and the Silk Road
2 min readMarco Polo(1254-1324) was an Italian trader and explorer who gained fame for his worldwide travels. Polo was one of the first Westerners to travel the Silk Road to China(which he called Cathay). The Polo party left Venice in 1271. They spent 17 years in China and left China in late 1290 or early 1291 and were back in Venice in 1292.
After returning to Europe, he wrote The Travels of Marco Pole, describing his traveling experiences. The book had been an authoritative book for those who studied the history ofChina, especially the history of Yuan Dynasty. Marco Polo went east to the capital of Yuan Dynasty from Crimea along the Silk Road. In The Travel, Marco Polo recorded in detail what he saw in the Western Region and Persia, from custom and habit, dressing, languages, etiquette, character and script to how they were influenced by the oriental Empire. Marco Polo arrived at Dadu(the Capital of Yuan Dynasty) in 1275, approximately 30 years after the Mongolian army Europe. Despite the attempt of Yuan Taizu to turn the whole world into grassland for tending the animals the Mongolians left nothing but dreadful memory to Europe.
It seems that conquest by armed forces is not as effective as civilization. Marco Polo was surprised that even in Yuan Dynasty, the countries of Western Region should retain the ancient oriental civilization of several hundred years ago. Though Tang Dynasty had fallen for nearly 500 to 600 years, its influence and prestige, through the Silk Road, on the West Asia, Mid-Asia and Europe still remained.
