. The book of Ser Marco Polo : the Venetian concerning the kingdoms and marvels of the East . through Tartary toPekin, but that after having followed the usual track of the caravans, as far to theeastward from Europe as Samarcand and Cashgar, he bent his course to the south-east across the River Ganges to Bengal (!), and, keeping to the southward of the Thibetmountains, reached the Chinese province of Shensee, and through the adjoiningprovince of Shansee to the capital, without interfering with the line of the GreatWall.—H. C] We shall see presently that the Great Wall is spoken ofby Marcos co
. The book of Ser Marco Polo : the Venetian concerning the kingdoms and marvels of the East . through Tartary toPekin, but that after having followed the usual track of the caravans, as far to theeastward from Europe as Samarcand and Cashgar, he bent his course to the south-east across the River Ganges to Bengal (!), and, keeping to the southward of the Thibetmountains, reached the Chinese province of Shensee, and through the adjoiningprovince of Shansee to the capital, without interfering with the line of the GreatWall.—H. C] We shall see presently that the Great Wall is spoken ofby Marcos contemporaries Rashiduddin and Abulfeda. Yet I think, if we readbetween the lines, we shall see reason to believe that the Wall was inPolos mind at this point of the dictation, whatever may have been his motive forwithholding distincter notice of it.* I cannot conceive why he should say : Hereis what we call the country of Gog and Magog, except as intimating Here we are * I owe the suggestion of this to a remark in Opperts Presbyter Johannes\ p. 77. Chap. LIX. THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA 293. O to bfloO H 294 MARCO POLO Book I. beside the Great Wall known as ihe Rampart of Gog and Magog, and being therehe tries to find a reason why those names should have been applied to it. Why theywere really applied to it we have already seen. {Supra, ch. iv. note 3.) Abulfedasays: The Ocean turns northward along the east of China, and then expands inthe same direction till it passes China, and comes opposite to the Rampart of Yajujand Majuj ; whilst the same geographers definition of the boundaries of China ex-hibits that country as bounded on the west by the Indo-Chinese wildernesses ; on thesouth, by the seas; on the east, by the Eastern Ocean ; on the north, by the land ofYdjuj and Majuj, and other countries unknown. Ibn Batuta, with less accurategeography in his head than Abulfeda, maugre his travels, asks about the Rampart ofGog and Magog (Sadd Ydjuj wa Majuj) when he is at Sin Kalan,
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