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CHAPTER XIII.
HOW MESSER NICOLO AND MESSER MAFFEO POLO, ACCOMPANIED BY MARK, TRAVELLED
TO THE COURT OF THE GREAT KAAN.
So the Two Brothers, and Mark along with them, proceeded on their way, and
journeying on, summer and winter, came at length to the Great Kaan, who
was then at a certain rich and great city, called KEMENFU.NOTE 1 As to
what they met with on the road, whether in going or coming, we shall give
no particulars at present, because we are going to tell you all those
details in regular order in the after part of this Book. Their journey
back to the Kaan occupied a good three years and a half, owing to the bad
weather and severe cold that they encountered. And let me tell you in good
sooth that when the Great Kaan heard that Messers Nicolo and Maffeo Polo
were on their way back, he sent people a journey of full 40 days to meet
them; and on this journey, as on their former one, they were honourably
entertained upon the road, and supplied with all that they required.
NOTE 1.--The French texts read Clemeinfu, Ramusio Clemenfu. The Pucci
MS. guides us to the correct reading, having Chemensu (Kemensu) for
Chemenfu. KAIPINGFU, meaning something like "City of Peace," and called
by Rashiduddin Kaiminfu (whereby we see that Polo as usual adopted the
Persian form of the name), was a city founded in 1256, four years before
Kublai's accession, some distance to the north of the Chinese wall. It
became Kublai's favourite summer residence, and was styled from 1264
Shangtu or "Upper Court." (See infra, Bk. I. ch. lxi.) It was known to
the Mongols, apparently by a combination of the two names, as Shangdu
Keibung. It appears in D'Anville's map under the name of _Djao-Naiman
Sumé. Dr. Bushell, who visited Shangtu in 1872, makes it 1103 li (367
miles) by road distance viâ Kalgan from Peking. The busy town of Dolonnúr
lies 26 miles S.E. of it, and according to Kiepert's Asia that place is
about 180 miles in a direct line north of Peking.
(See Klaproth in J. As. XI. 365; Gaubil, p. 115;
Cathay, p. 260;
J. R. G. S. vol. xiiii.)
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