Marco Polo was in China : : new evidence from currencies, salts and revenues / / by Hans Ulrich Vogel.

• Superior document: Monies, markets, and finance in East Asia, 1600-1900, v. 2
• Author: Vogel, Hans Ulrich.
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, Boston : : Brill,, 2013.
• Year of Publication: 2013
• Language: English
• Series: Monies, Markets, and Finance in East Asia, 1600-1900 2.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (675 p.)
• Notes: Title from PDF title page (viewed on Dec. 3, 2012).

In Marco Polo was in China Hans Ulrich Vogel offers an innovative look at the highly complex topics of currencies, salt production and taxes, commercial levies and other kinds of revenue as well as the administrative geography of the Mongol Yuan empire. The author’s rigorous analysis of Chinese sources and all the important Marco Polo manuscripts as well as his thorough scrutiny of Japanese, Chinese and Western scholarship show that the fascinating information contained in Le devisament dou monde agrees almost pefectly with that we find in Chinese sources, the latter only available long after Marco Polo’s stay in China. Hence, the author concludes that, despite the doubts that have been raised, the Venetian was indeed in Khubilai Khan’s realm.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- I. Introduction -- II. Paper Money in Yuan China -- III. Cowry Monies Circulating in Yunnan and Southeast Asia -- IV. Salt Production and Salt Monies in Yunnan and Tebet -- V. Production, Revenue and Trade of Salt in Changlu and Lianghuai -- VI. Tax Revenue of Hangzhou and Its Territory -- VII. Administrative-Geographical Divisions in Yuan China -- VIII. Conclusions -- Appendix 1: Compilation of Passages on the Production and Use of Paper Money in the Yuan Empire from Selected Manuscript and Print Versions of Marco Polo’s Account -- Appendix 2: Compilation of Passages on the Production and Use of Chinese Paper Money and Salt Revenue in the Accounts of Other Western, Persian and Arabic Authors -- Appendix 3: Coins of Venice -- Appendix 4: The Weight Measures libbra and saggio of Venice -- Appendix 5: The Weight of the miskal -- Appendix 6: Relationship between the Persian System of balish, sum and miskal, the Chinese System of ding, liang and qian, and Marco Polo’s saggi and grossi -- Appendix 7: Compilation of Passages on Chinese Salt Money, Salt Production and Salt Revenue from the Most Important Manuscript and Print Versions of Marco Polo’s Account -- Appendix 8: Tables 3 and 27 -- Bibliography -- Index.