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Marco PoloA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Polo appears at various times in the book but usually only in passing. He is described as having been in an area or seen some things or, in some cases, being on assignment at the direction of Kublai Khan: “In the place of one of these, Marco Polo, by special order of the Great Khan, acted as governor of this city for three years” (3186-87).
Indirectly, however, he features all through the book because the travels, with the exception of the initial journeys by his father and uncle, are nominally his. He functions as the author, and some obvious opinions can be attributed to him. Polo writes of an encounter with one group: “Their intellects also are dull, and they have an air of stupidity” (4639-40).That is, Polo, at least at moments, seems unconcerned with offering his real feelings about those he encounters; at other times, however, he issues no judgment at all.
He wasn’t on the first two journeys, which were taken by his father and uncle to China and then back to Venice. He was on the last two journeys, accompanying his father and uncle. He didn’t write the book so much as dictate itto someone who might have misheard or miswritten or mischaracterized any number of things. Viewed this way, Marco Polo himself is almost an afterthought in the content of the book that bears his name. However, he is the primary witness to much of what is described.
Polo was very impressed with the Great Khan, going so far as to serve in his employ for many years: “Marco was struck at every turn by Kublai’s enlightened government” (365-66). Polo describes the Khan’s opulence:
Upon this day the inhabitants of all the provinces and kingdoms under the Great Khan send him valuable presents of gold, silver, and precious stones, together with many pieces of white cloth, so that his Majesty may enjoy prosperity and happiness throughout the year (2250-52).
The Khan is at turns looking out for the poor (“By reason of this immense and astonishing liberality towards the poor, the people all adore the Great Khan” (2554-56)) and looking to expand his rule (“But the Great Khan conquered these three princes and took their inheritance for himself” (2727-28). He appears magnanimous and munificent but also cruel and self-serving, thinking nothing of sacking an entire city or region in order to maintain his reputation as a ruthless ruler.
The Yuan Dynasty didn’t proclaim a state religion. Indeed, Polo encounters a large number of religions in his travels. Being a Christian himself, Polo was impressed by the Great Khan’s religious tolerance. At an Easter ceremony over which the Great Khan presided, Polo asked him why he had time for Christianity. The Great Khan said:
There are four great Prophets who are reverenced and worshiped by the different classes of mankind [...] I do honor and show respect to all four, so that I may be sure of invoking whichever among them is in truth supreme in Heaven” (1938-41).
Polo says that the Great Khan gave the same attention at festivals of the followers of religions other than Christianity. In a long discussion between the Great Khan and the Polos as to why the Khan does not become a Christian, the Khan’s reasoning is that his astrologers and magicians can perform miracles and so can prove the power of their deity.
The Great Khan respected Polo, Polo’s father, and Polo’s uncle as well, giving them a royal tablet of protection so that they could complete the tasks he had set out for them. He followed the Polos’ advice at one point, directing his armies to build siege weapons that the Polos would have seen employed on European battlefields. The Polos–all three of them–could have quite easily been a footnote in the story of the Yuan Dynasty and the story of the 13th century in Europe. Instead, partly because of the impression that they made on the Great Khan and partly also because of his innate curiosity, they enjoyed his favor and saw a side of him that many others did not.