The Travels of Marco Polo Volume II Part 160

TAILGAN.

"The _tailgan_, or autumn meeting of the Mongols, is probably the _tai-lin_, or autumn meeting, of the ancient Hiung-nu described on p. 10, Vol. XX. of the _China Review_. The Kao-ch'e (= High Carts, Tolos, or early Ouigours) and the early Cathayans (Sien-pi) had very similar customs.

Heikel gives an account of a.n.a.logous 'Olympic games' witnessed at Urga in the year 1890." (E.H. PARKER, _Asiatic Quart. Rev._, Jan., 1904, pp.

140-1.)

LI., p. 251. Read T'ung hwo period (A.D. 992) instead of (A.D. 692).

LII., pp. 252, 254, n. 3. "[The Tartars] live on the milk and meat which their herds supply, and on the produce of the chase; and they eat all kinds of flesh, including that of horses and dogs, and Pharaoh's rats, of which last there are great numbers in burrows on those plains."

Pharaoh's rat was the mangouste or ichneumon (_Herpestes ichneumon_) formerly found in this part of Asia as well as in Egypt where it was venerated. Cf. _Cathay_, II., p. 116.

LII., p. 254. Instead of "his tent invariably facing _south_," read "facing _east_" according to the _Chou Shu_. (PELLIOT.)

LII., p. 256 n.

MARRIAGE.

The _China Review_, Vol. XX. "gives numerous instances of marrying mothers-in-law and sisters-in-law amongst the Hiung nu. The practice was common with all Tartars, as, indeed, is stated by Yule." (E.H. PARKER, _Asiatic Quart. Rev._, Jan., 1904, p. 141.)

LII., p. 257 n.

_TENGRI_ (HEAVEN).

"The Mongol word _Tengri_ (= Heaven) appears also in Hiung-nu times; in fact, the word _shen yu_ is stated to have been used by the Hiung-nu alternatively with _Tengri kudu_ (Son of Heaven)." (E.H. PARKER, _Asiatic Quart. Rev._, Jan., 1904, p. 141.)

LIV., p. 263 n.

COATS OF MAIL.

Parker's note is erroneous.--See Laufer, _Chinese Clay Figures_, Part I.

LV., p. 267. "They [the Tartars] have another notable custom, which is this. If any man have a daughter who dies before marriage, and another man have had a son also die before marriage, the parents of the two arrange a grand wedding between the dead lad and la.s.s. And marry them they do, making a regular contract! And when the contract papers are made out they put them in the fire, in order (as they will have it) that the parties in the other world may know the fact, and so look on each other as man and wife. And the parents thenceforward consider themselves sib to each other, just as if their children had lived and married. Whatever may be agreed on between the parties as dowry, those who have to pay it cause to be painted on pieces of paper and then put these in the fire, saying that in that way the dead person will get all the real articles in the other world."

Mr. k.u.mAGUSU MINAKATA writes on the subject in _Nature_, Jan. 7, 1897, pp.

224-5:

"As it is not well known whether or not there is a record of this strange custom earlier than the beginning of the dynasty of Yuen, I was in doubt whether it was originally common to the Chinese and Tartars until I lately came across the following pa.s.sage in _Tsoh-mung-luh_ (Brit. Mus. copy, 15297, _a_ 1, fol. 11-12), which would seem to decide the question--'In the North there is this custom. When a youth and a girl of marriageable ages die before marriage, their families appoint a match-maker to negotiate their nuptials, whom they call "Kwei-mei" (i.e. "Match-Maker of Ghosts").

Either family hands over to another a paper noticing all pre-requisites concerning the affair; and by names of the parents of the intended couple asks a man to pray and divine; and if the presage tells that the union is a lucky one, clothes and ornaments are made for the deceased pair. Now the match-maker goes to the burying-ground of the bridegroom, and, offering wine and fruits, requests the pair to marry. There two seats are prepared on adjoining positions, either of which having behind it a small banner more than a foot long. Before the ceremony is consecrated by libation, the two banners remain hanging perpendicularly and still; but when the libation is sprinkled and the deceased couple are requested to marry, the banners commence to gradually approach till they touch one another, which shows that they are both glad of the wedlock. However, when one of them dislikes another, it would happen that the banner representing the unwilling party does not move to approach the other banner. In case the couple should die too young to understand the matter, a dead man is appointed as a tutor to the male defunct, and some effigies are made to serve as the instructress and maids to the female defunct. The dead tutor thus nominated is informed of his appointment by a paper offered to him, on which are inscribed his name and age. After the consummation of the marriage the new consorts appear in dreams to their respective parents-in-law. Should this custom be discarded, the unhappy defuncts might do mischief to their negligent relatives.... On every occasion of these nuptials both families give some presents to the match-maker ("Kwei-mei"), whose sole business is annually to inspect the newly-deceased couples around his village, and to arrange their weddings to earn his livelihood.'"

Mr. k.u.magusu Minakata adds:

"The pa.s.sage is very interesting, for, besides giving us a faithful account of the particulars, which nowadays we fail to find elsewhere, it bears testimony to the Tartar, and not Chinese, origin of this practice.

The author, Kang Yu-chi, describes himself to have visited his old home in Northern China shortly after its subjugation by the Kin Tartars in 1126 A.D.; so there is no doubt that among many inst.i.tutional novelties then introduced to China by the northern invaders, Marriage of the Dead was so striking that the author did not hesitate to describe it for the first time.

"According to a Persian writer, after whom Petis de la Croix writes, this custom was adopted by Jenghiz Kan as a means to preserve amity amongst his subjects, it forming the subject of Article XIX. of his Yasa promulgated in 1205 A.D. The same writer adds: 'This custom is still in use amongst the Tartars at this day, but superst.i.tion has added more circ.u.mstances to it: they throw the contract of marriage into the fire after having drawn some figures on it to represent the persons pretended to be so marry'd, and some forms of beasts; and are persuaded that all this is carried by the smoke to their children, who thereupon marry in the other world'

(Petis de la Croix, _Hist. of Genghizcan_, trans. by P. Aubin, Lond., 1722, p. 86). As the Chinese author does not speak of the burning of papers in this connection, whereas the Persian writer speaks definitely of its having been added later, it seems that the marriage of the dead had been originally a Tartar custom, with which the well-known Chinese paper-burning was amalgamated subsequently between the reigns of Genghiz and his grandson Kublai--under the latter Marco witnessed the customs already mingled, still, perhaps, mainly prevailing amongst the Tartar descendants."

LV., p. 266. Regarding the scale of blows from seven to 107, Prof. Pelliot writes to me that these figures represent the theoretical number of tens diminished as a favour made to the culprit by three units in the name of Heaven, Earth and the Emperor.

LV., p. 268, n. 2. In the _Yuan s.h.i.+_, XX. 7, and other Chinese Texts of the Mongol period, is to be found confirmation of the fact, "He is slaughtered like a sheep," i.e. the belly cut open lengthwise.

(Pelliot.)

LVI., p. 269. "The people there are called MESCRIPT; they are a very wild race, and live by their cattle, the most of which are stags, and these stags, I a.s.sure you, they used to ride upon."

B. Laufer, in the _Memoirs of the American Anthropological a.s.sociation_, Vol. IV., No. 2, 1917 (_The Reindeer and its Domestication_), p. 107, has the following remarks: "Certainly this is the reindeer. Yule is inclined to think that Marco embraces under this tribal name in question characteristics belonging to tribes extending far beyond the Mekrit, and which in fact are appropriate to the Tungus; and continues that Ras.h.i.+d-eddin seems to describe the latter under the name of Uriangkut of the Woods, a people dwelling beyond the frontier of Barguchin, and in connection with whom he speaks of their reindeer obscurely, as well as of their tents of birchbark, and their hunting on snowshoes. As W. Radloff [_Die Jakutische Sprache, Mem. Ac. Sc. Pet._, 1908, pp. 54-56] has endeavoured to show, the Wooland Uryangkit, in this form mentioned by Ras.h.i.+d-eddin, should be looked upon as the forefathers of the present Yakut. Ras.h.i.+d-eddin, further, speaks of other Uryangkit, who are genuine Mongols, and live close together in the Territory Barguchin Tuk.u.m, where the clans Khori, Bargut, and Tumat, are settled. This region is east of Lake Baikal, which receives the river Barguchin flowing out of Lake Bargu in an easterly direction. The tribal name Bargut (_-t_ being the termination of the plural) is surely connected with the name of the said river."

LVII., p. 276.

SINJU.

"Marco Polo's Sinju certainly seems to be the site of Si-ning, but not on the grounds suggested in the various notes. In 1099 the new city of Shen Chou was created by the Sung or 'Manzi' Dynasty on the site of what had been called Ts'ing-t'ang. Owing to this region having for many centuries belonged to independent Hia or Tangut, very little exact information is obtainable from any Chinese history; but I think it almost certain that the great central city of Shen Chou was the modern Si-ning. Moreover, there was a very good reason for the invention of this name, as this _Shen_ was the first syllable of the ancient Shen-shen State of Lob Nor and Koko Nor, which, after its conquest by China in 609, was turned into the Shen-shen prefecture; in fact, the Sui Emperor was himself at Kam Chou or 'Campichu' when this very step was taken." (E.H. PARKER, _Asiatic Quart. Rev._, Jan., 1904, p. 144.)

LVIII., p. 282. _Alashan_ is not an abbreviation of Alade-Shan and has nothing to do with the name of Eleuth, written in Mongol _ogalat_.

_Nuntuh_ (_nuntuk_) is the mediaeval Mongol form of the actual _nutuk_, an encampment. (PELLIOT.)

LVIII., p. 283, n. 3.

GURUN.

Gurun = Kurun = Chinese K'u lun = Mongol Urga.

LVIII., p. 283, n. 3. The stuff _sa-ha-la_ (= _saghlat_) is to be found often in the Chinese texts of the XIVth and XVth Centuries. (PELLIOT.)

LIX., pp. 284 seq.

KING GEORGE.

King or Prince George of Marco Polo and Monte Corvino belonged to the ongut tribe. He was killed in Mongolia in 1298, leaving an infant child called Shu-ngan (Givanni) baptized by Monte Corvino. George was transcribed Korguz and Gorguz by the Persian historians. See PELLIOT, _T'oung Pao_, 1914, pp. 632 seq. and _Cathay_, III., p. 15 n.

LIX., p. 286.

TENDUC.

Prof. Pelliot (_Journ. As._, Mai-Juin, 1912, pp. 595-6) thinks that it might be _Tien to_, [Chinese], on the river So ling (Selenga).

LIX., p. 291.

CHRISTIANS.

In the Mongol Empire, Christians were known under the name of _tarsa_ and especially under this of _arkagun_, in Chinese _ye-li-k'o-wen; tarsa_, was generally used by the Persian historians. Cf. PELLIOT, _T'oung Pao_, 1914, p. 636.

LIX., p. 295, n. 6. Instead of _Ku-wei_, read _K'u-wai_. (PELLIOT.)

LXI., pp. 302, 310.

"The weather-conjuring proclivities of the Tartars are repeatedly mentioned in Chinese history. The High Carts (early Ouigours) and Jou-jan (masters of the Early Turks) were both given this way, the object being sometimes to destroy their enemies. I drew attention to this in the _Asiatic Quart. Rev._ for April, 1902 ('China and the Avars')." (E.H.

PARKER, _Asiatic Quart. Rev._, Jan., 1904, p. 140.)