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What if over by the sunset there is Ocean-Sea again, true ocean and as many leagues to Asia as to Spain? What if they cannot lead us to Quinsai, Cambaluc or Zaiton, or to the Ganges' mouth, or Aurea Chersonesus, because they never heard of them, and they have no ships to pass again an Ocean-Sea? What if it is all New, and all the maps have to be redrawn?"
All the streets are paved with stone, as are all the highways in the kingdom of Mangi, only a space on one side being left unpaved for the use of the foot posts. The principal street of Quinsai has a pavement of ten paces broad on each side, the middle being laid with gravel, and having channels in every place for conveying water, it is kept always perfectly clean.
He meant to discover more, discover further, come if by any means he could to the actual wealth of great, main India; come perhaps to Zaiton, where are more merchants than in all the rest of the world, and a hundred master ships laden with pepper enter every year; or to Quinsai of the marble bridges.
The chief god with white hair and wonderful clothes It is what they call clothes; under it they are as you and me, only the color is different the chief god will give many bells to any folk who can show him the way to Quinsai. Gold and Quinsai where lives the god Grand Khan. As might have been expected, this brought tidings. "Cubanacan! Cubanacan!"
This is an obvious error, corruption, or interpolation; for on no conceivable hypothesis of the situations of Quinsai and Zaitum, can any river be found in China which answers to this description. This is the only hint in Marco, of the peculiarly famous manufacture of China, from which all the best earthen ware of Europe has acquired this name as par excellence.
The revenues which accrue to the khan from Quinsai, and the other cities under its authority, are, first from salt eight tomans of gold, every toman being 80,000 sazzi, and a sazzi is more than a gold florin, which will amount to six millions, and four hundred thousand ducats.
Every year, on certain holidays dedicated to the idols, Fanfur used to hold open court, on which occasion he feasted his chief lords, the principal merchants, and rich artificers of Quinsai, 10,000 at a time in these halls, the feasts continuing for ten or twelve successive days, with incredible magnificence, every guest using his utmost endeavours to appear in the most pompous dresses.
Now after long years, I who outlive the Admiral, know it for an island, but how could he or I or any know that in November fourteen hundred and ninety-two? He never believed it an island. He stood on deck watching. "Cuba Cuba! Have you not read of Cublai Khan? The sounds chime!" "Cublai Khan. He lives in Quinsai." "Ay. His splendid, capital city.
Columbus, full of the idea that he was near the shores of India, hoped to reach the city of Quinsai, which Marco Polo had said was one of the most magnificent in the world, and there deliver the letter of his sovereigns to the Grand Khan of the Indies and bring back his reply to Spain.
Three days journey thence, through a most pleasant country, exceedingly well inhabited, we come to the large city of Gieza, which is the last in the kingdom of Quinsai, After this we enter into another province of the kingdom of Mangi called Concha, the principal city of which is Fugiu, by which you travel six days journey south-east, through hills and dales, always finding inhabited places, and plenty of beasts, fowls, and game, and some strong lions are found in the mountains and forests.
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