Zipangu is an island in the Eastern Ocean, situated at the distance of
about fifteen hundred miles[25] from the mainland, or coast of Manji.
It is of considerable size; its inhabitants have fair complexions, are
well made, and are civilized in their manners. Their religion is the
worship of idols. They are independent of every foreign power, and
governed only by their own kings. They have gold in the greatest
abundance, its sources being inexhaustible, but, as the king does not
allow of its being exported, few merchants visit the country, nor is
it frequented by much shipping from other parts. To this circumstance
we are to attribute the extraordinary richness of the sovereign's
palace, according to what we are told by those who have access to the
place. The entire roof is covered with a plating of gold, in the same
manner as we cover houses, or more properly churches, with lead. The
ceilings of the halls are of the same precious metal; many of the
apartments have small tables of pure gold, of considerable thickness;
and the windows have also golden ornaments. So vast, indeed, are the
riches of the palace that it is impossible to convey an idea of them.
In this island there are pearls also, in large quantities, of a red
(pink) color, round in shape, and of great size, equal in value to, or
even exceeding that of the white pearls. It is customary with one part
of the inhabitants to bury their dead, and with another part to burn
them. The former have a practise of putting one of these pearls into
the mouth of the corpse. There are also found there a number of
precious stones.
[Footnote 24: From the "Travels." The text of this, the most famous
perhaps of all books of travel, has come down to us in an extremely
corrupt state. Written as it was about 250 years before the invention
of printing, innumerable copies in manuscript form were put into
circulation, some in French, some in Italian, some in German and some
in Latin. French is believed to be the language in which it originally
was composed, but this has not been definitely proven. More than
eighty copies in manuscript are still extant. A Latin version was
printed in Basel in 1532. The first English translation appears to be
one that was made by John Frampton, published in London in 1579. An
English version by W. Marsden appeared in 1818.]
[Footnote 25: Chinese miles are here meant.]
Of so great celebrity was the wealth of this island that a desire was
excited in the breast of the grand Khan Kublai, now reigning, to make
the conquest of it and to annex it to his dominions. In order to
effect this he fitted out a numerous fleet, and embarked a large body
of troops, under the command of two of his principal officers, one of
whom was named Abbacatan and the other Vonsancin. The expedition
sailed from the ports of Zai-tun and Kin-sai [probably Amoy and
Ningpo], and, crossing the intermediate sea, reached the island in
safety; but in consequence of a jealousy that arose between the two
commanders, one of whom treated the plans of the other with contempt
and resisted the execution of his orders, they were unable to gain
possession of any city or fortified place, with the exception of one
only, which was carried by assault, the garrison having refused to
surrender. Directions were given for putting the whole to the sword,
and in obedience thereto the heads of all were cut off, excepting of
eight persons, who, by the efficacy of a diabolical charm, consisting
of a jewel or amulet introduced into the right arm between the skin
and the flesh, were rendered secure from the effects of iron, either
to kill or to wound. Upon this discovery being made, they were beaten
with a heavy wooden club, and presently died.
It happened, after some time, that a north wind began to blow with
great force, and the ships of the Tatars which lay near the shore of
the island were driven foul of each other. It was determined,
therefore, in a council of the officers on board, that they ought to
disengage themselves from the land; and accordingly, as soon as the
troops were reembarked, they stood out to sea. The gale, however,
increased to so violent a degree that a number of the vessels
foundered. The people belonging to them, by floating on pieces of the
wreck, saved themselves upon an island lying about four miles from the
coast of Zipangu. The other ships, which, not being so near to the
land, did not suffer from the storm, and in which the two chiefs were
embarked, together with the principal officers, or those whose rank
entitled them to command a hundred thousand or ten thousand men,
directed their course homeward, and returned to the grand khan. Those
of the Tatars who remained upon the island where they were wrecked,
and who amounted to about thirty thousand men, finding themselves left
without shipping, abandoned by their leaders, and having neither arms
nor provisions, expected nothing less than to become captives or to
perish; especially as the island afforded no habitations where they
could take shelter and refresh themselves. As soon as the gale ceased,
and the sea became smooth and calm, the people from the main island of
Zipangu came over with a large force, in numerous boats, in order to
make prisoners of these shipwrecked Tatars and, having landed,
proceeded in search of them, but in a straggling, disorderly manner.
The Tatars, on their part, acted with prudent circumspection, and
being concealed from view by some high land in the center of the
island, while the enemy were hurrying in pursuit of them by one road,
made a circuit of the coast by another, which brought them to the
place where the fleet of boats was at anchor. Finding these all
abandoned, but with their colors flying, they instantly seized them,
and pushing off from the island, stood for the principal city of
Zipangu, into which, from the appearance of the colors, they were
suffered to enter unmolested. Here they found few of the inhabitants,
besides women, whom they retained for their own use, and drove out all
others.
When the King was apprized of what had taken place, he was much
afflicted, and immediately gave directions for a strict blockade of
the city, which was so effectual that not one person was permitted to
enter or to escape from it during six months that the siege continued.
At the expiration of this time, the Tatars, despairing of succor,
surrendered upon the condition of their lives being spared. These
events took place in the course of the year 1264 [properly 1284]. The
grand khan, having learned some years after that the unfortunate issue
of the expedition was to be attributed to the dissensions between the
two commanders, caused the head of one of them to be cut off, and the
other be sent to the savage island of Zorza, where it is the custom to
execute criminals in the following manner. They are wrapt round both
arms in the hide of a buffalo fresh taken from the beast, which is
sewed tight. As this dries, it compresses the body to such a degree
that the sufferer is incapable of moving or in any manner helping
himself, and thus miserably perishes.