in the manufacture of these figures, made of fine clay thickly covered with burnished gilding, is said to be most artistic, and the variety of types is especially noticeable. In this group we meet a statue credited with a European influence. Two opinions are current regarding this statue: one refers to it as representing the image of a Portuguese sailor, the other sees in it a portrait of Marco Polo.

The former view is expressed, as far as I see, for the first time, by MAYERS and DENNYS (The Treaty Ports of China and Japan, London and Hong Kong, 1867, p. 162). "One effigy," these authors remark, "whose features are strongly European in type, will be pointed out as the image of a Portuguese seaman who was wrecked, centuries ago, on the coast, and whose virtues during a long residence gained him canonization after death. This is probably a pure myth, growing from an accidental resemblance of the features." This interpretation of a homage rendered to a Portuguese is repeated by C. A. MONTALTO DE JESUS, Historic Macao (Hong Kong, 1902, p. 28). A still more positive judgment on this matter is passed by MADROLLE (Chine du Sud et de l'Est, Paris, 1904, p. 17). "The attitudes of the Venerable Ones," he says, "are remarkable for their life-like expression, or sometimes, singularly grotesque. One of these personalities placed on the right side of a great altar wears the costume of the 16th century, and we might be inclined to regard it as a Chinese representation of Marco Polo. It is probable, however, that the artist, who had to execute the statue of a Hindu, that is, of a man of the West, adopted as the model of his costume that of the Portuguese who visited Canton since the commencement of the 16th century." It seems to be rather doubtful whether the 500 Lo-han of Canton are really traceable to that time. There is hardly any huge clay statue in China a hundred or two hundred years old, and all the older ones are in a state of decay, owing to the brittleness of the material and the carelessness of the monks. Besides, as stated by Mayers and Dennys (l.c., p. 163), the Lo-han Hall of Canton, with its glittering contents, is a purely modern structure, having been added to the Fa-lum Temple in 1846, by means of a subscription mainly supported by the Hong Merchants. Although this statue is not old, yet it may have been made after an ancient model. Archdeacon Gray, in his remarkable and interesting book, Walks in the City of Canton (Hong Kong, 1875, p. 207), justly criticized the Marco Polo theory, and simultaneously gave a correct identification of the Lo-han in question. His statement is as

follows: "Of the idols of the five hundred disciples of Buddha, which, in this hall, are contained, there is one, which, in dress and configuration of countenance, is said to resemble a foreigner. With regard to this image, one writer, if we mistake not, has stated that it is a statue of the celebrated traveller Marco Polo, who, in the thirteenth century, visited, and, for some time, resided in the flowery land of China. This statement, on the part of the writer to whom we refer, is altogether untenable. Moreover, it is an error so glaring as to cast, in the estimation of all careful readers of his work, no ordinary degree of discredit upon many of his most positive assertions. The person, whose idol is so rashly described as being that of Marco Polo, was named ShienTchu. He was a native of one of the northern provinces of India, and, for his zeal as an apostle in the service of Buddha, was highly renowned."

Everard Cotes closes the final chapter of his book, The Arising East (New York, 1907), as follows: "In the heart of Canton, within easy reach of mob violence at any time, may be seen to-day the life-size statue of an elderly European, in gilt clothes and black hat, which the Chinese have cared for and preserved from generation to generation because the original, Marco Polo, was a friend to their race. The thirteenth-century European had no monopoly of ability to make himself loved and reverenced. A position similar to that which he won as an individual is open to-day to the Anglo-Saxon as a race. But the Mongolian was not afraid of Marco Polo, and he is afraid of us. It can be attained, therefore, only by fair dealing and sympathy, supported by an overwhelming preponderance of fighting strength.'

I

[Dr. Laufer reproduces here the note in Marco Polo, I., p. 76. may remark that I never said nor believed that the statue was Polo's. The mosaic at Genoa is a fancy portrait.]

The question may be raised, however, Are there any traces of foreign influence displayed in this statue? The only way of solving this problem seemed to me the following: First to determine the number and the name of the alleged Marco Polo Lo-han at Canton, and then by means of this number to trace him in the series of pictures of the traditional 500 Lo-han (the so-called Lo han t'u).

The alleged Marco Polo Lo-han bears the number 100, and his name is Shan-chu tsun-che (tsun-che being a translation of Sanskrit arya, "holy, reverend"). The name Shan-chu evidently represents the rendering of a Sanskrit name, and does not suggest a European name. The illustration here reproduced is

Lo-han No. 100 from a series of stone-engravings in the temple T'ien-ning on the West Lake near Hang Chau. It will be noticed that it agrees very well with the statue figured by M. Cordier. In every respect it bears the features of an Indian Lo-han, with one exception, and this is the curious hat. This, in fact, is the only Lo-han among the five hundred that is equipped with a headgear; and the hat, as is well known, is not found in India. This hat must represent a more or less arbitrary addition of the Chinese artist who created the group, and it is this hat which led to the speculations regarding the Portuguese sailor or Marco Polo. Certain it is also that such a type of hat does not occur in China; but it seems idle to speculate as to its origin, as long as we have no positive information on the intentions of the artist. The striped mantle of the Lo-han is by no means singular, for it occurs with seventeen others. The facts simply amount to this, that the figure in question does not represent a Portuguese sailor or Marco Polo or any other European, but solely an Indian Lo-han (Arhat), while the peculiar hat remains to be explained.

Introduction, p. 92.

THIBAUT DE CHEPOY.

Thibaut de Chepoy (Chepoy, canton of Breteuil, Oise), son of the knight Jean de Chepoy, was one of the chief captains of King Philip the Fair. He entered the king's service in 1285 as squire and valet; went subsequently to Robert d'Artois, who placed him in charge of the castle of Saint Omer, and took him, in 1296, to Gascony to fight the English. He was afterwards grand master of the cross-bow men. He then entered the service of Charles de Valois, brother of Philip the Fair, who sent him to Constantinople to support the claims to the throne of his wife, Catherine of Courtenay. Thibaut left Paris on the 9th Sept., 1306, passed through Venice, where he met Marco Polo who gave him a copy of his manuscript. Thibaut died between 22nd May, 1311, and 22nd March, 1312. (See Joseph PETIT, in Le Moyen Age, Paris, 1897, pp. 224-239.)

THE BOOK OF MARCO POLO.

PROLOGUE.

II., p. 6.

SARAI.

"CORDIER (Yule) identifiziert den von Pegolotti gewählten Namen Säracanco mit dem jüngeren Sarai oder Zarew (dem Sarai grande Fra Mauros), was mir vollkommen untunlich erscheint; es wäre dann die Route des Reisenden geradezu ein Zickzackweg gewesen, der durch nichts zu rechtfertigen wäre.” (Dr. Ed. FRIEDMANN, Pegolotti, p. 14.)

Prof. Pelliot writes to me: "Il n'y a aucune possibilité de retrouver dans Saracanco, Sarai + Kúnk. Le mot Kúnk n'est pas autrement attesté, et la construction mongole ou turque exigerait kunk-sarai.”

seq.

XIII., pp. 25-26.

SHANG TU.

See also A. POZDNEIEV, Mongoliya i Mongoly, II., pp. 303

XV., pp. 27, 28-30. Now it came that Marco, the son of Messer Nicolo, sped wondrously in learning the customs of the Tartars, as well as their language, their manner of writing, and their practice of war-in fact he came in a brief space to know several languages, and four sundry written characters.

On the linguistic office called Sse yi kwan, cf. an interesting note by H. MASPERO, p. 8, of Bul. Ecole franç. Ext. Orient, XII., No. 1, 1912.