Methodist College
F.1 History Reading Assignment: Famous people in the Medieval Times
The Polos: the first Westerners to explore the East
In 1264, Nicolo Polo and his brother Matteo went trading to central Asia and met some men who had come from Kublai Khan, the Mongol emperor of China. These men asked the Polo brothers to go back with them to the emperor in Beijing, over 4000 kilometres away.
It took a year for the Polos to reach Beijing. The emperor was very pleased with what they told him about the West. He thought it seemed very civilized. At last he sent them back to Italy to ask the Pope to send a hundred Christian scholars to China to teach his people. The Polos reached the West again in 1269. But the Pope would not send the scholars to China.
The Polos thought they could make plenty of money by trading with China, so they went back to China in 1271, taking Nicolo's son, Marco, with them. He was just 21 when they reached Beijing. The emperor was sad that there were no Christian scholars, and asked the Buddhists to teach his people instead.
Marco Polo was very clever. He studied the languages of China. The emperor was delighted with him, and made him an important official in 1275. Marco travelled through many parts of China and South-east Asia as Kublai Khan’s special messenger. He wrote down the things he saw and told the emperor about them when he got back to Beijing. This pleased the emperor very much, and the Polos, especially Marco, became more and more important in China. He was even made the governor of Yangzhou!
After many years, the Polos wanted to return to the West, but the emperor did not want to let them go. At last he said they could return if they would take a Chinese princess to Persia to be married. They all went by sea, fourteen ships altogether, round the coast of South-east Asia and India to Persia. They reached Persia in 1293 and the Polos arrived back in Venice in 1295.
In 1928, Marco Polo fought in a war between Venice and another Italian city. He was captured in a battle and ended up in prison. He told his exciting life story to another Italian in the prison, who wrote it all down. He told about many new things he had seen in China like using coal to cook and keep warm, paper money, printing and gunpowder. The Europeans had never seen these things. His travel stories made many Europeans want to travel to the East.
Methodist College
F.1 History Reading Assignment
F.1 ___ Name: ______Class no.: ___ Date: ______
Famous people in the Medieval Times -
The Polos: the first Westerners to explore the East
Before reading
1. Mark the beginning and the end of the medieval times on the time line with a 'x'.
AD 500 700 900 1100 1300 1500
2. What are the dynasties [朝代] in China during the medieval times in Europe? Put a tick in the right box.
Han Dynasty [漢朝] / Sui Dynasty [隋朝] / Tang Dynasty [唐朝]Song Dynasty [宋朝] / Yuan Dynasty [元朝] / Ming Dynasty [明朝]
Qing Dynasty [清朝]
There was trade between China and Central and Western Asia since the Han Dynasty through the Silk Road.
The merchants from Central and Western Asia traded with European merchants, so Chinese goods (e.g. silk and iron ware) reached the West and Western goods (e.g. wine and glassware) were also brought to China. However, no western traders went to China by themselves until medieval times.
3. You are a trader in medieval Europe. You want to trade with Chinese merchants directly. How would you travel to China? Draw your (i) route and (ii) means of transport (e.g. on horseback or ship) on the map below.
4. Who might be the first Westerner to come to China? Put a tick in the right box.
Christopher Columbus 哥倫布 / Marco Polo馬可孛羅 / Francis Xavier聖芳濟
While reading
(I) The following sentences are about some events in the Polos' lives, but they are in the wrong order. Put the letters that represent the events in the boxes below.
A. Marco Polo was put into prison during a war in Italy.
B. Marco Polo told his story to an Italian when he was in prison.
C. Marco's father and uncle started their first journey to Beijing.
D. Marco Polo saw Kublai Khan, the Chinese emperor for the first time.
E. Marco Polo became an important official in China and visited many parts of China and South-east Asia.
F. The Polos started their second journey to Beijing, taking Marco with them.
G. The Polos took a Chinese princess to Persia all the way by sea.
H. Marco's father and uncle asked the Pope to send Christian scholars to China but the Pope refused.
I. The Polos were finally back to Venice after staying for many years in China.
After reading
Below is a map of the Silk Road in 1 A.D. You are Mario, a great traveler, and you are now planning to travel along the Silk Road from Venice in Italy to Chang’an in China. You have invited your friend Carlo to go with you on the journey. Carlo has sent a letter asking you some questions about the trip. Answer his letter using the information in the worksheet and the map of the Silk Road below.
Dear Mario,
Thank you so much for inviting me to join you on your journey to China. I will be very happy to come with you. To help me prepare better, I want to ask you some questions about the journey and about China. I hope you can give me some answers.
First, please could you tell me how long it will take to travel to China. I want to know what route we will take, how we will travel and what places we will visit on the way. I know that we can make some money trading with the Chinese. What can we buy from them, and what should we bring to sell? I’ve heard a lot about Chinese inventions. Can you tell me about some of them? Is there anything else you can tell me about China and the Chinese people?
I’m looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Carlo.