CHAPTER XLII.

OF THE PROVINCE OF CHINGINTALAS.

Chingintalas is also a province at the verge of the Desert, and lying

between north-west and north. It has an extent of sixteen days’

journey, and belongs to the Great Kaan, and contains numerous towns and

villages. There are three different races of people in it—Idolaters,

Saracens, and some Nestorian Christians.{1} At the northern extremity

of this province there is a mountain in which are excellent veins of

steel and ondanique.{2} And you must know that in the same mountain

there is a vein of the substance from which Salamander is made.{3}

For the real truth is that the Salamander is no beast, as they allege

in our part of the world, but is a substance found in the earth; and I

will tell you about it.

Everybody must be aware that it can be no animal’s nature to live in

fire, seeing that every animal is composed of all the four elements.{4}

Now I, Marco Polo, had a Turkish acquaintance of the name of Zurficar,

and he was a very clever fellow. And this Turk related to Messer Marco

Polo how he had lived three years in that region on behalf of the Great

Kaan, in order to procure those Salamanders for him.{5} He said that

the way they got them was by digging in that mountain till they found

a certain vein. The substance of this vein was then taken and crushed,

and when so treated it divides as it were into fibres of wool, which

they set forth to dry. When dry, these fibres were pounded in a great

copper mortar, and then washed, so as to remove all the earth and to

leave only the fibres like fibres of wool. These were then spun, and

made into napkins. When first made these napkins are not very white,

but by putting them into the fire for a while they come out as white

as snow. And so again whenever they become dirty they are bleached by

being put in the fire.

Now this, and nought else, is the truth about the Salamander, and the

people of the country all say the same. Any other account of the matter

is fabulous nonsense. And I may add that they have at Rome a napkin of

this stuff, which the Grand Kaan sent to the Pope to make a wrapper for

the Holy Sudarium of Jesus Christ.{6}

We will now quit this subject, and I will proceed with my account of

the countries lying in the direction between north-east and east.

NOTE 1.—The identification of this province is a difficulty,

because the geographical definition is vague, and the name assigned

to it has not been traced in other authors. It is said to lie

_between north-west and north_, whilst Kamul was said to lie

_towards the north-west_. The account of both provinces forms a

digression, as is clear from the last words of the present chapter,

where the traveller returns to take up his regular route “in the

direction between north-east and east.” The point from which he

digresses, and to which he reverts, is Shachau, and ’tis presumably

from Shachau that he assigns bearings to the two provinces forming

the subject of the digression. Hence, as Kamul lies _vers maistre_,

_i.e._ north-west, and Chingintalas _entre maistre et tramontaine_,

_i.e._ nor’-nor’-west, Chingintalas can scarcely lie due west of

Kamul, as M. Pauthier would place it, in identifying it with an

obscure place called _Saiyintala_, in the territory of Urumtsi.

Moreover, the province is said to belong to the Great Kaan. Now,

_Urumtsi_ or Bishbalik seems to have belonged, not to the Great

Kaan, but to the empire of Chagatai, or possibly at this time to

Kaidu. Rashiduddin, speaking of the frontier between the Kaan and

Kaidu, says:—“From point to point are posted bodies of troops

under the orders of princes of the blood or other generals, and

they often come to blows with the troops of Kaidu. Five of these

are cantoned on the verge of the Desert; a sixth in Tangut, near

Chagan-Nor (White Lake); a seventh in the vicinity of Karakhoja,

a city of the Uighúrs, which lies between the two States, and

maintains neutrality.”

Karakhoja, this neutral town, is near Turfan, to the south-east of

Urumtsi, which thus would lie _without_ the Kaan’s boundary; Kamul

and the country north-east of it would lie within it. This country,

to the north and north-east of Kamul, has remained till quite

recently unexplored by any modern traveller, unless we put faith in

Mr. Atkinson’s somewhat hazy narrative. But it is here that I would

seek for Chingintalas.

Several possible explanations of this name have suggested

themselves or been suggested to me. I will mention two.

1. Klaproth states that the Mongols applied to Tibet the name of

_Baron-tala_, signifying the “Right Side,” _i.e._ the south-west

or south quarter, whilst Mongolia was called _Dzöhn_ (or _Dzegun_)

_Tala_, _i.e._ the “Left,” or north-east side. It is possible

that _Chigin-talas_ might represent _Dzegun Tala_ in some like

application. The etymology of _Dzungaria_, a name which in modern

times covers the territory of which we are speaking, is similar.

2. Professor Vámbéry thinks that it is probably _Chingin Tala_,

“The Vast Plain.” But nothing can be absolutely satisfactory in

such a case except historical evidence of the application of the

name.

I have left the identity of this name undecided, though pointing to

the general position of the region so-called by Marco, as indicated

by the vicinity of the Tangnu-Ola Mountains (p. 215). A passage

in the Journey of the Taouist Doctor, Changchun, as translated by

Dr. Bretschneider (_Chinese Recorder and Miss. Journ._, Shanghai,

Sept.–Oct., 1874, p. 258), suggests to me the strong probability

that it may be the _Kem-kém-jút_ of Rashiduddin, called by the

Chinese teacher _Kien-kien_-chau.

Rashiduddin couples the territory of the Kirghiz with Kemkemjút,

but defines the country embracing both with some exactness: “On one

side (south-east?), it bordered on the Mongol country; on a second

(north-east?), it was bounded by the Selenga; on a third (north),

by the ‘great river called Angara, which flows on the confines of

Ibir-Sibir’ (_i.e._ of Siberia); on a fourth side by the territory

of the Naimans. This great country contained _many towns and

villages_, as well as many nomad inhabitants.” Dr. Bretschneider’s

Chinese Traveller speaks of it as a country where _good iron was

found_, where (grey) squirrels abounded, and wheat was cultivated.

Other notices quoted by him show that it lay to the south-east of

the Kirghiz country, and had its name from the _Kien_ or _Ken_ R.

(_i.e._ the Upper Yenisei).

The name (_Kienkien_), the general direction, the existence of

good iron (“steel and ondanique”), the many towns and villages in

a position where we should little look for such an indication, all

point to the identity of this region with the Chingintalas of our

text. The only alteration called for in the Itinerary Map (No. IV.)

would be to spell the name _Hinkin_, or _Ghinghin_ (as it _is_ in

the Geographic Text), and to shift it a very little further to the

north.

(See _Chingin_ in _Kovalevski’s Mongol Dict._, No. 2134; and for

_Baron-tala_, etc., see _Della Penna, Breve Notizia del Regno

del Thibet_, with Klaproth’s notes, p. 6; _D’Avezac_, p. 568;

_Relation_ prefixed to D’Anville’s Atlas, p. 11; _Alphabetum

Tibetanum_, 454; and _Kircher, China Illustrata_, p. 65.)

Since the first edition was published, Mr. Ney Elias has traversed

the region in question from east to west; and I learn from him that

at Kobdo he found the most usual name for that town among Mongols,

Kalmaks, and Russians to be SANKIN-hoto. He had not then thought

of connecting this name with Chinghin-talas, and has therefore no

information as to its origin or the extent of its application. But

he remarks that Polo’s bearing of between north and north-west, if

understood to be _from Kamul_, would point exactly to Kobdo. He

also calls attention to the Lake _Sankin_-dalai, to the north-east

of Uliasut’ai, of which Atkinson gives a sketch. The recurrence of

this name over so wide a tract may have something to do with the

Chinghin-talas of Polo. But we must still wait for further light.[1]

[“Supposing that M. Polo mentions this place on his way

from Sha-chow to Su-chow, it is natural to think that it is

_Chi-kin-talas_, _i.e._ ‘Chi-kin plain’ or valley; Chi-kin was the

name of a lake, called so even now, and of a defile, which received

its name from the lake. The latter is on the way from Kia-yü kwan

to Ansi chow.” (_Palladius_, _l.c._ p. 7.) “_Chikin_, or more

correctly _Chigin_, is a Mongol word meaning ‘ear.’” (_Ibid._)

Palladius (p. 8) adds: “The Chinese accounts of Chi-kin are not

in contradiction to the statements given by M. Polo regarding the

same subject; but when the distances are taken into consideration,

a serious difficulty arises; Chi-kin is two hundred and fifty or

sixty _li_ distant from Su-chow, whilst, according to M. Polo’s

statement, ten days are necessary to cross this distance. One

of the three following explanations of this discrepancy must be

admitted: either Chingintalas is not Chi-kin, or the traveller’s

memory failed, or, lastly, an error crept into the number of days’

journey. The two last suppositions I consider the most probable;

the more so that similar difficulties occur several times in Marco

Polo’s narrative.” (_L.c._ p. 8.)—H. C.]

NOTE 2.—[_Ondanique_.—We have already referred to this word,

_Kermán_, p. 90. _Cobinan_, p. 124. La Curne de Sainte-Palaye

(_Dict._), F. Godefroy (_Dict._), Du Cange (_Gloss._), all give

to _andain_ the meaning of _enjambée_, from the Latin _andare_.

Godefroy, _s.v. andaine_, calls it _sorte d’acier ou de fer_, and

quotes besides Marco Polo:

“I. espiel, ou ot fer d’andaine,

Dont la lamele n’iert pas trouble.”

(Huon de Mery, _Le Tornoiement de l’Antechrist_, p. 3, Tarbé.)

There is a forest in the department of Orne, arrondissement of

Domfront, which belonged to the Crown before 1669, and is now State

property, called Forêt d’Andaine; it is situated near some bed of

iron. Is this the origin of the name?—H. C.]

NOTE 3.—The Altai, or one of its ramifications, is probably the

mountain of the text, but so little is known of this part of the

Chinese territory that we can learn scarcely anything of its

mineral products. Still Martini does mention that asbestos is found

“in the Tartar country of _Tangu_,” which probably is the _Tangnu

Oola_ branch of the Altai to the south of the Upper Yenisei, and in

the very region we have indicated as Chingintalas. Mr. Elias tells

me he inquired for asbestos by its Chinese name at Uliasut’ai, but

without success.

NOTE 4.—

“Degli elementi quattro principali,

Che son la Terra, e l’Acqua, e l’Aria, e ’l Foco,

Composti sono gli universi Animali,

Pigliando di ciascuno assai o poco.”

(_Dati_, _La Sfera_, p. 9.)

_Zurficar_ in the next sentence is a Mahomedan name, _Zu’lfiḳár_,

the title of [the edge of] Ali’s sword.

NOTE 5.—Here the G. Text adds: “_Et je meisme le vi_,” intimating,

I conceive, his having himself seen specimens of the asbestos—not

to his having been at the place.

NOTE 6.—The story of the Salamander passing unhurt through fire

is at least as old as Aristotle. But I cannot tell when the fable

arose that asbestos was a substance derived from the animal. This

belief, however, was general in the Middle Ages, both in Asia and

Europe. “The fable of the Salamander,” says Sir Thomas Browne,

“hath been much promoted by stories of incombustible napkins and

textures which endure the fire, whose materials are called by the

name of Salamander’s wool, which many, too literally apprehending,

conceive some investing part or integument of the Salamander....

Nor is this Salamander’s wool desumed from any animal, but a

mineral substance, metaphorically so called for this received

opinion.”

Those who knew that the Salamander was a lizard-like animal were

indeed perplexed as to its woolly coat. Thus the Cardinal de Vitry

is fain to say the creature “_profert ex cute_ quasi quamdam lanam

_de quâ zonae contextae comburi non possunt igne._” A Bestiary,

published by Cahier and Martin, says of it: “_De lui naist une

cose qui n’est ne soie ne lin ne laine._” Jerome Cardan looked in

vain, he says, for hair on the Salamander! Albertus Magnus calls

the incombustible fibre _pluma Salamandri_; and accordingly Bold

Bauduin de Sebourc finds the Salamander in the Terrestrial Paradise

_a kind of bird covered with the whitest plumage_; of this he takes

some, which he gets woven into a cloth; this he presents to the

Pope, and the Pontiff applies it to the purpose mentioned in the

text, viz. to cover the holy napkin of St. Veronica.

Gervase of Tilbury writes: “I saw, when lately at Rome, a broad

strap of Salamander skin, like a girdle for the loins, which had

been brought thither by Cardinal Peter of Capua. When it had become

somewhat soiled by use, I myself saw it cleaned perfectly, and

without receiving harm, by being put in the fire.”

In Persian the creature is called _Samandar_, _Samandal_, etc., and

some derive the word from _Sam_, “fire,” and _Andar_, “within.”

Doubtless it is a corruption of the Greek Σαλαμάνδρα, whatever be

the origin of that. Bakui says the animal is found at Ghur, near

Herat, and is _like a mouse_. Another author, quoted by D’Herbelot,

says it is _like a marten_.

[Sir T. Douglas Forsyth, in his _Introductory Remarks_ to

Prjevalsky’s _Travels to Lob-nor_ (p. 20), at Aksu says: “The

asbestos mentioned by Marco Polo as a utilized product of this

region is not even so known in this country.”—H. C.]

✛ Interesting details regarding the fabrication of cloth and paper

from amianth or asbestos are contained in a report presented to the

French Institute by M. Sage (_Mém. Ac. Sciences_, 2e Sem., 1806, p.

102), of which large extracts are given in the _Diction. général

des Tissus_, par M. Bezon, 2e éd. vol. ii. Lyon, 1859, p. 5. He

mentions that a _Sudarium_ of this material is still shown at the

Vatican; we hope it is the cover which Kúblái sent.

[This hope is not to be realized. Mgr. Duchesne, of the Institut

de France, writes to me from Rome, from information derived from

the keepers of the Vatican Museum, that there is no sudarium from

the Great Khan, that indeed part of a sudarium made of asbestos is

shown (under glass) in this Museum, about 20 inches long, but it is

ancient, and was found in a Pagan tomb of the Appian Way.—H. C.]

M. Sage exhibited incombustible paper made from this material,

and had himself seen a small furnace of Chinese origin made from

it. Madame Perpenté, an Italian lady, who experimented much with

asbestos, found that from a crude mass of that substance threads

could be elicited which were ten times the length of the mass

itself, and were indeed sometimes several metres in length, the

fibres seeming to be involved, like silk in a cocoon. Her process

of preparation was much like that described by Marco. She succeeded

in carding and reeling the material, made gloves and the like, as

well as paper, from it, and sent to the Institute a work printed on

such paper.

The Rev. A. Williamson mentions asbestos as found in Shantung. The

natives use it for making stoves, crucibles, and so forth.

(_Sir T. Browne_, I. 293; _Bongars_, I. 1104; _Cahier et Martin_,

III. 271; _Cardan, de Rer. Varietate_, VII. 33; _Alb. Mag. Opera_,

1551, II. 227, 233; _Fr. Michel, Recherches_, etc., II. 91; _Gerv.

of Tilbury_, p. 13; _N. et E._ II. 493; _D. des Tissus_, II. 1–12;

_J. N. China Branch R. A. S._, December, 1867, p. 70.) [_Berger de

Xivrey, Traditions tératologiques_, 457–458, 460–463.—H. C.]

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[1] The late Mr. Atkinson has been twice alluded to in this note. I

take the opportunity of saying that Mr. Ney Elias, a most competent

judge, who has travelled across the region in question whilst

admitting, as every one must, Atkinson’s vagueness and sometimes

very careless statements, is not at all disposed to discredit the

truth of his narrative.