How does Polo describe China
The three analytical essays account for 30% of your final grade. Therefore, this second essay will amount to 10% of your final grade for this course. The essay should be 3-5 pages (about 1000 words) long excluding footnotes. You should double space your paper. You should include a title and page numbers. Your paper should have one-inch margins and be in Times New Roman Font. Please insert the word count at the end of the paper. Your essay should have an introductory section with a clear argument/thesis statement. Each paragraph in the body of the paper should have a topic sentence. The essay should also have a concluding section addressing the main arguments made. Before you start to write and use assigned primary and secondary material, read the prompt carefully. Thus, you will be sure that your thesis statement directly addresses the question(s) being asked of you. You are welcome to discuss the prompt with me, but I will not read or comment on drafts. Please use Microsoft word only.
Cited Materials: Each claim you make should be backed up with evidence. You are to use ONLY assigned texts and PowerPoints for these essays. Do not cite any other text or source. Your quotations should be just from the primary material. You MUST paraphrase secondary literature and cite it. Any paper containing material from other sources will be penalized. However, any reference or quote used in this essay MUST be cited in footnotes. Papers lacking footnotes will have a substantial deduction in grade. You are to use Chicago Style citations.
https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-1.html (Links to an external site.)
A Note on Style and Substance: Do NOT use broad generalizations or assumptions about the subject(s) under discussion or about the audience reading your paper. For instance, do NOT say something along the lines of “Everyone today thinks [X]…”, “All ancient peoples believed [Y]…”, or “Peoples of the Western world do [Z]…” Also, do NOT use the term “Western world.”
To address in your paper:
Between 1271 and 1295CE the Venetian merchant and explorer, Marco Polo, traveled along the silk road to Kinsai (China), where he spent seventeen years employed by Kublai Khan, ruler of the Mongol Empire. Upon his return to Venice in 1295CE, Polo was imprisoned by the rival Republic of Genoa in Italy. While in captivity, Polo relayed his account to his cellmate, Rustichiello of Pisa, who transcribed the narrative. Although some scholars have cast doubt upon whether Polo actually reached East Asia, his recollections are, nevertheless, one of the earliest European accounts of China.
Your task is to write an essay using the primary sources and secondary literature assigned for this course. You are to use the provided excerpt of Marco Polo’s travels, Wolf’s “Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta” chapter, Chapter 12 of John Keay’s China: A History, the powerpoints, and any other relevant secondary material from this course to address the following questions:
1. How does Polo describe China? (What in particular catches his attention?) Why does he find China so interesting?
What does this account reveal concerning the technological, economic, social, and cultural development of China? Furthermore, how does China compare to Europe ca. 1300CE
