Some Questions

• Who were each of these figures and why did they travel?

• To what extent do the accounts of their travels offer insights into the worlds of the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth centuries?

• What is most surprising and most interesting about the experiences, writings, and/or legacies of Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta and Zheng He?

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Starting Places

•   In The Footsteps Of Marco Polo:  A virtual exhibit from New York's Metropolitan Museum.

•   Marco Polo -- Wikipedia:  An entry from the on-line encyclopedia.

• Douglas Bullis, "The Longest Hajj: The Journey Of Ibn Battuta," Saudi Aramco World (July/August 2000):  A superb three-part overview of Battuta's Travels.  See below for links to the different sections of the article.

•   Part 1 -- From Pilgrim To Traveler (Tangier To Makkah)

•     Part 2 -- From Riches To Rags (Makkah To India)

•   Part 3 -- From Traveler To Memoirist (China Mali And Home)

•   Zheng He -- Wikipedia:  An entry from the on-line encyclopedia.

• Joseph Kahn, "Letter From Asia: China Has An Ancient Mariner To Tell You About," New York Times, July 20, 2005.

•   Tim Luard, "China Hails Legacy Of Great Adventurer," BBC News, May 30, 2005.

• Frank Viviano, "China's Great Armada," National Geographic, 208 (July 2005): 28-53.

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Web-Sites

•   Marco Polo (c. 1254-1324), Historic Figures:   A very brief overview from BBC History.

• The Marco Polo Odyssey:  An on-line feature from National Geographic.

• Marco Polo And His Travels:  A short biography from the Silk Road Foundation.

•   Ibn Battuta -- Wikipedia:  An entry from the on-line encyclopedia.

• Ibn Battuta (1304-1378?):  A brief biography from a school-related site.

• Journey To Mecca -- In The Footsteps Of Ibn Battuta:  The companion web-site for a 2008 documentary.

•   Ibn Battuta On The Web:

•   1421 -- The Year China Discovered The World:  The companion web-site for Gavin Menzies' controversial book.  Note that many historians have attacked his thesis.

• Great Chinese Mariner Zheng He:  Includes a number of links at the bottom of the page.

• Mystery Of Zheng He And America:  A web-site from chemist Dr. Siu-Leung Lee that holds up a medal artifact as further support for the Chinese-reached-America theory.

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Primary Sources

• Travels Of Marco Polo, Volume I -- Project Gutenberg:

• Travels Of Marco Polo, Volume II -- Project Gutenberg:

• Travels Of Marco Polo:  The Google Books edition of Ronald Edward Latham's Penguin translation of Marco Polo's writings.  Visiting this site involves some of the typical frustrations of other Google Books but is still worth a very careful browsing.

• Medieval Sourcebook, Ibn Battuta -- Travels In Asia And Africa, 1325-1354:  A small sampling of Battuta's original travel writing.

• Travels In Asia And Africa, 1325-54:  A Google Books edition of Battuta original writing as compiled by Asian Education Services in 1997.

• Travels In Asia And Africa, 1325-1354:  Another Google Books introduction to Battuta as a primary source, this time courtesy of Routledge Publishing.

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Articles

• David Jacoby, "Marco Polo, His Close Relatives And His Travel Account: Some New Insights," Mediterranean Historical Review, 21 (December 2006): 193-218.

• Mike Edwards, "The Adventures Of Marco Polo," National Geographic, 199 (May 2001).

• Mike Edwards, "Marco Polo In China, Part II," National Geographic, 199 (June 2001).

• Mike Edwards, "Marco Polo, Part III, Journey Home," National Geographic, 200 (July 2001).

• Marco Polo's Asia:  An essay written by Macalester College undergraduate John Hubbard for a 1994 course on Chinese History.

• Ibn Battuta -- The Great Traveller:  A short 1990 article by A.S. Chughtai that originally appeared in the Muslim Technologist.

• Charles Beckingham, "In Search Of Ibn Battuta," Asian Affairs, 8 (October 1977).

• Robert Finlay, "The Voyages Of Zheng He: Ideology, State Power, And Maritime Trade In Ming China," Journal Of The Historical Society, 8 (September 2008): 327-47.

•   Frank Viviano, "China's Great Armada," National Geographic (July 2005).

• Caroline Hsu, "The Chinese Columbus?," U.S. News and World Report, 136 (February 23, 2004): 56-60.

• "The Next Asian Journey," Time Asia, 158 (August 20-27, 2001):  A short feature from Time magazine.

• Elizabeth Grice, "Explorer From China Who 'Beat Columbus To America,'" Telegraph, March 4, 2002:  A review of Menzies's 1421.

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Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta And Zheng He In The News

•   Daniel Hahan, "Xanadu: Marco Polo And Europe's Discovery Of The East By John Man," Guardian, October 31, 2009.

• Bruce Barcott, "Once Upon A Time," New York Times, December 2, 2007.

• Jonathan Spence, "Go East, Young Man," New York Times, December 12, 1999.

• Doreen Carvajal, "Marco Polo: Is A Rivalry Just Fiction?," New York Times, December 9, 1997.

• Jonathan Spence, "Leaky Boat To China," New York Times, October 19, 1997.

•   Donald G. McNeil, Jr., "The Long, Dusty Trek Toward Tolerance," New York Times, February 13, 2009.

•   "Ming Dynasty Replica Junk Sinks," BBC News, April 27, 2009.

• Joseph Kahn, "Who Discovered America?  Zheng Who?," New York Times, January 17, 2006.

•   "China Map Lays Claim To Americas," BBC News, January 13, 2006.

• Sheila Melvin, "'Greatest Sailor' On Exhibit In China," New York Times, August 18, 2005.

• Craig G. Smith, "The Armada's Gone, Leaving A Savory Memory," New York Times, June 6, 2001.

• Nicholas D. Kristof, "1492: The Prequel," New York Times, June 6, 1999.