Marco Polo - Laurence Bergreen [75]
Marco realized that the arrangement required a remarkable degree of acquiescence on the part of Kublai Khan’s subjects, who found a justification for losing their daughters in the irresistible movements of the planets. “Are not the men…annoyed that the Great Khan takes their daughters from them?” Marco asks. “Certainly not.” It was no shame for a woman to be plucked from her town to serve the khan sexually, but a form of royal recognition. “They think it a great favor and honor, and are very glad that they have pretty daughters which he deigns to accept, because, they say, ‘If a daughter is born under a good planet and with good fortune, the lord will be able to satisfy her better and will marry her into a good position, which I should not have been able to do.’”
KUBLAI KHAN believed that he was fulfilling Heaven’s mandate to produce as many heirs as possible. According to Marco’s tally, Kublai Khan sired twenty-two sons by his four wives, and twenty-five additional sons by his concubines. (His many daughters did not merit comment.) To hear the diplomatic Venetian tell it, every one of Kublai Khan’s male heirs possessed the father’s courage and sagacity. And every one wanted to be the next “great khan.” Of them all, Kublai’s oldest surviving son, Chinkim, was expected to inherit the throne. He had distinguished himself on horseback and in scholarship, and he was popular with nearly everyone except for his direct rivals. Placed in charge of the sensitive task of collecting taxes, he firmly opposed corruption, yet he was generous in providing assistance to families afflicted by natural disasters such as drought and floods. In these respects, he proved himself a worthy successor to his father.
According to the Persian historian Vassaf, “When Kublai approached his seventieth year, he desired to raise…Chinkim to the position of representative and declared successor during his own lifetime; so he took counsel with the chiefs.” The other khans, not surprisingly, declared that Kublai’s proposal violated the precepts laid down by Genghis Khan himself—Chinkim was not eligible to become the “great khan” during his father’s lifetime—but they did pledge to support him after Kublai Khan’s death. To the young Marco, it seemed as if that day would never come.
But even Kublai Khan was mortal.
CHAPTER EIGHT
In the Service of the Khan
The shadow of the dome of pleasure
Floated midway on the waves;
Where was heard the mingled measure
From the fountain and the caves.
THE SEAT OF Kublai Khan’s power was “the great city called Cambulac,” where he wintered over. This was a recent development in his empire. Ever since 1220, the Mongols, led by Genghis Khan, had considered Karakorum, on the Mongolian Steppe, to be their capital. Kublai Khan later decided to move the center of authority to the south, as if to superimpose Mongol might on Chinese civilization.
Kublai Khan chose a Muslim architect to oversee the construction of Cambulac, even though it was designed to demonstrate to the Chinese that Kublai’s dynasty drew inspiration from them and identified with them. Work commenced in 1267. When it was completed several years later, the city featured eleven gates guarded by imposing three-story towers that served as observation platforms.
In the multilingual Mongol Empire, the new capital was known by several names. The Chinese called it Ta-tu, “Great Capital.” The Turks knew it as Khanbalikh—which Marco spelled “Cambulac”—“City of the Khan.” And the Mongols, adapting the Chinese name, called it Daidu. Today the city is known as Beijing.
BY THE TIME OF Marco’s visit, the new city’s eastern section was devoted to the study of astronomy, which held a special fascination for Kublai Khan, with his capacious vision of the world. Kublai, inspired by a Persian center at Maragheh, Azerbaijan,