Did Marco Polo go to Cathay?

How far did he go?

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Bianca: Of course he went.

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Zanni: What makes you so sure?

Bianca and Zanni debate Marco

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Bianca: His account of Chinese places, inventions, culture. Plants and animals along the way.

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Zanni: Books have been written to question whether he actually went.

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Bianca: And refuted. Easy way to make a name for yourself is to attack historical figures. They can’t answer back. You start by attacking the urban myths.

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Voice-over

Like the urban myth that Marco Polo introduced pasta to Italy? Since noodles had arrived in Italy before Marco Polo was born, he obviously didn’t bring these from Asia. And there is the lack of mention of chopsticks or tea. And although original copies of the popular work have been lost, 150 copies of his manuscript exist today. Many scholars like Mark Elvin suggest that he had an authentic story to tell even though it was embellished by coauthor Rustichello da Pisa. One faulty brick doesn’t bring down the structure.

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