open banks in the large cities of the Empire for the issue of a new papercurrency, but that it met with bad success. At Fuchau, in 1858, I learn from one notice, the dollar was worth from 18,000 to 20,000 cash in Government Bills. Dr. Rennie, in 1861, speaks of the dollar at Peking as valued at 15,000 and later at 25,000 paper cash. Sushun the Regent had issued a vast number of notes through banks of his own in various parts of Peking. These he failed to redeem, causing the failure of all the banks, and great consequent commotion in the city. The Regent had led the Emperor systematically into debauched habits which ended in paralysis. On the Emperor's death the Empress caused the arrest and execution of Sushun. His conduct in connection with the bank failures was so bitterly resented that when the poor wretch was led to execution (Nov. 8, 1861), as I learn from an eye-witness, the defrauded creditors lined the streets and cheered.*

The Japanese also had a paper-currency in the 14th century. It is different in form from that of China. That figured by Siebold is a strip of strong paper doubled, 6 in. long by 1 in. wide, bearing a representation of the tutelary god of riches, with long inscriptions in Chinese characters, seals in black and red, and an indication of value in ancient Japanese characters. I do not learn whether notes of considerable amount are still used in Japan; but Sir R. Alcock speaks of bank-notes for small change from 30 to 500 cash and more, as in general use in the interior.

Two notable and disastrous attempts to imitate the Chinese system of currency took place in the middle ages; one of them in Persia, apparently in Polo's very presence, the other in India some 36 years later.

The first was initiated in 1294 by the worthless Kaikhatu Khan, when his own and his minister's extravagance had emptied the Treasury, on the suggestion of a financial officer called 'Izzuddín Muzaffar. The notes were direct copies of Kublai's, even the Chinese characters being imitated as part of the device upon them.+ The Chinese name Chao was applied to them, and the Mongol Resident at Tabriz, Pulad Chingsang, was consulted in carrying out the measure. Expensive preparations were made for this object; offices called Cháo-Khánahs were erected in the principal cities of the provinces, and a numerous staff appointed to carry out the details. Ghazan Khan in Khorasan, how

* The first edition of this work gave a facsimile of one of this unlucky Minister's

notes.

On both sides, however, was the Mahomedan formula, and beneath that the words Yiranjin Túrjí, a title conferred on the kings of Persia by the Kaan. There was also an inscription to the following effect: that the Emperor in the year 693 (A.H.) had issued these auspicious chao, that all who forged or uttered false notes should be summarily punished, with their wives and children, and their property confiscated; and that when these auspicious notes were once in circulation, poverty would vanish, provisions become cheap, and rich and poor be equal (Cowell). The use of the term chao at Tabriz may be compared with that of Banklöt, current in modern India.

ever, would have none of it, and refused to allow any of these preparations to be made within his government. After the constrained use of the Chao for two or three days Tabriz was in an uproar; the markets were closed; the people rose and murdered 'Izzuddín; and the whole project had to be abandoned. Marco was in Persia at this time, or just before, and Sir John Malcolm not unnaturally suggests that he might have had something to do with the scheme; a suggestion which excites a needless commotion in the breast of M. Pauthier. We may draw from the story the somewhat notable conclusion that Block-printing was practised, at least for this one purpose, at Tabriz in 1294.

The other like enterprise was that of Sultan Mahomed Tughlak of Dehli, in 1330-31. This also was undertaken for like reasons, and was in professed imitation of the Chao of Cathay. Mahomed, however, used copper tokens instead of paper; the copper being made apparently of equal weight to the gold or silver coin which it represented. The system seems to have had a little more vogue than at Tabriz, but was speedily brought to an end by the ease with which forgeries on an enormous scale were practised. The Sultan, in hopes of reviving the credit of his currency, ordered that every one bringing copper tokens to the Treasury should have them cashed in gold or silver. "The people who in despair had flung aside their copper coins like stones and bricks in their houses, all rushed to the Treasury and exchanged them for gold and silver. In this way the Treasury soon became empty, but the copper coins had as little circulation as ever, and a very grievous blow was given to the State."

An odd issue of currency, not of paper, but of leather, took place in Italy a few years before Polo's birth. The Emperor Frederic II., at the siege of Faenza in 1241, being in great straits for money, issued pieces of leather stamped with the mark of his mint at the value of his Golden Augustals. This leather coinage was very popular, especially at Florence, and it was afterwards honourably redeemed by Frederic's Treasury. Popular tradition in Sicily reproaches William the Bad among his other sins with having issued money of leather, but any stone is good enough to cast at a dog with such a surname.

(Klapr. in Mem. Rel. à l'Asie, I. 375 seqq.; Biot, in J. As. ser. 3, tom. iv.; Marsden and Pauthier, in loco; Parkes, in J. R. A. S. XIII. 179; Doolittle, 452 seqq.; Wylie, J. of Shanghai Lit, and Scient. Soc. No. I.; Arbeiten der kais. russ. Gesandsch. zu Peking, I. p. 48; Rennie, Peking, &c., I. 296, 347; Birch, in Num. Chron. XII. 169; Information from Dr. Lockhart; Alcock, II. 86; D'Ohsson, IV. 53; Cowell, in J. A. S. B. XXIX. 183 seqq.; Thomas, Coins of Patan Sovs. of Hind. (from Numism. Chron. 1852), p. 139 seqq.; Kington's Fred. II. II. 195; Amari, III. 816.)

CHAPTER XXV.

CONCERNING THE TWELVE BARONS WHO ARE SET OVER ALL THE AFFAIRS OF THE GREAT KAAN.

You must know that the Great Kaan hath chosen twelve great Barons to whom he hath committed all the necessary affairs of thirty-four great provinces; and now I will tell you particulars about them and their establishments.

You must know that these twelve Barons reside all together in a very rich and handsome palace, which is inside the city of Cambaluc, and consists of a variety of edifices, with many suites of apartments. To every province is assigned a judge and several clerks, and all reside in this palace, where each has his separate quarters. These judges and clerks administer all the affairs of the provinces to which they are attached, under the direction. of the twelve Barons. Howbeit, when an affair is of very great importance, the twelve Barons lay it before the Emperor, and he decides as he thinks best. But the power of those twelve Barons is so great that they choose the governors for all those 34 great provinces that I have mentioned, and only after they have chosen do they inform the Emperor of their choice. This he confirms, and grants to the person nominated a tablet of gold such as is appropriate to the rank of his government.

Those twelve Barons also have such authority that they can dispose of the movements of the forces, and send them whither, and in such strength as, they please. This is done indeed with the Emperor's cognizance, but still the orders are issued on their authority. They are styled SHIENG, which is as much as to say "The Supreme Court,” and the palace where they abide is also called Shieng. This body forms the highest authority at the Court of the Great Kaan; and indeed they can favour and advance whom

VOL. I.

2 E

they will. I will not now name the 34 provinces to you, because they will be spoken of in detail in the course of this Book.'

NOTE 1.-Pauthier's extracts from the Chinese annals of the dynasty, in illustration of this subject, are interesting. These, as he represents them, show the council of ministers usually to have consisted of twelve high officials, viz.: 2 Ching-siang or (chief) ministers of state, one styled, "of the Right," and the other "of the Left;" 4 called Pingchang ching-ssé, which seems to mean something like ministers in charge of special departments; 4 Assistant ministers; 2 Counsellors.

Rashiduddin, however, limits the council to the first two classes: "Strictly speaking, the council of state is composed of four Chingsang (Ching-siang) or great officers (Wazirs he afterwards terms them), and four Fanchán (Ping-chang) or associated members, taken from the nations of the Tajiks, Cathayans, Ighurs, and Arkaun" (i. e. Nestorian Christians); compare p. 404 supra.

In a later age we find the twelve Barons reappearing in the pages of Mendoza: "The King hath in this city of Tabin (Peking), where he is resident, a royal council of twelve counsellors and a president, chosen men throughout all the kingdom, and such as have had experience in government many years." And also in the early centuries of the Christian era we hear that the Khan of the Turks had his twelve grandees, divided into those of the Right and those of the Left, probably a copy from a Chinese order then also existing.

But to return to Rashiduddin: "As the Kaan generally resides at the capital, he has erected a place for the sittings of the Great Council, called Sing. . . . The dignitaries mentioned above are expected to attend daily at the Sing, and to make themselves acquainted with all that passes there."

The Sing of Rashid is evidently the Shieng or Sheng (Scieng) of Polo. M. Pauthier is on this point somewhat contemptuous towards Neumann, who, he says, confounds Marco Polo's twelve barons or ministers of state with the chiefs of the twelve great provincial governments called Sing, who had their residence at the chief cities of those governments; whilst in fact Polo's Scieng (he asserts) has nothing to do with the Sing, but represents the Chinese word Siang "a minister," and "the office of a minister."

It is very probable that two different words, Siang and Sing, got confounded by the non-Chinese attachés of the imperial court; but it seems to me quite certain that they applied the same word, Sing or Sheng, to both institutions, viz., to the high council of state, and to the provincial governments. It also looks as if Marco Polo himself had made that very confusion with which Pauthier charges Neumann. For whilst here he represents the twelve Barons as forming a council of state

at the capital, we find further on, when speaking of the city of Yangchau, he says: "Et si siet en ceste cité uns des xii Barons du Grant Kaan; car elle est esleue pour un des xii sieges," where the last word is probably a mistranscription of sciengs, or sings, and in any case the reference is to a distribution of the empire into twelve governments.

To be convinced that Sing was used by foreigners in the double sense that I have said, we have only to proceed with Rashiduddin's account of the administration. After what we have already quoted, he goes on "The Sing of Khanbaligh is the most eminent, and the building is very large . . . Sings do not exist in all the cities, but only in the capitals of great provinces . . . In the whole empire of the Kaan there are twelve of these Sings; but that of Khanbaligh is the only one which has Ching-sangs amongst its members." Wassáf again, after describing the greatness of Khanzai (Kinsay of Polo) says: "These circumstances characterize the capital itself, but 400 cities of note, and embracing ample territories, are dependent on its jurisdiction, insomuch that the most inconsiderable of those cities surpasses Baghdad and Shiraz. In the number of these cities are Lankinfu and Zaitun, and Chinkalán; for they call Khanzai a Shing, i.e. a great city in which the high and mighty council of administration holds its meetings." Friar Odoric again says: "This empire hath been divided by the Lord thereof into twelve parts, each one whereof is termed a Singo."

Polo, it seems evident to me, knew nothing of Chinese. His Shieng is no direct attempt to represent any Chinese word, but simply the term that he had been used to employ in talking Persian or Turki, in the way that' Rashiduddin and Wassáf employ it.

I find no light as to the 34 provinces into which Polo represents the empire as divided, unless it be an enumeration of the provinces and districts which he describes in the second and third parts of Book II., of which it is not difficult to reckon 33 or 34, but not worth while to repeat the calculation.

(Cathay, 263 seqq., and 137; Mendoza, I. 96; Erdmann, 142; Hammer's Wassáf, p. 42, but corrected.)

CHAPTER XXVI.

HOW THE KAAN'S POSTS AND RUNNERS ARE SPED THROUGH MANY LANDS AND PROVINCES.

Now you must know that from this city of Cambaluc proceed many roads and highways leading to a variety of provinces, one to one province, another to another; and