意大利的馬可·波羅是世界公認(rèn)的大旅行家，也稱得上是西方第一個(gè)“中國通”。他游歷了世界眾多地方，13世紀(jì)后期竟不遠(yuǎn)萬里，橫穿歐亞大陸來到元代的中國，居然受到了元代大汗信任和賞識(shí)，被元大汗留居17年之久，其間他奉命出使過馬八兒（今印度東南），爪哇（今印尼爪哇島）等國和地區(qū)，并受命到全國各地巡查。

由于這個(gè)經(jīng)歷，他對遠(yuǎn)東地區(qū)有著廣泛而深入的了解，尤其是有機(jī)會(huì)在中國各地巡視，他對中國各地均頗為熟悉，特別是對汗八里（北京）、行在（杭州）了解更甚，后世西方人對東方中國的了解主要是從他的游記開始的，可以說他是西方國家揭開東方世界神秘面紗當(dāng)之無愧的“先驅(qū)者”，也是歷史上把北京、杭州等中國著名城市介紹給西方世界的第一人。

宏大壯麗的“天城”

1277—1287年間，馬可·波羅受元代大汗指派多次來杭州巡檢歲課、檢校鹽課，可能在杭州居住過一段時(shí)間；1287—1289年間他奉命出使印度等地時(shí)，往返途中又兩歷杭州。1290年夏，他和父、叔兩人隨波斯使團(tuán)護(hù)送蒙古闊闊真公主下嫁伊利汗國，并順道西行回國，這期間他途經(jīng)杭州，再次游歷了杭州。

馬可·波羅在游記中盛贊杭州為“The Heaven City”，意即“天城”，是“世界上最宏大壯麗的城市！”并說杭州的“賞心樂事是如此之多，以致人到那里，仿佛置身天堂一般！”馬可·波羅不懂漢語，他當(dāng)年肯定聽人說過“上有天堂，下有蘇杭”這一諺語，但因?qū)ζ浜x不得究竟，因此他把杭州稱為“天城”時(shí)，又誤稱蘇州為“地城”。

馬可·波羅對杭城規(guī)模大小和地理環(huán)境了如指掌，說：“行在城規(guī)模是如此宏大，其方圓公認(rèn)有100里左右。城內(nèi)街道和運(yùn)河十分寬大?！薄斑@個(gè)城市所處方位如下，城的一面有一個(gè)碧波盈盈的淡水湖泊，另一面則有一條大江。通過延伸到城區(qū)每一地方的許多大小河渠，湖水和河水帶走各種污穢濁氣，然后流入上述湖中，接著又從那些運(yùn)河流入大海。這使空氣潔凈，非常合乎衛(wèi)生。人們可由陸路和這些河渠往來城內(nèi)各地。街巷和河道都很寬闊，舟船、車馬往來便捷，為居民運(yùn)送各種必需物品?！边@與杭城左江右湖、運(yùn)河縱橫的地理狀況完全吻合。

商鋪林立 魚市繁盛

元初杭州商業(yè)繁盛，“錢塘富庶稱第一”，“邑屋繁華，貨殖填委”，“象犀珠玉之珍，稻魚鹽之利，常溢于廬市?！瘪R可·波羅對杭州的商貿(mào)繁盛情況描述得細(xì)致入微：“城中有許多方形街區(qū)，市民在那里開設(shè)市場。由于經(jīng)商者人數(shù)眾多，市場必須十分開闊廣大。”“城中就有十大露天市場，其形方正，每邊長各為半里。這些市場沿線，有一條寬達(dá)40步的大街，亙貫全城南北，街上有許多平坦的橋梁橫臥，以利往來。這些市場周圍長達(dá)2里，每隔4里即有一處?！边@里所說的，其實(shí)就是杭州的廂坊和御街。

“每一個(gè)上述市場，一周有3天集市，前來趕集的人多達(dá)四五萬之多，他們帶來你所需要的各種食物。因?yàn)檫@里常年需要大量的糧食供應(yīng)：獵物野味，如小種牡鹿、赤鹿、黃鹿、野兔；各種鳥禽，如鷓鴣、雉雞、鵪鶉、雞、閹雞以及鴨、鵝，數(shù)量之多，難以形容?！鲜鍪袌鼋?jīng)常供應(yīng)各種蔬菜和水果”，“沿著我們已講到過的亙貫全城兩端的大街，兩側(cè)高樓聳立，庭院幽深，民居稠密，鱗次櫛比。居民在店坊里勞作經(jīng)營，不論何時(shí)，他們都上下奔波，里外忙碌。他們?nèi)藬?shù)之多，令人懷疑是否有足夠的糧食供他們食用。每當(dāng)集市日，上述所有市場人頭濟(jì)濟(jì)，熙熙攘攘。商人們紛紛坐車搭船前來交易，所有商品都銷售一空。”

馬可·波羅特別提到杭州的魚市：“從海洋上行到大江25里水域，每天出產(chǎn)大量鮮魚運(yùn)來城中，湖里出產(chǎn)的魚量也很大，那里常年有專門的捕魚為生的漁民。魚的品種各色各樣，應(yīng)季節(jié)不同而變化。由于城中污穢流入湖中，成為魚類美食，因此魚兒都長得十分肥碩，鮮美可口。誰要是看到上市魚類數(shù)量如此之多，決不會(huì)相信被買光，然而，由于當(dāng)?shù)鼐用窳?xí)于滿足口腹之欲，他們每餐必吃魚和肉，因而實(shí)際上用不著幾小時(shí)，全部魚就銷售一空。”馬可·波羅說得對，杭城自古魚市興旺，食魚成風(fēng)。杭州城北賣魚橋，即因魚市而名?！秹袅讳洝份d，市肆中有“城北魚行”、“壩子橋鮮魚行”等水產(chǎn)市場，有各類魚鲞、海味、鮮魚等水產(chǎn)品55種，足見魚類之多，魚市之盛。

湖泊美麗 船舫考究

作為一個(gè)游歷家，馬可·波羅對杭州的西湖風(fēng)景和游樂盛況備加關(guān)注。他說：“城內(nèi)有一個(gè)美麗、開闊的湖泊，方圓幾乎有30里，環(huán)湖周圍建有許多美麗高大的宮殿，還有許多精美的樓房。他們屬于權(quán)貴望族和全城居民公有，都造得精妙絕倫，以致無法設(shè)計(jì)建造比它們更好更富麗豪華的建筑。這些建筑里里外外都裝潢得奇妙異常，不可思議?！薄昂醒胗袃勺u，每個(gè)島上都有精美宮殿，宏偉典雅，富麗氣派，裝飾得精妙絕倫，就像皇帝的宮殿一樣。宮殿里房間廳堂和同廊過道之多，簡直令人難以置信。如有哪個(gè)權(quán)貴富紳想在環(huán)境優(yōu)美之地舉辦盛大婚禮或任何大型宴飲聚會(huì)，他們就到其中一座宮殿去，在那里，他們可隆重而體面地舉辦他們的婚禮和宴會(huì)。那里備有他們宴飲所需的各種家具器什，包括碟子、麻布、盤子，以及習(xí)慣所需的其他東西?！薄昂杏袩o數(shù)大小游船，供尋勝探幽之需。這些湖船……底闊而平，行駛平穩(wěn)。如果誰想邀請親友共度良辰，就可坐這些船舫。船上桌椅俱備，裝飾考究，而且備有舉行隨意小酌的各色器物。船上有平頂，船夫站在上面，用篙撐湖底而行（因?yàn)樯鲜龊贿^兩米深），何去何從，悉聽尊便。船頂內(nèi)壁的顏色和圖案，千姿百態(tài)，五彩紛呈，所有游船都這樣。船內(nèi)兩側(cè)有可隨意開關(guān)的窗戶，游客坐在里面，可一邊用餐，一邊隨意瀏覽，飽賞沿途萬物美景。沿湖的一邊是城區(qū)，游人站在湖中船上遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)地眺望，可見這個(gè)城市宏偉壯麗，秀美無比，有許多宮殿、廟宇、庵堂、園苑夾雜其間，樹影婆娑，掩映水際。像這樣的游船，載著尋歡作樂的游客，在上述湖中，隨時(shí)隨刻都可見到?！瘪R可·波羅所述南宋當(dāng)時(shí)的“山外青山樓外樓，西湖歌舞幾時(shí)休”的奢華景象，道出了南宋時(shí)杭州成為趙宋朝廷偏安之地的真實(shí)情景，那時(shí)南宋朝廷，不思進(jìn)取，追歡逐樂，民尚佚樂，追逐浮木，西湖被稱為“銷金鍋”，杭人號(hào)為“籠袖嬌氏”?！拔骱杖沾缈棥?，“羅綺叢中樂事多”，“艷舞消歌樂終日”，“賞玩殆無虛日”。若非親身游歷，馬可·波羅不可能說得如此具體、生動(dòng)、準(zhǔn)確。

民情溫雅 佛寺眾多

馬可·波羅盡管說南宋杭州極其奢華，但對杭州人溫文爾雅的“民性”贊賞有加：“男士個(gè)個(gè)英俊瀟灑，女士個(gè)個(gè)美麗動(dòng)人，他們衣絲著羅，通體綾羅綢緞?！薄坝捎谛性诔蔷用穸忌云胶停覟槠渚哂型瑯臃A性的國王所潛移默化，故爾都溫文爾雅。他們相互友愛，一個(gè)街坊猶如一戶人家，男女之間，鄰里左右，和睦相處。婦女備受尊敬禮遇，她們之間沒有任何嫉妒或猜疑，親密異常。他們對前來經(jīng)商的外國人平等友好，樂于在家中接待他們，禮敬有加，并為他們經(jīng)商提供幫助和建議?！?/p>

馬可·波羅在講述杭城財(cái)賦課稅時(shí)說每年額定的鹽課為80萬金：除鹽課外，歲課總額為210萬金。這些講述與《元史·食貨志》所載都基本符合。盡管對歲課210萬金沒有確切數(shù)據(jù)可證實(shí)，但從僅杭州一地所征酒課達(dá)27萬余錠、雜課年10余萬錠看，馬可·波羅的210萬金是完全可信的。當(dāng)時(shí)人也贊嘆說，杭州“土貢之多”，“尤為天下最”，“民物殷盛，國家經(jīng)費(fèi)之所從出?！瘪R可·波羅還說，香料等商稅為三十取一，出口商品納三十分之一的貨物稅，進(jìn)口商品征抽十分之一的舶稅，這個(gè)記述與元代的商稅和舶貨征抽稅率完全一致?？疵?，他確曾來杭州巡檢過歲課，并從市舶司官員處了解了杭州的稅收情況。

馬可·波羅還說到當(dāng)時(shí)杭州的佛寺。他說杭城佛寺眾多，居民崇信佛教（即他所謂偶像教）?！碍h(huán)湖地方還有許多佛教的寺院庵堂，數(shù)量之多，堪稱天下之最，大批僧尼在里面修持?！焙贾菰缭趨窃絿鴷r(shí)，百姓們就篤信佛教，建寺造塔印經(jīng)無數(shù)，號(hào)為“東南佛國”；北宋時(shí)，杭州已有寺院360多所，蘇東坡有“三百六十寺，幽尋遂窮年”的詩句；南宋時(shí)佛教尤盛，有大小寺院480余所，僧尼數(shù)十萬；元代此風(fēng)依舊，“佛事在東南浙右為盛，浙右錢塘為盛?！背稹⒌朗⑿型?，“回回”教（伊斯蘭教）、“也里可溫”教（基督教聶斯脫里派，即景教）、“術(shù)忽”（猶太教）等外來宗教在杭州也有流布。

巍峨皇城 宮殿森嚴(yán)

馬可·波羅在南宋皇城失火焚毀前，在一個(gè)杭州富商的陪同下，曾經(jīng)游覽過行宮大內(nèi)。他說，皇城方圓10里，形狀為方形，城墻高而且厚，內(nèi)分三大部分，有20座大殿，每殿有50個(gè)房間，共有上千個(gè)房間，可同時(shí)容納萬人聚宴，可安置上千宮女。南宋行宮在高宗紹興年間歷時(shí)20年興建才初具規(guī)模，宮址為原吳越國千宮和北宋州城。高宗退位后興建的德壽宮稱“北宮”。宮內(nèi)殿閣、樓堂、亭榭、門廊，大小不一，功用各異。南宋時(shí)內(nèi)宮有多少宮女不得而知，宮廷樂師汪元量曾提到，原有“三千宮女”，宋亡時(shí)有“宮女千余”被擄北上，被“分嫁”給大都（北京）的“北匠”，即北方匠人。

當(dāng)然，被后世譽(yù)為中世紀(jì)西方四大旅行家之首的馬可·波羅對杭州的描述，由于語言障礙、記憶漏誤、輾轉(zhuǎn)抄譯等原因，也有少數(shù)夸大失實(shí)之處，但這并不能否定游記的真實(shí)性，更不能以此懷疑他沒有到過杭州。正是他的報(bào)道，第一次把天堂杭州介紹給了西方。

Hangzhou in the Eyes of Marco Polo

By Bao Zhicheng

Commonly recognized as a great traveler， Marco Polo was the first Mr. China of the West. In the later 13th century， he traveled all the way from Europe to China in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). He stayed in China for 17 years with the approval of the emperor. During this period， in addition to his extensive tours across China， he also traveled to today’s India and Indonesia as a diplomatic envoy of the Mongolians. His travel across the country enabled him to know a great deal about Beijing and Hangzhou of that time. The West got to know China through the book about his travels. Marco Polo was the first westerner to unravel the mysteries of the Orient and introduce China to the western world.

From 1277 to 1278， Marco Polo， appointed as an inspector by the great Khan， traveled to Kinsay， the name of modern Hangzhou during that time. The Italian came to inspect the annual taxation on mineral products and salt in the city. From 1287 to 1289， he traveled to India as an envoy of the Yuan Dynasty. He stopped over in Hangzhou twice from his trip to and from India. In the summer of 1290， he accompanied a Mongolian princess on her way to her wedding in another kingdom and on his way back to China， he came to Hangzhou again.

Many pages of The Travel of Marco Polo are devoted to descriptions of the great prosperity of Kinsay. Marco Polo sang of Hangzhou as “The City of the Heaven? He did not speak Chinese. but he must have heard the saying of “Paradise in Heaven， Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth? a household phrase known to all the people in China for centuries. That is probably why he said Hangzhou was the city of heaven and Suzhou the city of earth.

The City of Heaven

Marco Polo described Hangzhou’s geographical features this way: “The position of the city is such that it has on one side a lake of fresh and exquisitely clear water， and on the other a very large river. The waters of the latter fill a number of canals of all sizes which run through the different quarters of the city， carry away all impurities， and then enter the Lake; whence they issue again and flow to the Ocean， thus producing a most excellent atmosphere. By means of these channels， as well as by the streets， you can go all about the city. Both streets and canals are so wide and spacious that carts on the one and boats on the other can readily pass to and fro， conveying necessary supplies to the inhabitants.?Geographically he was correct. Hangzhou is flanked by the Qiantang River in the south and the West Lake on the west and crisscrossed by a network of canals though many of the canals have disappeared due to changes across the city.

Markets in Hangzhou

In Marco Polo’s description， Hangzhou was a great business center.

Fish was a popular food in ancient Hangzhou. A bridge named Fish Market Bridge marks the prosperity of fish markets in ancient Hangzhou. According to one ancient book entitled Records of a Dream of Grandeur， 55 varieties of fish were available on the city’s fish markets. According to Marco Polo， 褾rom the Ocean Sea also come daily supplies of fish in great quantity， brought 25 miles up the river， and there is also great store of fish from the lake， which is the constant resort of fishermen， who have no other business. Their fish is of sundry kinds， changing with the season; and， owing to the impurities of the city which pass into the lake， it is remarkably fat and savory. Any one who 'should see the supply of fish in the market would suppose it impossible that such a quantity could ever be sold; and yet in a few hours the whole shall be cleared away'; so great is the number of inhabitants who are accustomed to delicate living. Indeed they eat fish and flesh at the same meal.?Marco Polo as a taxation inspector knew about Hangzhou’s tax situations. In the book， he talked about the total annual revenue of the city， which is corroborated by the official documents of that time.He also mentioned tax rates levied on freight， traded goods and imported goods， which fit the historical records.

The City and the West Lake

During the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279)， Hangzhou as the empire’s capital was the most opulent metropolis in the country， where many people， led by the ruling class， abandoned themselves to carnival pleasure， fashion， luxury， and intoxicated themselves with gorgeous natural and man-made joys available to them across the city. According to the Italian traveler， “Inside the city there is a Lake which has a compass of some 30 miles [note: probably 30 li] and all round it are erected beautiful palaces and mansions， of the richest and most exquisite structure that you can imagine， belonging to the nobles of the city. There are also on its shores many abbeys and churches of the Idolaters. In the middle of the Lake are two Islands， on each of which stands a rich， beautiful and spacious edifice， furnished in such style as to seem fit for the palace of an Emperor. And when any one of the citizens desired to hold a marriage feast， or to give any other entertainment， it used to be done at one of these palaces. And everything would be found there ready to order， such as silver plates， trenchers， and dishes， napkins and table-cloths， and whatever else was needful.?’On the Lake of which we have spoken there are numbers of boats and barges of all sizes for parties of pleasure. These will hold 10， 15， 20， or more persons， and are from 15 to 20 paces in length， with flat bottoms and ample breadth of beam， so that they always keep their trim. Anyone who desires to go a-pleasuring with the women， or with a party of his own sex， hires one of these barges， which are always to be found completely furnished with tables and chairs and all the other apparatus for a feast. The roof forms a level deck， on which the crew stand， and pole the boat along whithersoever may he desired， for the Lake is not more than 2 paces in depth. The inside of this roof and the rest of the interior is covered with ornamental painting in gay colours， with windows all round that can be shut or opened， so that the party at table can enjoy all the beauty and variety of the prospects on both sides as they pass along. And truly a trip on this Lake is a much more charming recreation than can be enjoyed on land. For on the one side lies the city in its entire length， so that the spectators in the barges， from the distance at which they stand， take in the whole prospect in its full beauty and grandeur， with its numberless palaces， temples， monasteries， and gardens， full of lofty trees， sloping to the shore. And the Lake is never without a number of other such boats， laden with pleasure parties; for it is the great delight of the citizens here， after they have disposed of the day's business， to pass the afternoon in enjoyment with the ladies of their families， or perhaps with others less reputable， either in these barges or in driving about the city in carriages.?Marco Polo’s description of the city fits what Hangzhou really was in reputation and in substance. Without being there， one could not have given such a vivid and truthful account.

The People and the Temples

The Hangzhou residents in Marco Polo’s book are described as such: “Coth men and women are fair and comely， and for the most part clothe themselves in silk， so vast is the supply of that material， both from the whole district of Kinsay， and from the imports by traders from other provinces.?In his travelogue， Marco Polo mentions religious temples across the city and around the lake. Again this conformed to the popularity of Buddhism in the city since the Northern Song Dynasty. In the Northern Song Dynasty， Hangzhou was home to 360 Buddhist temples. In the Southern Song Dynasty， the number grew to 480， home to hundreds of thousands of monks and nuns. The religious enthusiasm well lasted into the Yuan Dynasty and different religions co-existed with Buddhism and Taoism as leading religions.

The Imperial Palace

Before it was destroyed in a fire， Marco Polo， accompanied by a rich business magnate in Hangzhou， visited the imperial palace of the Southern Song Dynasty. According to the Italian， the palace city， sitting in a square area of 10 li， was divided into three parts. The royal palace had 20 grand halls， each with 50 rooms. There was space for 10，000 guests to attend a huge banquet. According to history， the first phase of the royal palace in Hangzhou took more than 20 years to build during the Southern Song Dynasty. There has been no record about the number of maids in the palace， but a court musician mentioned that there used to be 3，000 maids working at the palace. When the Song Dynasty fell to the Mongolian invaders， most of these maids were captured and moved to the north and married to the craftsmen in the capital of the Yuan Dynasty.

It should be noted that， due to language barrier， memory lapse， errors in translation and transcripts through various hands， there is some inconsistency between Marco Polo’s account of Hangzhou and the actual facts. However， the authenticity of his travelogue cannot be negated. There is no solid basis to doubt his visits to Hangzhou.

(Translated by David)