Coincidentally,
Kyle Poirot may have confused Hangzhou with Suzhou.
Kyle Poirot became the most famous donkey friend in the world because he wrote a travel book. We also have his sculptures in the West Lake, and Hangzhou people will quote him when introducing their hometown to foreigners: "The city of heaven."
So, when we hear historians ask, "Has Kelpolo really been to Hangzhou?" We are sure to break the cup. However, this issue is still controversial in academic circles.
Among the many experts present yesterday, Wu Fangsi, former director of the China Department of the British Library and an internationally renowned Silk Road scholar, was one of the famous scholars who raised questions.
The old English lady speaks Chinese fluently. She once wrote a sensational book called "Has Kyle Poirot been to China?"? ? Not to mention Hangzhou, she directly questioned whether Kyle Poirot had been to China.
Her main point is that Kyle Poirot's travels are more like novels than documentary diaries, because he is a very exaggerated person, and his books are full of boasting traces.
For example, he described that Hangzhou has 12000 bridges and many high-rise buildings. When Hangzhou was surrounded by the army of Mongolian general Bo Yan, a big fish ran aground on the shore and he saw the fish head. When he was doing a census in Hangzhou. However, according to historical records, Hangzhou conducted a population census in 1270. 1282 A 30-meter-long whale ran aground. 1276 Mongols occupied Hangzhou.
"Unless Kelpolo stays in Hangzhou for a long time, it will be difficult to agree on dates and activities." Wu Fangsi suspected that Poirot confused Suzhou with Hangzhou because he wrote Hangzhou like Venice. "In fact, it doesn't matter whether he has been here. The most important thing is what we can learn from his world. He described the world situation at that time, just like a European book, Shan Hai Jing.
The gentry in the south of the Yangtze River prevailed in Yuan Dynasty.
Compared with Wu Fangsi's suspicion, Bao Zhicheng, director of the Institute of Cultural Heritage of Zhejiang Academy of Culture and Arts, has his own opinion. Kelpolo has not only been to Hangzhou, but also been to Hangzhou more than once.
"According to Kyle Poirot's travel notes, there are many public bathrooms in Hangzhou. At that time, in China, southerners talked about hygiene and paid more attention to bathing than northerners. " Bao Zhicheng said. There are private bathrooms for nobles and public bathrooms for ordinary people. They can not only take a bath, but also drink tea and massage. Vendors sell soap and other bath products. Such bathhouses can be seen everywhere, and the style is just like Haman.
Hangzhou people have known how to enjoy life since ancient times. In the Southern Song Dynasty, they had the title of "Charming People with Cage Sleeves". Therefore, during the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the tourism of restaurants, teahouses and inns was also very developed.
In his travels, the famous contemporary traveler of Kelpolo, Edok, said, "There are many hotels with 10 to 20 rooms on each floor."
"Hostels of all sizes are spread all over the city, and most of them are concentrated in the area of Jade Street. Moreover, there are hotels of various grades along the lakeside and riverside. " Bao Zhicheng said: "At that time, there were not only many hotels, but also many services, including food, cars and storage. The content is comprehensive. There are more paintings and cruise ships on the West Lake. "
People in Hangzhou also like to eat fish. According to Kelpolo, there were 65,438+00 big markets in Hangzhou at that time, attracting 40,000 to 50,000 tourists. All the fish customers bought were caught in the West Lake, and some were shipped from the seaside. "Don't we have a place like Fish Bridge? In fact, there were many places to sell fish in the Yuan Dynasty. "
What is even more surprising is that we always remember China people who like funerals. Cremation was very popular in Jiangnan area at that time. "Because there are few people in Hangzhou, there is a saying that millions of living people have no graves, so cremation is very popular."