Hundred Eyes or Hundred Wild Geese: An Examination of How Historical Sources were Made in Marco Polo’s Time

Abstract: By analyzing two similar but different prophecies respectively preserved in Marco Polo’s travelogue and Chinese writings, this article seeks to shed light on the mechanism of information circulation and preservation in Mongol Eurasia. It shows that the prophecy in Marco Polo’s book was compatible with European imagination of the Mongols during the thirteenth century while the prophecy in Chinese sources was consistent with Chinese understanding of the Mongols in this time. It argues that during the Mongol period historical information compatible with authors’ repertoires of knowledge and with target audiences’ understanding were more likely preserved in written texts.