NOTE 18.—­Pauthier’s text has blons, no doubt an error for blous.  In the G. Text it is bloies.  Pauthier interprets the latter term as “blond ardent,” whilst the glossary to the G. Text explains it as both blue and white. Raynouard’s Romance Dict. explains Bloi as “Blond.”  Ramusio has biave, and I have no doubt that blue is the meaning.  The same word (bloie) is used in the G. Text, where Polo speaks of the bright colours of the Palace tiles at Cambaluc, and where Pauthier’s text has “vermeil et jaune et vert et blou,” and again (infra, Bk.  II. ch. xix.), where the two corps of huntsmen are said to be clad respectively in vermeil and in bloie.  Here, again, Pauthier’s text has bleu.  The Crusca in the description of the Sensin omits the colours altogether; in the two other passages referred to it has bioda, biodo.

["The Tao-sze, says Marco Polo, wear dresses of black and blue linen; i.e. they wear dresses made of tatters of black and blue linen, as can be seen also at the present day.” (Palladius, 30.)—­H.  C.]

NOTE 19.—­["The idols of the Tao-sze, according to Marco Polo’s statement, have female names; in fact, there are in the pantheon of Taoism a great many female divinities, still enjoying popular veneration in China; such are Tow Mu (the ‘Ursa major,’ constellation), Pi-hia-yuen Kiun (the celestial queen), female divinities for lying-in women, for children, for diseases of the eyes; and others, which are to be seen everywhere.  The Tao-sze have, besides these, a good number of male divinities, bearing the title of Kiun in common with female divinities; both these circumstances might have led Marco Polo to make the above statement.” (Palladius, p. 30.)—­H.  C.]

[1] This distance is taken from a tracing of the map prepared for Dr.
    Bushell’s paper quoted below.  But there is a serious discrepancy
    between this tracing and the observed position of Dolon-nor, which
    determines that of Shang-tu, as stated to me in a letter from Dr.
    Bushell. [See Note 1.]

[2] These particulars were obtained by Dr. Bushell through the
    Archimandrite Palladius, from the MS. account of a Chinese traveller
    who visited Shangtu about two hundred years ago, when probably the
    whole inscription was above ground.  The inscription is also mentioned
    in the Imp.  Geography of the present Dynasty, quoted by Klaproth.  This
    work gives the interior wall 5 li to the side, instead of a li,
    and the outer wall 10 li, instead of 4 li.  By Dr. Bushell’s
    kindness, I give a reduction of his sketch plan (see Itinerary Map,
    No.  IV. at end of this volume), and also a plate of the heading of the
    inscription.  The translation of this is:  “Monument conferred by the
    Emperor of the August Yuen (Dynasty) in memory of His High Eminence
    Yun Hien (styled) Chang-Lao (canonised as) Shou-Kung (Prince of
    Longevity).” [See Missions de Chine et du Congo No. 28, Mars, 1891,
    Bruxelles.]