Chapter 6 Summary

Polo accompanies the emperor to the city of Kin-sai, the latest city to fall under Khan's rule. Khan asks if Polo has ever seen a city such as this one. Polo says that he never imagined such a city existed. After sunset, the emperor demands more tales of the cities and Polo complies. By dawn, Polo says that he has told all he knows about all the cities he has visited. Khan says that there is one that Polo never speaks of, Venice. Polo says that every time he describes a city he is saying something about Venice. For Polo, Venice remains implicit. He says that once the images of memories are fixed into words, they are erased. He is not sure if he is afraid of losing Venice all at once by speaking of it. Or, if by speaking of the other...