马可·波罗与地理大发现

Marco Polo and the Great Geographic Discoveries

马可·波罗与地理大发现张箭ＭａｒｃｏＰｏｌｏａｎｄｔｈｅＧｒｅａｔＧｅｏｇｒａｐｈｉｃＤｉｓｃｏｖｅｒｉｅｓ￥ＺｈａｎｇＪｉａｎＴｈｉｓｐａｐｅｒｄｉｓｃｕｓｓｅｓｔｈｅｒｅｌａｔｉｏｎｂｅｔｗｅｅｎＭａｒｃｏＰｏｌｏａｎｄｔｈｅｇｒｅａｔｇｅｏｇｒ...

AbstractThis paper discusses the relation between Marco Polo and the great geographicdiscoveries as well as his contribution to the discoveries in three parts. 1.Polo prelim-narily reveals the possibility of opening the new sea route to East Asia and China,andproves that the equatorial area is habitable and passible. Polo promotes the formationof such geographic conception as existence of Anian(Bering) Straits and Australia al-so. 2. Polo exerts a great influence on the representative characters in the early periedof the discoveries. Some of the key characters who read the Travels are as follows:Prince Henry,geographers Toscanelli and Martin Behaim,navigators Columbus,DaGama,the Senior and Junior Cabots and Magellan. 3. Polo’s description of the wealthin the East,including the one in the South and East Asia,stimulates the Europeansand Russians to go to the East in spite of danger,using various routes and by variousways. Thus Polo and his Travels induced the great geographic discoveries as well asthe Russian discoveries.