What did Ibn Battuta see in China?
Ibn Battuta reached China in 1345 — an astonishing journey for a man from Tangier. His description of the port of Zaytūn, the Muslim quarter, and the Chinese state is a rare first-person window into Yuan-era China.
5 passages from 2 books in the library
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 2 books by Ibn Battuta — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
· Provenance →
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"It is one of the great ports in the land of Malabar, visited by people from China, Java, Ceylon, the Maldives, Yemen, and Persia, where merchants from all over gather."
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
· Provenance →
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"It so happened that Tenghis sent merchants with goods from China and Khitai, including silk clothes and other items, to the town of Otrar,"
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"Later, I heard from India that when he reached the city of Malacca, the last land of Transoxiana and the first of China, he stayed there."
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"He gained control over his country, grew strong, and expanded his influence, conquering the kingdoms of Khitai and then China."
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"He planned to travel with me to India, but when a group from his town decided to go to China, he chose to journey with them."
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