![]() The name occurs in the writings of Giovanni da Pian del Carpine (c. ![]() Cathay and Mangi Īs European and Arab travelers started reaching the Mongol Empire, they described the Mongol-controlled Northern China as Cathay in a number of spelling variants. The term also strongly connotes Uyghur nationalism. The ethnonym derived from Khitay in the Uyghur language for Han Chinese is considered pejorative by both its users and its referents, and the PRC authorities have attempted to ban its use. Words related to Khitay are still used in many Turkic and Slavic languages to refer to China. In about 1340 Francesco Balducci Pegolotti, a merchant from Florence, compiled the Pratica della mercatura, a guide about trade in China, a country he called Cathay, noting the size of Khanbaliq (modern Beijing) and how merchants could exchange silver for Chinese paper money that could be used to buy luxury items such as silk. The Mongols themselves, in their Secret History (13th century) talk of both Khitans and Kara-Khitans. When describing the fall of the Jin Empire to the Mongols (1234), Persian history described the conquered country as Khitāy or Djerdaj Khitāy (i.e., "Jurchen Cathay"). ![]() The name's currency in the Muslim world survived the replacement of the Khitan Liao dynasty with the Jurchen Jin dynasty in the early 12th century. The Persian scholar and administrator Nizam al-Mulk (1018–1092) mentions Khita and China in his Book on the Administration of the State, apparently as two separate countries (presumably, referring to the Liao and Song Empires, respectively). the ruler of Qatā Qatā or Qitā appears in writings of al-Biruni and Abu Said Gardezi in the following decades. The Khitans were known to Muslim Central Asia: in 1026, the Ghaznavid court (in Ghazna, in today's Afghanistan) was visited by envoys from the Liao ruler, he was described as a "Qatā Khan", i.e. This version of the name was then introduced to medieval and early modern Europe via Muslim and Russian sources. The Khitans refer to themselves as Qidan ( Khitan small script: Chinese: 契丹), but in the language of the ancient Uyghurs the final -n or -ń became -y, and this form may be the source of the name Khitai for later Muslim writers. A form of the name Cathai is attested in a Uyghur Manichaean document describing the external people circa 1000. The term Cathay came from the name for the Khitans. The objects in "Cataio" are based on Marco Polo's description and include the capital Cambalu, Xandu, and a marble bridge. There is also Mangi (between "Cataio" and Xanton ( Shandong)). On this 1570 map by Abraham Ortelius, Cataio is located inland of China (referring to today's Guangdong) and Chequan ( Zhejiang), and borders on " Thebet" in the southwest and " Camul" in the west. 1331) also writes about Cathay and the Khan in his travelbooks from his journey before 1331, perhaps 1321–1330. ![]() Originally, this name was the name applied by Central and Western Asians and Europeans to northern China the name was also used in Marco Polo's book on his travels in Yuan dynasty China (he referred to southern China as Mangi). The name Cathay originates from the word Khitan Chinese: 契丹 pinyin: Qìdān Jyutping: Kit3 daan1), a name of a para-Mongolic nomadic people who ruled the Liao dynasty in northern China from 916 to 1125, and who later migrated west after they were overthrown by the Jin dynasty to form the Qara Khitai (Western Liao dynasty) for another century thereafter. The term Cathay became a poetic name for China. As knowledge of East Asia increased, Cathay came to be seen as the same polity as China as a whole. During the early modern period, the term Cathay initially evolved as a term referring to what is now Northern China, completely separate and distinct from China, which was a reference to southern China. Ĭathay ( / k æ ˈ θ eɪ/ ka- THAY) is a historical name for China that was used in Europe. A flag with three red crescent moons ( ) appears on all the territory. Xinjiang with its caravan of traders appears in the bottom right corner, while the Pacific coast runs along the top-left corner. Empire of the Great Khan ( Catayo for Cathay) according to the Catalan Atlas (1375, rotated 180°).
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