Until the thirteenth century, the impression Europeans had of Asia was based on their horrible experience with the Mongols, and they possessed little knowledge of the complex Chinese culture which lay beyond Mongolia. Because there had been virtually no interaction between the cultures, they did not know enough about each other to want to open a dialogue. Their alphabets, language and cultural traditions had evolved independently and were decidedly different.
Few Europeans had heard of China and none had journeyed there and back to tell the tale until Nicolo Polo and his brother Maffeo Polo did so in 1269.
The two brothers, from the Italian city-state of Venice—one of the most important trading cities in Europe—had traveled to the Black Sea on a trading mission where they met some people from Turkestan (later the Central Asian republics of the USSR). Through them, the Italians met envoys from the court of Kublai Khan (1215-1294), the Mongol emperor of China. The Chinese invited the Polo brothers to visit China and meet their emperor, who had never seen a European. Kublai Khan, who was very interested in what they had to say, told them to ask the pope to send missionaries to instruct the Chinese people in Christianity and the art and literature of Europe.
When the brothers returned to Italy in 1269, their fellow countrymen could not grasp the enormity of their story. In 1271, they decided to return to China, and this time they took Nicolo's teenage son, Marco. Kublai Khan took a liking to the young man and made him an ambassador at large, sending him on many missions within China, as well as to Tibet and Burma. Marco Polo (12547-1324) saw more of Asia than any European had ever seen, or even had dreamed of seeing.
Marco Polo displays treasures from the East. Along with his father and uncle, Marco stayed in China for over 20 years. He learned the languages and customs of Asia and met many of its diverse peoples. When the Polos returned to Venice in 1295, they once again met with skepticism, but after they demonstrated what they had learned in China, their fellow Venetians were finally convinced and the Polos were welcomed and honored.
Many of the wondrous things that they brought back from China had never been seen in Europe before. There is even a tale—unproven—that they introduced spaghetti into Italy from China. Marco's book, The Travels of Marco Polo, is perhaps the most famous and influential travel book in history. Its wealth of detail it provided medieval Europe with its first substantial account of China and other Asian countries.
Because traveling overland was difficult, trade between Europe and the Far East was slow in developing, but the way was opened after Marco Polo published the details of a workable trade route. Indeed, Christopher Columbus' voyage two centuries later was itself inspired by a desire to find an easier route to China.