es _twice_) by his younger uncle in visiting the
elder. But in its essentials the ceremony must have been of old date at
the Chinese Court; for the Annals of the Thang Dynasty, in a passage cited
by M. Pauthier himself,[1] mention that ambassadors from the famous Harun
ar Rashid in 798 had to perform the "ceremony of kneeling and striking the
forehead against the ground." And M. Pauthier can scarcely be right in
saying that the practice was disused by the Ming Dynasty and only
reintroduced by the Manchus; for in the story of Shah Rukh's embassy the
performance of the K'o-tow occurs repeatedly.

["It is interesting to note," writes Mr. Rockhill (_Rubruck_, p. 22),
"that in A.D. 981 the Chinese Envoy, Wang Yen-te, sent to the Uigur Prince
of Kao-chang, refused to make genuflexions (_pai_) to him, as being
contrary to the established usages as regards envoys. The prince and his
family, however, on receiving the envoy, all faced eastward (towards
Peking) and made an obeisance (_pai_) on receiving the imperial presents
(_shou-tzu_)." (_Ma Twan-lin_, Bk 336, 13.)--H. C.]

(_Gaubil_, 142; _Van Braam_, I. 20-21; _Baber_, 106; _N. et E._ XIV. Pt.
I. 405, 407, 418.)

The enumeration of _four_ prostrations in the text is, I fancy, quite
correct. There are several indications that this number was used instead
of the three times three of later days. Thus Carpini, when introduced to
the Great Kaan, "bent the left knee four times." And in the Chinese bridal
ceremony of "Worshipping the Tablets," the genuflexion is made four times.
At the court of Shah Abbas an obeisance evidently identical was repeated
four times. (_Carp._ 759; _Doolittle_, p. 60; _P. Della Valle_, I. 646.)

[1] _Gaubil_, cited in _Pauthier's Hist. des Relations Politiques de la
Chine_, etc., p. 226.

CHAPTER XVI.

CONCERNING THE TWELVE THOUSAND BARONS WHO RECEIVE ROBES OF CLOTH OF GOLD
FROM THE EMPEROR ON THE GREAT FESTIVALS, THIRTEEN CHANGES A-PIECE.

Now you must know that the Great Kaan hath set apart 12,000 of his men who
are distinguished by the name of _Keshican_, as I have told you before;
and on each of these 12,000 Barons he bestows thirteen changes of raiment,
which are all different from one another: I mean that in one set the
12,000 are all of one colour; the next 12,000 of another colour, and so
on; so that they are of thirteen different colours. These robes are
garnished with gems and pearls and other precious things in a very rich