Introduction (Chinese)
China, known in Dante’s time as Cathay, was in that period a part of the Tartar Empire, peoples speaking Mongolian who originated from central Asia which, under the leadership of Genghis Khan (1162-1227) and his successors, that great empire had brought into being. Indeed, in the Divine Comedy Dante never refers directly to China but mentions the Tartars and does so in such a way as to make one think that he is not really alluding to them but is alluding to their Chinese subjects. [...]