1868.] On the History of the Burma Race. Ill 



the whole narrative as given in the Burmese history, and it may be, 

 that the quaint story of the tumblers' advice being followed in 

 an affair of such importance, gave rise to the distorted gossip which 

 Marco has repeated at second or third hand. It is evident that 

 Marco was not aware or had forgotten that a revolution had been 

 accomplished in Burma since Pu-gan had been taken in the first 

 instance ; that the king had been deposed, and that consistently with 

 the traditions of the race, a new dynasty now gradually rising, had 

 abandoned the ancient capital, tbe fortune of which had passed 

 away, and had settled in another city, where the interview with 

 the general of the second Tartar invasion, took place. Hence the 

 " city of Mien," of the first invasion is represented by Marco 

 as the " city of Mien" of the second also. In short, in chapter 

 51, events at Pu-gan and events at Myin-tsaing, which occurred 

 fourteen years apart, are mixed up together. 



In regard to dates, Marco Polo represents the first war as occurring 

 in 1272. The Burmese represent the quarrel as arising in 1281 and 

 Pu-gan as being taken in 1284. The Burmese dates, as now given, 

 are not to be depended on within ten or twelve years, for there has 

 no doubt, been a general readjustment of dates throughout the 

 Maha-ra-dza-weng. And I have found a positive error of seven 

 years from dates contained in their own history. The taking of 

 Pu-gan will therefore be correctly 1277. But I am satisfied that 

 for many years previous to 1281, there had been no quarrel with 

 the Ta-ruks or Chinese. There is no trace of such an event in 

 the Burmese history since the time of A-nau-ra-hta, about two 

 hundred and fifty years before. Had any dispute occurred with 

 China, especially during or about the year 1272, it would surely 

 have been mentioned in the Burmese annals. But about that time, 

 the king of Burma was occupied with the affairs of the southern 

 portion of his country. His predecessors, for some generations, had 

 been occupied more with the countries to the westward than with 

 those to the east. And this leads to a question which has caused 

 difficulty in the title which Marco has given to the king of Burma 

 — namely king of Mien and Bangala. It is the latter word that 

 requires explanation. We have already seen, that there was an 

 undoubted connection of Burma with Bengal and other parts of 



