Identification of some toponyms: Ibn Battuta in China
Author(s)
Almonte, Victoria
Date Issued
2016
Type
article
Volume
LXXXVIII
Issue
1-4
Start Page
313
End Page
332
Journal
Abstract
Ibn Battuta was one of the most important travelers during the Middle Ages. His traveling
went on for almost 30 years, he mainly visited Muslim countries (inside the border
of ‘Dar al Islam’), but also had ventured out into the Chinese Yuan empire. This paper
deals with Ibn Battuta’s Chinese itinerary and the difficulty of scholars to identify some
Arabic toponyms, used by Ibn Battuta in his work named Rihla, regarding Chinese territory.
In details, this work is based on the translation of the Rihla by Chinese professor
Li Guangbin. The author tries to explain the identification of Ab-i-¢ayat, probably the
Yellow River or the Grand Canal; the etymology of £in al £in £in-kalan (modern
Guangzhou) and finally the city of Qanjanfu. The carelessness of descriptions led some
scholars to consider Chinese itinerary of the Rihla as the less reliable and trustworthy
portion of Ibn Battuta’s traveling. The controversy between pro-reliability scholars and
doubtful researchers is characterized by many doubts. Far from being able to dissolve
those doubts, the aim is to propose a more accurate examination of the various theories
and hypotheses that Western and Chinese scholars advanced over the years.
Keywords: Ibn Battuta, Chinese itinerary, Ab-i-¢ayat, £in al £in £in-kalan, Qanjanfu
Subjects