Digby and his sister, Hannah find Leonardo Da Vinci's palette in an antiques market and Mr. Rummage tells them about Da Vinci's life and how he made history.
The queen's diamond is the next big find for Digby and his sister at Mr. Rummage's market stall. Such a find has the vendor telling the children a wonderfully engaging story about England's most famous monarch. Easy-to-follow text will engage even the most hesitant readers.
For many, his name brings to mind both the glory and terrible danger of exploration: Marco Polo. Come along as this informative and engaging book describes Marco's travels from his native Italy past many obstacles, to the farthest reaches of Asia and back home again. Experience the incredible cold of the mountains of Pakistan, the intense heat of the Taklimakan Desert, and the wonders in between. Meet people like the fabled Kublai Khan, lord of the Mongol Empire. At journey's end, readers will understand why Marco Polo takes his place among the most important explorers in world history.
In Marco Polo was in China Hans Ulrich Vogel offers an innovative look at the highly complex topics of currencies, salt production and taxes, commercial levies and other kinds of revenue as well as the administrative geography of the Mongol Yuan empire. The author’s rigorous analysis of Chinese sources and all the important Marco Polo manuscripts as well as his thorough scrutiny of Japanese, Chinese and Western scholarship show that the fascinating information contained in Le devisament dou monde agrees almost pefectly with that we find in Chinese sources, the latter only available long after Marco Polo’s stay in China. Hence, the author concludes that, despite the doubts that have been raised, the Venetian was indeed in Khubilai Khan’s realm.
WONDERFUL WINDING WORDS Touring in four languages (Chinese, English, French, German) From Franois PIALAT Welcome to this phrase-book in 4 languages (Chinese, English, French and German) which let us discovers fluent words and expressions from our daily life. We are at the crossing of Asian and European civilisations which intermingle with each others. Each civilisation shows its spirit according to its experience. A flow of ideas carries away the reader, awaking his perception. Funny, baffling, picturesque, echoingA colour, a fragrance, a scent beyond the words gives them their own sensibility. The hundred words chosen by the writer during his peregrinations and recollections are enriching our knowledge on our own vocabulary and the one of our neighbours from here and abroad. We discover an unusual Anglo-Saxon world and the Far East is bringing its exotic touch. Each word may have a special resonance in the imaginary or in the reality. Short, a clever book to learn while amusing oneself, confirming the maxim: Truth in the Pyrenees, mistake beyond. After having studied in Bournemouth, England, Tbingen and Bochum, Germany, the French author discovers ethnology with the hill tribes of the Golden Triangle, Thailand. His passion for Asia leads him to study Asian languages and civilisations.