The Great Khan’s Continent: On Taḥqīq and Rashīd al-Dīn’s Discovery of China

Abstract

The Persian scholar and state official Rashīd al-Dīn (d. 1318) devoted a considerable part of his literary output to the study of China (Khatā’) and its foremost cultural achievements. The most distinctive aspect of these writings is their sheer novelty. Indeed, Rashīd al-Dīn is the first Islamicate author to systematically investigate such subjects with reference to textual sources and informants from East Asia. This article discusses the motives and methods underlying Rashīd al-Dīn’s intellectual engagement with China, ultimately framing him as an example of (post-)Mongol muḥaqqiq, or “taḥqīq practitioner,” and his writings about China as an emblematic case of Mongol-sponsored, taḥqīq-infused scholarship.