1、 Introduction

In the context of the tenth anniversary of the "the Belt and Road" initiative in 2023, Sinology has attracted attention. Marco Polo's "Chronicle of Marco Polo" is an important document in Western Sinology research and has significant implications for cultural exchange between the East and the West. Chinese and foreign scholars have conducted extensive research on "Xingji", forming two major academic paths: Orientalism and European philology. The Japanese academic community paid early attention to the issue of academic barriers and was at the forefront of breaking down the research on "Xingji". Hideki Takada is a representative figure in the study of Marco Polo in Japan. He values the relationship between textual lineages and combines philology with Orientalism, which has reference value. This article will systematically organize the literature materials of Takada's "Chronicles of Journey", explore new connections between "Chronicles of Journey" and Japanese Sinology, summarize the research achievements and experiences of Japanese scholars, innovate research methods, promote the study of "Chronicles of Journey", promote the development of Japanese Sinology, and understand the current cognitive status of Japanese scholars towards China.

2、 Introduction to Hideki Takada

Hideki Takada is an Italian literary researcher, particularly skilled in Italian knightly literature, proficient in Italian, French, Latin, and other languages, laying the foundation for the study of multilingual literature. He obtained a doctoral degree in literature from Kyoto University, and his research achievements include 4 works, 40 papers, and 6 informal publications, mainly focusing on the tracing work of "The Chronicles of Marco Polo", covering text translation, historical facts restoration, historical background, contemporary works, and other aspects. Takada conducted a comparative study of the works of Marco Polo, Dante, and Boccaccio, promoting literary exchange between Japan and Italy. The academic community has praised Takata as the most diligent translator and researcher of Marco Polo in Japan in the past 20 years. His research results have been widely cited and have important reference value for the study of Eurasian history.

3、 Hideki Takada's Compilation of Documents in "The Chronicles of Marco Polo"

Hideki Takada's literature review and research on "The Chronicles of Marco Polo" covers four themes: text translation and genealogy analysis, historical facts restoration and puzzle solving, historical background and character positions, and contemporaneous works and mutual evidence. He attaches great importance to text inheritance, translated and compared multiple versions of "Xingji", published "A Record of the World: A Proofreading Version of" Oriental Observations ", and won the Japanese Translation Culture Award. Takada focuses on Japan and China, compares the similarities and differences between versions, restores history, and solves the mystery of Marco Polo and the Asian continent. He has published multiple papers exploring the geography and customs in "The Annals of Journey", and obtained a doctoral degree in literature from Kyoto University with his paper "Research on Marco Polo". Takada also pays attention to the historical background and character positions, analyzes the hometowns and works of Marco Polo and Rustichelo, and infers their positions and attitudes. He translated multiple literary works of the same period, provided historical materials for the study of "Chronicles", and published "The Eastern Chronicles of Medieval Europe", which includes stories of Eastern stories written in Europe from the 13th to the 14th century. Takada's research breaks through fixed thinking patterns and academic barriers, collecting, interpreting, verifying, and absorbing a large amount of Western historical materials, providing a platform for scholars to reference and cite academic achievements. He founded the like-minded exchange website "Million Times" to publicly disclose research results and the latest developments, creating conditions for foreign scholars and beginners to understand "Xingji".

4、 Hideki Takada's shortcomings in the study of "The Chronicles of Marco Polo"

Hideki Takada has shortcomings in his research on "The Chronicles of Marco Polo", including lax academic standards, insufficient citation of Chinese literature, and uneven distribution of research. Takada's works have few annotations and no indexes, inconsistent translations of proprietary terms, and lack detailed explanations of characters and place names, which inconvenience readers. His research often cites Western literature, but his interpretation of Asian history, especially Chinese history, is insufficient and has not been combined with the latest research results in China. Takada's research focuses on Japan and focuses on the coastal areas of East Asia, with insufficient research on the correlations between Central and Western Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. His research mainly focuses on Beijing, Fujian, Inner Mongolia and other regions, with less research on inland areas. Takada has made many research achievements on Japan, but has rarely delved into issues such as the transformation of Sino Japanese relations and the authenticity of Marco Polo's descriptions of Japan. The joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" has brought new opportunities for sinology research. Domestic scholars should actively introduce foreign research achievements to make up for deficiencies and promote the development of the history of exchanges between the East and the West and sinology research.

5、 Conclusion

Emphasis was placed on the profound influence of "The Travels of Marco Polo" on cultural exchange, navigation, technological development, and religious dissemination between the East and the West. As a Japanese scholar, Hideki Takada made significant contributions to the collection and organization of versions of "The Chronicles". His research spans across the fields of history, philology, and literature, providing valuable references for researchers in China, Japan, and even globally. At the same time, it points out the shortcomings in Takada's research, such as lack of rigorous academic standards, insufficient citation of Chinese literature, and uneven distribution of research. Propose that Chinese scholars should strengthen cooperation with Takada to make up for the shortcomings in their research and promote the development of Japanese Sinology. The author plans to delve deeper into the Sino Japanese elements in Takada's research in the future, exploring the relationship between China and Japan in the Yuan Dynasty and the Chinese perspective of Japanese scholars from a textual analysis perspective, in order to deepen the understanding of the Japanese nation and spread the story of mutual learning between Chinese and Japanese civilizations.