What different postures toward these foreign cultures are evident in the sources? how did the travelers’ various religions shape their perception of places they visited? how did they view women of their host societies? using robert strayer's documents at the end of chapter 7 in ways of the world.

The documents belong to three different travelers: Xuangzang (600-664 CE), a Chinese Buddhist monk who traveled to India; Marco Polo (1254-1324 CE), a Venetian merchant who traveled to China through the Silk Road; and Ibn-Battuta (1304-1368 CE), an Arab Muslim scholar who traveled from Morocco to China and, in the document, expresses his impressions on the culture of Mali in West Africa.

Xuangzang traveled to India with a religious purpose, to understand Buddhism in a better way. Although he studied among the most relevant Buddhist practitioners, he was shocked by the Hindu society in which he lived for sixteen years. His postures toward the Indian culture is one of great impression on the social hierarchy of the Indian society and admiration for the honor in the manners of common people and the Justice system of the government. The only time that he says something about women in the document he asserts that when they marry they are not allowed to take another husband.

Marco Polo approached to the Chinese culture from a Christian perspective, seeing their religion -Buddhism- as mere idolatry and being clearly disgusted by some "non-Christian" practices like, he says, eating dogs. He also admired the manners, the social order and the character of Chinese people, both men and women, and the absence of feuds and conflict among them. Regarding women, he describes Chinese wives as "angelical creatures" and he says that they were treated with the greatest respect.

In the last document, Ibn Battuta, unlike Xuangzang and Marco Polo, he explains his impressions on a culture that shares his same faith, Islam, but that anyway presents shocking cultural features for him. What shocked him the most was the relaxed fidelity within marriage, since both men and women, openly and legally, used to have companions beyond their wives and husbands. He recalls the great sense of justice that this people had and the security and hospitality of the country. About women of this land, he said they had a great beauty, and even they wore no veil and showed no bashfulness, they were assiduous in attending their prayers.

the mongolian invasion of china and central asia resulted in a disruption of the silk road as the chinese garrisons lost support from the chinese kingdoms which fell under the mongols. however, as the mongols established a formal dynasty in china, the successors of genghis khan restored the garrisons along the silk road allowing the safe travel caravans again.

the lowest among the social higher rank were the working class. this class remained detached to the political progression   of the country and was hostile to the other two classes