Editing 1340s (section)

===Culture, religion and philosophy===
Pope [[Benedict XII]] had despatched the Italian Franciscan [[John of Marignolli]] in 1339, who travelled safely through the Yuan territories of [[Kipchak Khanate|Kipchak]] and [[Chagatai Khanate]] during the [[Pax Mongolica]] and reached the imperial capital of Ta-tu<!--source: "Peking"; today: "Beijing"--> in 1342.<ref name="Saunders153">Saunders, p 153</ref> He was received in an audience with Toghon Temür, to whom he presented some large European horses — their bulk, according to JJ Saunders, "surprised Chinese and Mongols alike, accustomed as they were to the small, wiry animals of the [[steppes]]".<ref name="Saunders153"/> Marignolli stayed in China for five years, departing by ship in 1347 and returning to Avignon in 1353.<ref>Saunders, p 153-154</ref>

====Military technology====
* The poet [[Gunpowder warfare#China|Zhang Xian]] wrote the ''Iron Cannon Affair'' in 1341, detailing the destructive use of [[gunpowder]] and the cannon.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Artillery : a History.|last=John.|first=Norris|date=2013|publisher=The History Press|isbn=9780750953238|location=New York|oclc=856868990}}</ref>