The Franciscans had active and prolonged contact with China during the century of the Pax Mongolica (ca. 1250--1350). They established missions in China and carried princely gifts back and forth between the popes in Rome and the Yuan emperors in Beijing. The author documents this extensive medieval contact, and proposes that a significant exchange occurred between the artistic traditions of east and west during this era as well. "...a beautiful book" -- Edward Tufte, Yale University "...how very interesting and convincing this book is..." -- James Cahill, Professor Emeritus, UC Berkeley "This is no small contribution, inasmuch as most treatments of Western missions start with the Jesuits..." -- Wall Street Journal, Dec. 16, 1999 Lauren Arnold is an independent scholar who lives and works in Mountain View, California. Her degrees are in history and art history from the University of Michigan. She is currently a research associate with the Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History, Center for the Pacific Rim, at the University of San Francisco. E-mail may be addressed to the author at ricci@usfca.edu