Tai-Pan (novel)
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| Tai-Pan | |
 1982 paperback edition |
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| Author | James Clavell |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Asian Saga |
| Genre(s) | Historical fiction, Novel |
| Publisher | Atheneum |
| Publication date | 1966 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 590 pp |
| ISBN | NA |
| Preceded by | Shogun |
| Followed by | Gai-Jin |
- This page is about the novel. For other meanings of Tai-Pan, see Tai-Pan (disambiguation).
Tai-Pan is a novel written by James Clavell about European and American traders who move into Hong Kong in 1841 following the end of the first Opium War. It is the second book in Clavell's "Asian Saga".
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[edit] Plot summary
The novel begins following the British victory of the first Opium War and the seizure of Hong Kong. Although the island is largely uninhabited and the terrain unfriendly, it has a large natural harbour that both the British government and various trading companies believe will be useful for the import of merchandise to be traded on mainland China, a highly lucrative market.
Although the novel features many characters, it is Dirk Struan and Tyler Brock, former shipmates and the owners of two massive (fictional) trading companies who are the main focal points of the story. Their rocky and often abusive relationship as seamen initiated an intense amount of competitive tension. Throughout the novel, both men seek to destroy each other in matters of business and personal affairs. Struan is referred to throughout the novel as Tai-Pan (which author Clavell translates as "Supreme Leader," although this is not the accepted translation of the term[citation needed]) indicating his position as head of the largest and most profitable of all the trading companies operating in Asia. Brock, owner of the second largest of the trading companies, constantly vies to destroy Struan's company and reputation in an attempt both to exact revenge on Struan and to become the new "Tai-Pan" of Chinese trade.
[edit] Political subtext
As per normal for Clavell's novels, there is quite a bit of subtext to Tai-Pan. Clavell was a proponent of free trade, an ardent individualist and anti-fascist - the novel alludes to these concepts through the often critical depiction of both European traders and hostile Chinese and to a lesser degree, the British Parliament and their trade policies and practices, especially where the opium trade was concerned. Dirk Struan embodies Clavell's concept of the Hero whose vision for a proper form of cultural integration between East and West finds Dirk throwing off much of what he disliked of both Chinese and European society, yet fusing all that he does admire into a new way of living.
[edit] Historical basis
As with Clavell's other novels, the setting and many characters are based on actual events, which set the stage for the novel.
Struan's "Noble House" trading company of the novel is based on Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited, a massive Scottish trading company that operates out of China.
The artist character Aristotle Quance may be loosely based upon George Chinnery.
[edit] In film
There was a 1986 motion picture (Tai-Pan) based on the novel, poorly received due in part to the film being disloyal to the novel, due in part to on-set censorship by the Chinese Communist Party.
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