Tai-Pan (novel)
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- This page is about the James Clavell novel. For other meanings of Tai-Pan, see Tai-Pan (disambiguation).
Tai-Pan was James Clavell's second published novel (1966) and takes the reader to Hong Kong Island, a new British Crown Colony, in 1841 following the Treaty of Cheunpi.
Tai-Pan is a complex tale stretching over 700 pages in length, it introduces a vast array of characters, many of whom, and in quite a few cases the direct relatives, are referenced in later novels.
Shipping opium into China for bullion and tea to Britain, the China traders have made vast fortunes, none greater than Dirk Struan, the Tai-Pan of the most powerful company in the Far East, The Noble House. Struan faces many challenges to keep his dominance though, from the hapless British Plenipotentiary, William Longstaff to his deadly rival Tyler Brock, Tai-Pan of Brock & Sons.
Tai-Pan is loosely based on the history of Jardine Matheson which can be read in greater depth in the books Thistle and the Jade by Maggie Keswick and Jardine Matheson by Robert Blake.Template:Lit-stub