The Asian Saga

The Asian Saga is a series of six novels written by James Clavell between 1962 and 1993. The novels all center around Europeans in Asia, and together they explore the impact on East and West of the meeting of these two distinct civilizations.

Overview

The books in narrative order are:

*"Shogun": set in feudal Japan, 1600
*"Tai-Pan": set in Hong Kong, 1841
*"Gai-Jin": set in Japan, 1862
*"King Rat": set in a Japanese POW camp, Singapore, 1945
*"Noble House": set in Hong Kong, 1963
*"Whirlwind": set in Iran, 1979

This is not the order in which the novels were originally published; it is therefore possible to read them in virtually any order. The first book of the saga to be published was "King Rat" in 1962, and the name "Asian Saga" was not applied to the series until after the publication of "Shogun".

The books in published order are:

*"King Rat" (1962)
*"Tai-Pan" (1966)
*"Shogun" (1975)
*"Noble House" (1981)
*"Whirlwind" (1986)
*"Gai-Jin" (1993)

Apart from "Shogun" and "King Rat", all the books follow the dealings of the great trading company Struan's, the Noble House of Asia (based on Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited), its founder Dirk Struan, and his various descendants. "Gai-Jin" provides the major link between the "Shogun" and Struans storylines, while two characters from "King Rat" (Robin Grey and Peter Marlowe) appear in "Noble House".

Some of the characters make appearances in multiple books, and many characters from one book are referred to in later books. Robert Armstrong, for example, is a major character in both "Noble House" and "Whirlwind". As an interesting tie-in, Linc Bartlett's ("Noble House") ancestor appears in James Clavell's 1960 film, "Walk Like A Dragon".

There are dozens of characters throughout the series, with very complex family relationships and a great deal of history that is hinted at but never described in detail. For instance, Peter Marlowe is almost certainly a descendant of Lt. John Marlowe, the captain who married Malcolm Struan and Angelique Richaud against the wishes of Hag Struan, as Clavell refers often to Peter Marlowe's family's long history of naval service. Clavell peppers the entire Asian Saga with these genealogical easter eggs.

After the publication of "Whirlwind", Clavell wrote a shorter version of the story which focused on two characters from the book. Entitled "Escape: The Love Story from Whirlwind", the book is generally not considered an official part of the Asian Saga and is considered quite rare; nonetheless some reviewers said it helped flesh out several aspects of the original novel.

Clavell died in 1994 after the publication of "Gai-Jin"; it was reported that he was planning several more entries in the Asian Saga series at the time of his death.

Plot

List of tai-pans of Struan's

*1st tai-pan: Dirk Struan, 1798-1841
*2nd tai-pan: Culum Struan, 1841-1862
*3rd tai-pan: Lochlin Struan1862-1915
*4th tai-pan: Dirk Dunross, 1852-1894
*5th tai-pan: presumably Lochlin Struan, see Dirk Dunross
*6th tai-pan: Lochlin Struan 1915
*7th tai-pan: Ross Lechie Struan,1887-1915
*8th tai-pan: Colin Dunross
*9th tai-pan: Alastair Struan, 1949-1960
*10th tai-pan: Ian Dunross, 1960-1970
*11th tai-pan: David MacStruan, 1970-1975
*12th tai-pan: Linbar Struan, 1975-?

Lochlin Struan became tai-pan for a second time after Kelly O' Gorman, the fifth tai-pan, was killed as he tried to murder Hag Struan, and so Lochlin Struan became the sixth tai-pan, but totally under the thumb of Hag Struan, until his death in 1915.

Hag Struan was tai-pan in everything but name from 1841 until her death in 1917.

The half coins of Jin-qua

In 1841 when Struan's was on the brink of collapse, Dirk Struan received a loan of silver from the merchant Jin-qua in exchange for a series of favors. Among these were four bronze coins, split in half. Anyone who brought a half coin to the tai-pan of the Noble House would be granted whatever he asked, whether legal or illegal. All future tai-pans must swear to keep this bargain, before learning the details, if they were to become tai-pan.

Of the four coins, one was kept by Jin-qua, one given to the warlord Wu Fang Choi, one given to Gordon Chen, and one given out in secret.

The first coin was brought to Dirk Struan in 1841 by Wu Fang Choi.

The second coin was brought in 1894 by Chiang Wu-tah. He asked that the Noble House give aid and sanctuary to Sun Yat-sen and to assist him to overthrow the Manchu dynasty. This is recounted in "Noble House", chapter 60.

The story of the third coin is a major plot line in "Noble House". The coin is owned by Struan's trusted compradore Phillip Chen, handed down to him from his grandfather Gordon Chen. However, his son John Chen learns the secret of the coin, steals it, and bargains it and its secret away to American businessman Lincoln Bartlett. Before Bartlett takes possession of the coin, John Chen is kidnapped and murdered. When Phillip Chen enlists his underworld cousin Four Finger Wu to help locate John, Wu discovers the coin in the possession of one of the kidnappers, and takes it for his own, knowing its secret. When Wu dies, his son Profitable Choi takes over the coin and begs the favours from Ian Dunross.

The fate of the fourth coin is not addressed in the saga. However, it is speculated in "Noble House" that it was given to May-may (Dirk Struan's mistress) and passed down to their descendant Shitee T'Chung.

Adaptations

As of 2006, all installments of the Asian Saga except "Whirlwind" and "Gai-Jin" have been adapted for film or television:

*"King Rat", released in 1965, starred George Segal and was nominated for two Academy Awards for Art Direction and Black and White Cinematography.
*"Shogun" was adapted by NBC as a television miniseries in 1980. Starring Richard Chamberlain, Toshiro Mifune and Yoko Shimada, the production was one of the highest rated programs of its kind ever broadcast. The nine-hour miniseries was edited down to two hours for a theatrical release in 1981. The miniseries was nominated for 14 Emmy Awards, winning three including Best Limited Series. It also won three Golden Globe Awards.
*"Tai-Pan" was released as a theatrical film in 1986, starring Bryan Brown and Joan Chen. The film was a critical and box office failure.
*"Noble House" was adapted as a TV miniseries starring Pierce Brosnan in 1988 and was also a ratings success. It updated the timeframe of the novel from the 1960s to the 1980s.

Although there were press reports in the mid-1990s that a miniseries adaptation of "Gai-Jin" was planned, no production eventuated.