RED BARBARIAN

by Margaret Gaan ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 1984

Opium trading in China, 1820-1842: the first volume in a projected trilogy about English-born Charlie Tyson and his Anglo-Chinese descendants. Englishmen in 19th-century China are called ""red barbarians"" (as opposed to Indian ""black barbarians"")--but teenager Charlie, exiled by his unloving English father to far-off servitude, truly deserves the name, thanks to his fiercely red hair. Working in the Canton manse of East India Co. chairman Sir George, Charlie is adored by chief-servant Wei and his little daughter Ling-ling. And when Sir George goes home to England, Charlie elects to stay in China--where the illegal but thriving opium trade offers vast opportunities. Aided by shrewd Wei, he forges an alliance with trader/patriarch How-kwa, who finances Charlle's scheme for a ""floating warehouse for opium"" but forbids actual opium-trade; with How-kwa's suave grandson Yin-kwa, however, Charlie does indeed secretly enter the trade--earning big profits (and the scorn of the racist Western opium-dealers). Successful, too, is Charlie's private life: after years of superb sexual initiation from courtesan/fairy-godmother Ah Sam, he marries the now-gorgeous Ling-ling and fathers three children. Then, however, the troubles begin. The Emperor, terrified by the opium-addicted state of his army, clamps down on the trade--with executions for Chinese dealers. Soon, to the Westerners' disbelief, a High Commissioner arrives in Canton with the authority to punish foreign opium traders: he demands the surrender of all opium stores--or else the vital tea-trade will be permanently stopped. Should the foreign traders knuckle under or depend on English warships to protect their special privileges? That's the question for courageous trade commissioner Ellison, whom Charlie befriends--at one point risking his life. Moreover, while tense Chinese/Western wrangles are inexorably leading to the Opium War, with anti-foreign feeling on the rise, Charlie's bi-cultural household is fracturing: father-in-law Wei is possessive of grandson Jin-see, furious about Charlie's secret opium-trading, horrified to learn of Charlie's plan for a family-visit to England--and he eventually takes Ling-ling and the children off to Ningpo. So, during the ensuing war-mayhem (Englishmen rape and pillage), Charlie and his nautical sidekick Bloss try to reach Ningpo; they wind up in a bamboo prison--seeing first-hand the horrors of opium-addiction and withdrawal, truly awakening to what Chinese family/culture is all about. But, though Charlie does finally locate his family, Ling-ling and their daughters are suicide war-casualties, Charlie himself is killed by a longtime opiumtrade rival--and the novel ends with Yin-kwa's adoption of nine-year-old orphan Jin-see. . . who will no doubt star in the subsequent volume. As in Gaan's tale of 1920s Shanghai, Little Sister, the blend between history and personal story is not always smooth and taut in this long, somewhat rambling saga. But, even if Charlie is a less-than-compelling hero, the culture-clash drama is vivid, the atmospheres are quietly effective, and this is above-average China fiction overall.

Pub Date: June 1, 1984

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dodd, Mead

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1984

Categories: FICTION