Clavell, James
(Sydney, Australien 1924-1994 Vevey) : Britisch-australischer Schriftsteller, Drehbuchautor, Regisseur.
Name Alternative(s)
Clavelle, Charles Edmund DuMaresq de
Subjects
Art : Cinema
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Index of Names : Occident
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Literature : Occident : Great Britain
Chronology Entries (4)
| # | Year | Text | Linked Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1963 | James Clavell had lived in and around Hong Kong in his youth and he and his family spent 1963 in Hong Kong so that he could reacquaint himself with the city, research its history, and take in the sights and sounds that make his Hong Kong novels rich in local color. They were talking to residents and experts, and reviewing histories of the city's founding fathers. |
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| 2 | 1966 |
Cavell, James. Tai-Pan : a novel of Hong Kong [ID D33471]. Sekundärliteratur 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, indicating his position as head of the largest of all the trading companies in Asia. Clavell translates Tai-Pan as "Supreme Leader," although as described in the Tai-Pan entry, "Big Shot" might be more accurate. 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. Gina Macdonald : The novel begins with problems experiences by Europeans in Canton and Macao and traces step-by-step the establishment of Hong Kong, the political twists and turns that threatenened its permanence, and the typhoon that destroyed its buildings but proved its value as a port. It also begins with the dreams and strategies of Dirk Struan, his love affair with a Chinese concubine, May-may, whom he secretly marries, and his conflict with the rival Brocks. The unexpected death of Dirk Struan and May-may amid the violence of a terrifying typhoon leaves the Noble House of Struan as vulnerable as the newly founded Hong Kong colony. Clavell's themes are as multifaceted as his book, but four dominate : 1. The determination, gamesmanship, and wit that are necessary to establish a colony that will endure ; 2. fascination with China ; 3. the threat of China ; 4) the importance of crossroads where alien cultures can meet and learn from each other to mutual benefit. For Clavell, the founding of Hong Kong illustrates the genius, strength, and farsight-edness of the Englishman abroad, and, in particular, of the British sailor-merchant abroad. Contact with the West, argues Clavell, offers China Western technology through trade that increases wealth, better lives, and provides outlets for the potentially rebellious. Westerners and Easterners alike can escape some of the restrictions of their breeding in Hong Kong. Furthermore, contact with the West provides the Chinese with new models of law, justice, and human rights. Struan/Clavell argues that the Portuguese priests want one's soul in exchange for kindness. To his disgust, Struan learns that the most pious religious leader in Hong Kong incestuously forced himself on his own dependent sister and that the most respectable community members lead secret lives of sin. May-may argues the wisdom of an open mind about religion, but notes that the Christian practice of burning heretics is far worse than the Chinese custom of offering the sea god a bar of silver bullion but only tossing over a prayer paper as a gesture. Clavell contrasts nineteenth-century European ignorance about disease, their reliance on purging and leeching, and their distrust of washing and bathing with the ancient Chinese practice of medicine and the Chinese association of cleanliness with health. Tai-Pan depicts British colonial, Hong Kong Chinese, and mainland Chinese family relationships, manners, mores, business strategies, and political maneuverings. Struan' secret marriage to May-may, their death and their burial together unites the alternating movement between Chinese and European in a final amalgam that is Struan's dream for the future : a merging of the best of both cultures into a hybrid, the Eurasian. Tai-Pan is a fictionalized history, dramatizing the founding of Hong Kong and bringing to life the men and women who created that citry. It is a historical romance, tracing the affairs of Hong Kong's founding fathers ; a dynasty story, of extended families gaining wealth and power through trade ; a sea adventure, with a night-time chase and private attack ; a medical story, about malaria and a cure that may be only legend ; and a spy story. |
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| 3 | 1981 |
Clavell, James. Noble house : a novel of contemporary Hong Kong [ID D33472]. Sekundärliteratur Noble House is set in 1963. The tai-pan, Ian Dunross, struggles to rescue Struan's from the precarious financial position left by his predecessor. To do this, he seeks partnership with an American millionaire, while trying to ward off his arch-rival Quillan Gornt, who seeks to destroy Struan's once and for all. Meanwhile, Chinese communists, Taiwanese nationalists, and Soviet spies illegally vie for influence in Hong Kong while the British government seeks to prevent this. And nobody, it seems, can get anything done without enlisting the aid of Hong Kong's criminal underworld. Other obstacles include water shortages, landslides, bank runs and stock market crashes. In Noble House, Dunross finds his company the target of a hostile takeover at a time when Struan's is desperately overextended. He is also embroiled in international espionage when he finds himself in possession of secret documents desperately desired by both the KGB and MI6. The novel follows Dunross' attempts to extricate himself from all this and to save Struan's, the Noble House. Struan and Company is based on Jardine Matheson Holdings, which continues to exist as an Asian trading company. Gina Macdonald : In a time of crisis, Dunross takes over Noble House, a private banking house and international shipping firm, and sells public stock in the firm to prevent the bankruptcy pending from an uninsured billion-dollar cargo lost at sea. Perhaps the mos striking theme of the novel has to do with Hong Kong. Cavell argues that the city is a unique experiment in capitalistic venture and cross-cultural relationships. It epitomizes the good that can result from the peaceful meeting of East and West. A recurring theme given more weight in Noble House than in Clavell's other books is a warning against Soviet expansionism. Two of Clavell's other recurring themes, cultural differences and gender differences, have a changed focus in this book. The dominating cultural differences are between the English and the Americans, with the Chinese sharing the English reaction to Americans. Oble House is a tribute to a fascinating city that has become an international definition of successful interface between East and West. Hong Kong has always had one of the highest population densities in the world. Two interlocked characteristics of Hong Kong that Cavell illustrates again and again are its inhabitants' willingness to gamble- to gamble their lives, to gamble on life and, especially, to gamble on business ods – and their lust for money and for power. Cavell captures this gambling spirit and makes it the essential ingredient of his most successful entrepreneurs. The Struan legacy has a Chinese sense of family continuity and of family commitment to China that is reinforced by family ritual such as the passing of power from tai-pan to tai-pan. Cavell dramatizes American directness, informality, and business-first mentality grating on both Chinese and British formality and propriety, and his British finding common cause with Chinese associates against the Americans. In Noble House, the Chinese women of twentieth-century Hong Kong are still trapped in nineteenth-century patterns. The birth control pill has given British women greater freedom and wider choices, but, in general, they, like their Chinese counterparts, accept Hong Kong as a man's world in which women are limited to traditional roles. The cultural contrasts between East and West have become less striking as the melding of cultures creates Chinese with Western values and ambitions, and Westerners with a Chinese sense of time and strategy. The Hong Kong setting is equally important, since the city is an experiment in free-wheeling capitalism on the doorstep of two gigantic experiments with Communism : Red China, and, by extension, the Soviet Union. The battle of competing economic systems infuses the book with a spirit of ideological urgency, since the struggles taking place here are more than just personal and financial. Cavell interlocks political and business struggles. Hong Kong is the showplace of capitalism, with the competing socialist model never far away. Cavell argues that, though still an alien culture, with a focus on communal rather than individual values, China cannot close its doors to the West. It has become dependent on Hong Kong as a population outlet in times of trouble and as a source of income and goods ; illegal and legal traffic flows in and out of Hong Kong and back and forth between Kong Kong and the mainland. Cavell postulates that trade with China over a long period will transform Chinese thinking, and that the Chinese cannot stop those changes ; however, it will also affect Western thinking, and Westerners cannot stop thos changes either. But whichever way the influences flow, it is capitalism that will promote social and personal advances. |
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| 4 | 1983 |
Sun Tzu [Sunzi]. The art of war. Ed. & with a foreword by James Clavell. [ID D33470]. Foreword Sun Tzu wrote this extraordinary book in China two and a half thousand years ago. It begins: The art of war is of vital importance to the state. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence under no circumstances can it be neglected. It ends: Hence it is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for purposes of spying, and thereby they achieve great results. Spies are a most important element in war, because upon them depends an army’s ability to move. I truly believe that if our military and political leaders in recent times had studied this work of genius, Vietnam could not have happened as it happened; we would not have lost the war in Korea (we lost because we did not achieve victory); the Bay of Pigs could not have occurred; the hostage fiasco in Iran would not have come to pass; the British Empire would not have been dismembered; and, in all probability, World Wars I and II would have been avoided—certainly they would not have been waged as they were waged, and the millions of youths obliterated unnecessarily and stupidly by monsters calling themselves generals would have lived out their lives. Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting. I find it astounding that Sun Tzu wrote so many truths twenty-five centuries ago that are still applicable today—especially in his chapter on the use of spies, which I find extraordinary. I think this little book shows clearly what is still being done wrong, and why our present opponents are so successful in some areas (Sun Tzu is obligatory reading in the Soviet political-military hierarchy and has been available in Russian for centuries; it is also, almost word for word, the source of all Mao Tse-tung's Little Red Book of strategic and tactical doctrine). Even more importantly, I believe The Art of War shows quite clearly how to take the initiative and combat the enemy—any enemy. Sun Tzu wrote: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. Like Machiavelli's The Prince and Miyamoto Musashi's The Book of Five Rings, Sun Tzu's truths, contained herein, can equally show the way to victory in all kinds of ordinary business conflicts, boardroom battles, and in the day to day fight for survival we all endure—even in the battle of the sexes! They are all forms of war, all fought under the same rules—his rules. The first time I ever personally heard about Sun Tzu was at the races in Happy Valley in Hong Kong in 1977. A friend, P.G. Williams, a steward of the Jockey Club, asked me if I had ever read the book. I said no, and he told me that he would be happy to send me a copy the next day. When the book arrived, I left it unread. Then one day, weeks later, I picked it up. I was totally shocked that in all of my reading about Asia, about Japan and China particularly, I had not come across this book before. Since that time it has been a constant companion for me, so much so that during the course of the writing of Noble House many of the characters in it refer to Sun Tzu in all his glory. I think his work is fantastic. Hence this version of his book. Unfortunately little is known of the man himself or of when he wrote the thirteen chapters. Some ascribe them to approximately 500 B.C. in the Kingdom of Wu, some to approximately 300 B.C. About 100 B.C. one of his chroniclers, Su-ma Ch'ien, gives this biography: Sun Tzu, whose personal name was Wu, was a native of the Ch'i state. His Art of War brought him to the notice of Ho Lu, King of Wu. Ho Lu said to him, "I have carefully perused your thirteen chapters. May I submit your theory of managing soldiers to a slight test?" Sun Tzu replied, "You may." The king asked, "May the test be applied to women?" The answer was again in the affirmative, so arrangements were made to bring 180 ladies out of the palace. Sun Tzu divided them into two companies and placed one of the king's favorite concubines at the head of each. He then made them all take spears in their hands and addressed them thus: "I presume you know the difference between front and back, right hand and left hand?" The girls replied, "Yes." Sun Tzu went on. "When I say 'eyes front,' you must look straight ahead. When I say 'left turn,' you must face toward your left hand. When I say 'right turn,' you must face toward your right hand. When I say 'about turn,' you must face right around toward the back." Again the girls assented. The words of command having been thus explained, he set up the halberds and battle-axes in order to begin the drill. Then to the sound of drums he gave the order 'right turn,' but the girls only burst out laughing. Sun Tzu said patiently, "If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, then the general is to blame." He started drilling them again and this time gave the order "left turn," whereupon the girls once more burst into fits of laughter. Then he said, "If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, the general is to blame. But if his orders are clear and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their officers." So saying, he ordered the leaders of the two companies to be beheaded. Now the King of Wu was watching from the top of a raised pavilion, and when he saw that his favorite concubines were about to be executed, he was greatly alarmed and hurriedly sent dow’n the following message: "We are now quite satisfied as to our general's ability to handle troops. If we are bereft of these two concubines, our meat and drink will lose their savor. It is our wish that they shall not be beheaded." Sun Tzu replied even more patiently: "Having once received His Majesty's commission to be general of his forces, there are certain commands of His Majesty which, acting in that capacity, I am unable to accept." Accordingly, and immediately, he had the two leaders beheaded and straightaway installed the pair next in order as leaders in their place. When this had been done the drum was sounded for the drill once more. The girls went through all the evolutions, turning to the right or to the left, marching ahead or wheeling about, kneeling or standing, with perfect accuracy and precision, not venturing to utter a sound. Then Sun Tzu sent a messenger to the king saying: "Your soldiers, sire, are now properly drilled and disciplined and ready for Your Majesty's inspection. They can be put to any use that their sovereign may desire. Bid them go through fire and water and they will not now disobey." But the king replied: "Let our general cease drilling and return to camp. As for us, we have no wish to come down and inspect the troops." Thereupon Sun Tzu said calmly: "The king is only fond of words and cannot translate them into deeds." After that the King of Wu saw that Sun Tzu was one who knew how to handle an army, and appointed him general. In the west Sun Tzu defeated the Ch'u state and forced his way into Ying, the capital; to the north he put fear into the states of Ch'i and Chin, and spread his fame abroad among the feudal princes. And Sun Tzu shared in the might of the kingdom. So Sun Tzu became a general for the King of Wu. For almost two decades the armies of Wu were victorious over their hereditary enemies, the Kingdom of Yueh and Ch'u. Sometime within this period Sun Tzu died and his patron, the King of Wu, was killed in a battle. For a few years his descendants followed the precepts of Sun Tzu and continued to be victorious. And then they forgot. In 473 B.C. the armies of Wu were defeated and the kingdom made extinct. In 1782 The Art of War was first translated into French by a Jesuit, Father Amiot. There is a legend that this little book was Napoleon's key to success and his secret weapon. Certainly his battles depended upon mobility, and mobility is one of the things that Sun Tzu stresses. Certainly Napoleon used all of Sun Tzu to his own advantage to conquer most of Europe. It was only when he failed to follow Sun Tzu's rules that he was defeated. The Art of War was not translated into English until 1905. The first English translation was by P. F. Calthrop. The second, the one that you will read here, is by Lionel Giles, originally published in Shanghai and London in 1910. I have taken a few liberties with this translation to make it a little more accessible—any translation from ancient Chinese to another language is to a certain extent a point of view and have inserted some of Giles's notes, according to the Chinese method, immediately after the passages to wrhich they refer. I have also, for simplicity, deliberately eliminated all accents over Chinese names and places. It is, really, almost impossible to translate the Chinese sounds of a character into Roman lettering. Again, for simplicity, I've used the old-fashioned method of spelling. Let all scholars great and small please excuse me! I sincerely hope you enjoy reading this book. Sun Tzu deserves to be read. I would like to make The Art of War obligatory study for all our serving officers and men, as well as for all politicians and all people in government and all high schools and universities in the free world. If I were a commander in chief or president or prime minister I would go further: I would have written into law that all officers, particularly all generals, take a yearly oral and written examination on these thirteen chapters, the passing mark being 95 percent—any general failing to achieve a pass to be automatically and summarily dismissed without appeal, and all other officers to have automatic demotion. I believe, very much, that Sun Tzu's knowledge is vital to our survival. It can give us the protection we need to watch our children grow in peace and thrive. Always remember, since ancient times, it has been known that... "the true object of war is peace." |
Bibliography (19)
| # | Year | Bibliographical Data | Type / Abbreviation | Linked Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1966 |
Clavell, James. Tai-Pan : a novel of Hong Kong. (New York, N.Y. : Atheneum, 1966). = Clavell, James. Tai-Pan : der Roman Hongkongs. (Frankfurt a.M. : Büchergilde Gutenberg, 1977). |
Publication / ClaJ17 |
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| 2 | 1980 |
[Clavell, James]. Mu fu jiang jun. Zhanmushi Kelaiweier zhu ; Zhao Yongfeng, Shi Jiqing yi. Vol. 1-2. (Taibei : Hao shi nian chu ban she, 1980). (Ming jia ming zhu ; 59-60). Übersetzung von Clavell, James. Shôgun : a novel of Japan. (New York, N.Y. : Atheneum, 1975). 幕府將軍 |
Publication / ClaJ10 | |
| 3 | 1980 |
[Clavell, James]. Mu fu jiang jun. Kelaweier zhuan ; Zhang Xiao yi. Vol. 1-3. (Taibei : Yaw u tu shu chu ban she, 1980). Übersetzung von Clavell, James. Shôgun : a novel of Japan. (New York, N.Y. : Atheneum, 1975). 幕府大將軍 |
Publication / ClaJ11 | |
| 4 | 1981 |
[Clavell, James]. Dai ban. Kelaiwei'er zhu ; Xue Xingguo yi. (Taibei : Hao shi nian chu ban she, 1981). (Ming jia ming zhu ; 61). Übersetzung von Clavell, James. Tai-Pan : a novel of Hong Kong. (New York, N.Y. : Atheneum, 1966). 大班 |
Publication / ClaJ1 | |
| 5 | 1981 |
[Clavell, James]. Dai ban. Kelaiweier zhu ; Fu Yingshan yi. (Taibei : Ya ming, 1981). Übersetzung von Clavell, James. Tai-Pan : a novel of Hong Kong. (New York, N.Y. : Atheneum, 1966). 代辦 |
Publication / ClaJ2 | |
| 6 | 1981 |
[Clavell, James]. Fan mai zhe. Lin Huaiqing yi. (Taibei : Huang guan chu ban she, 1981). (Ming zhu jng xuan ; 15). Übersetzung von Clavell, James. Noble house : a novel of contemporary Hong Kong. (New York, N.Y. : Delcaorte Press, 1981). 贩卖者 |
Publication / ClaJ4 | |
| 7 | 1981 |
[Clavell, James]. Fu gui zhi jia. Zhanmushi Kelawei zhu ; Shi Jiqing yi. Vol. 1-3. (Taibei : Huang guan chu ban she, 1981). (Dang dai ming zhu jing xuan ; 38-40. Huang guan cong shu ; 1285, 771-773). Übersetzung von Clavell, James. Noble house : a novel of contemporary Hong Kong. (New York, N.Y. : Delcaorte Press, 1981). 富貴之家 |
Publication / ClaJ5 | |
| 8 | 1981 |
[Clavell, James]. Gao gui zhi jia. Kelawei yuan zhu ; Shi Jiqing, Chen Mincui, Lin Jinghua yi. Vol. 1-3. (Taibei : Huang guan chu ban she, 1981). (Dang dai ming zhu jing xuan ; 38-40. Huang guan cong shu ; 771-773). Übersetzung von Clavell, James. Noble house : a novel of contemporary Hong Kong. (New York, N.Y. : Delcaorte Press, 1981). 高貴之家 |
Publication / ClaJ6 | |
| 9 | 1981 |
[Clavell, James]. Jin shu wang. Kelaiweier yuan zhu ; Lin Xianzheng yi. (Taibei : Taibei xian yong he shi, 1981). /Zhuo mu niao ming yi zhu ; 1). Übersetzung von Clavell, James. Shôgun : a novel of Japan. (New York, N.Y. : Atheneum, 1975). 金鼠王 |
Publication / ClaJ9 | |
| 10 | 1981 | Clavell, James. Noble house : a novel of contemporary Hong Kong. (New York, N.Y. : Delcaorte Press, 1981). | Publication / Cla18 |
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| 11 | 1983 | Sun Tzu [Sunzi]. The art of war. Ed. & with a foreword by James Clavell. (New York, N.Y. : Delacorte Press, 1983). | Publication / ClaJ16 | |
| 12 | 1986 |
[Clavell, James]. Wang zu. Zhanmusi Kelawei'er zhu ; Dong Zujie, Shi Suren yi. Vol. 1-3. (Haerbin : Heilongjiang chao xian min zu chu ban she, 1986). Übersetzung von Clavell, James. Noble house : a novel of contemporary Hong Kong. (New York, N.Y. : Delcaorte Press, 1981). 望族 |
Publication / ClaJ13 | |
| 13 | 1989 |
[Clavell, James]. Shu wang. Kelaweimi zhu ; Gong Huifeng deng yi. (Shanghai : Xue lin chu ban she, 1989). Übersetzung von Clavell, James. King rat : a novel. (Boston : Little, Brown, 1962). 鼠王 |
Publication / ClaJ12 | |
| 14 | 1989 |
[Clavell, James]. Xuan feng. Kelaweimi zhu ; Dong Zujie deng yi. Vol. 1-3. (Shanghai : Xue lin chu ban she, 1989). Übersetzung von Clavell, James. Whirlwind. (New York, N.Y. : W. Morrow ; London : Hodder and Stoughton, 1986). 旋风 |
Publication / ClaJ14 | |
| 15 | 1991 |
[Clavell, James]. Xiang dao feng yun. Zhanmusi Kelaweier zhu ; Shi Youshan, Zhu Shanxia deng yi. Vol. 1-2. (Beijing : Qun zhong chu ban she, 1987). Übersetzung von Clavell, James. Noble house : a novel of contemporary Hong Kong. (New York, N.Y. : Delcaorte Press, 1981). 香岛风云 |
Publication / ClaJ7 | |
| 16 | 1991 |
[Clavell, James]. Yi si lan huang zu. Zhanmushi Kelaiweier zhu ; Yang Gufang deng yi. Vol. 1-3. (Guiyang : Guizhou ren min chu ban she, 1991). Übersetzung von Clavell, James. Whirlwind. (New York, N.Y. : W. Morrow ; London : Hodder and Stoughton, 1986). 伊斯兰皇族 |
Publication / ClaJ15 | |
| 17 | 1994 |
[Heller, Joseph]. Di er shi er tiao jun gui. Yuesefu Hele zhu ; Liu Yiran suo xie. (Beijing : Hua xia chu ban she, 1994). (Wai guo chang pian xiao shuo ming zhu jing cui ; 1961-1981). Übersetzung von Heller, Joseph. Catch-22 : a novel. (New York, N.Y. : Simon and Schuster, 1961). 第二十二条军规 [Enthält] : [Puig, Manuel]. Zhi zhu nü zhi wen. Mannu'ai'er Puyige zhu ; Xu Mouqing suo xie. Übersetzung von Puig, Manuel. Beso de la mujer araña. = [Kiss of the spider woman]. (New York, N.Y. : Vintage Espanol, Random House, 1976). 蜘蛛女之吻 [Clavell, James]. Wang zu. Kelawei'er zhu ; Chen Fang suo xie. Übersetzung von Clavell, James. Noble house : a novel of contemporary Hong Kong. (New York, N.Y. : Delcaorte Press, 1981). 望族 |
Publication / ClaJ3 | |
| 18 | 1994 |
[Clavell, James]. Jiang jun : yi bu xie Riben de xiao shuo. Jiemusi Kelaiwei'er ; Ma Xiaofeng yi ; Wang Zhen jiao bian. (Xi'an : Shanxi ren min chu ban she, 1994). Übersetzung von Clavell, James. Shôgun : a novel of Japan. (New York, N.Y. : Atheneum, 1975). 将军一部写日本的小说 |
Publication / ClaJ8 | |
| 19 | 1996 | Macdonald, Gina. James Clavell : a critical companion. (Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1996). | Publication / Cla19 |