Jin-qua
Encyclopedia
Jin-qua, is a character in James Clavell
's novel
Tai-Pan
. His full Chinese name is Chen-tse Jin Arn.
Jin-qua was a merchant who possessed a monopoly on all the foreign trade in China during the early 19th century.
With the arrival of the British merchants and the establishment of Hong Kong, he began cultivating a relationship with Dirk Struan
, the tai-pan of the Noble House, the chief trading company in Hong Kong. He arranged for two of his own descendants to become Struan's misstresses.
The first, Kai-sung, was Jin-qua's daughter. She was the mother by Dirk Struan of Gordon Chen
.
The second was T'Chung Jin May-may, Jin-qua's granddaughter. She was secretly assigned the task of teaching Struan civilized ways.
In 1841, Struan's was on the brink of ruin, about to be destroyed by rival Tyler Brock
. In desperation, Dirk Struan turned to Jin-qua, who lent him one million sterling in specie. In return, Struan agreed that a member of the Chen family would forever be compradore of Noble House, the first being Gordon Chen
.
Additionally, four bronze coins were split in half, with Dirk Struan given one half of each coin. Struan agreed that whenever anyone presented the tai-pan with another half-coin, the tai-pan would be obliged to grant that person one favor, whether legal or illegal. Furthermore, this obligation was handed down to all successive tai-pans (who could only become tai-pan after first blindly swearing to uphold these agreements).
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.
James Clavell
James Clavell, born Charles Edmund DuMaresq Clavell was an Australian-born, British novelist, screenwriter, director and World War II veteran and prisoner of war...
's novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
Tai-Pan
Tai-Pan (novel)
Tai-Pan is a novel written by James Clavell about European and American traders who move into Hong Kong in 1842 following the end of the First Opium War. It is the second book in Clavell's "Asian Saga".-Plot summary:...
. His full Chinese name is Chen-tse Jin Arn.
Jin-qua was a merchant who possessed a monopoly on all the foreign trade in China during the early 19th century.
With the arrival of the British merchants and the establishment of Hong Kong, he began cultivating a relationship with Dirk Struan
Dirk Struan
Dirk Lochlin Struan is the fictional main character of James Clavell's 1966 novel Tai-Pan. The title comes from a Cantonese term that Clavell loosely translates as "supreme leader", and Struan is the taipan or head of his own trading company in China, Struan's...
, the tai-pan of the Noble House, the chief trading company in Hong Kong. He arranged for two of his own descendants to become Struan's misstresses.
The first, Kai-sung, was Jin-qua's daughter. She was the mother by Dirk Struan of Gordon Chen
Gordon Chen
Gordon Chen is a character in the James Clavell Asian Saga novels Tai-Pan and Gai-Jin. He is the illegitimate Chinese/Scottish son of Dirk Struan, founder of Struan's Trading Company, called the "Noble House". At the time of the novel Tai-Pan, he is about twenty.Chen decided he would be "more...
.
The second was T'Chung Jin May-may, Jin-qua's granddaughter. She was secretly assigned the task of teaching Struan civilized ways.
In 1841, Struan's was on the brink of ruin, about to be destroyed by rival Tyler Brock
Tyler Brock
Tyler Brock is a fictional character in the novel Tai-Pan. He is the Tai-pan, or "supreme leader" of Brock & Sons Trading Company, and the novel's antagonist. He is married to Liza Brock and has several children, including his sons Gorth, Morgan and Tom, and daughters Tess and Elizabeth...
. In desperation, Dirk Struan turned to Jin-qua, who lent him one million sterling in specie. In return, Struan agreed that a member of the Chen family would forever be compradore of Noble House, the first being Gordon Chen
Gordon Chen
Gordon Chen is a character in the James Clavell Asian Saga novels Tai-Pan and Gai-Jin. He is the illegitimate Chinese/Scottish son of Dirk Struan, founder of Struan's Trading Company, called the "Noble House". At the time of the novel Tai-Pan, he is about twenty.Chen decided he would be "more...
.
Additionally, four bronze coins were split in half, with Dirk Struan given one half of each coin. Struan agreed that whenever anyone presented the tai-pan with another half-coin, the tai-pan would be obliged to grant that person one favor, whether legal or illegal. Furthermore, this obligation was handed down to all successive tai-pans (who could only become tai-pan after first blindly swearing to uphold these agreements).
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.