They hate and despise each other, but more than once as the plot unfolds they find themselves allied in a common cause. He simply isn’t as smart as the Tai-Pan, but he covets the honorary title. A man who has been equally successful, but always seems to come up second best. He has a nemesis, Tyler Brock, who is as tough and unyielding as Struan. He knows how merciless life can be and his primary goal every day is to protect what is his and the people he cares about. Struan is tough on people, but that comes from the struggles he experienced reaching the top of the mountain. They have to be really good at something that is useful, something that will strengthen “the clan”. Before anyone has a chance to show loyalty they have to prove something more than just competence. The company is built along clan lines with loyalty being first among the most weighted characteristics for joining his empire, and by association, those selected, will also benefiting from his protection. He has made his own joss by being smarter, more ruthless, accumulating more wealth, and being stronger than his opponents. The port quickly proved a safe haven to ships even impervious to Typhoons.ĭirk Lochlin Struan is a Scotsman who has spent a good part of his adult life in the orient amassing a fleet of clipper ships and a great fortune.

Hong Kong was just a cluster of fishing villages when the English traders arrived in 1841.

”’Joss’ was a Chinese word that meant Luck and Fate and God and the devil combined.” ***MOVIE ADDENDUM ADDED SEPT 13th, 2014***

Clavell novel tai