4th in Amazon’s Best Sellers in Chinese History
Oct. 2011
Delighted to announce the new edition of the revised version of my historical novel
It was the year 1858 and three young run-aways; Jason Brandt, son of a Hong Kong missionary, his friend Wu Sek-chong and the beautiful and defiant Black Jade; set off to find the capital of the rebel Taiping Tienkuo, The Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace. Established in 1851 by a failed civil service candidate who claimed to be the little brother of Christ, the semi-Christian Taiping Kingdom, had made a dramatic and bloody bid to overthrow the Confucian rule of the Ch’ing Dynasty.
The three young people’s search for the Heavenly Kingdom and what they eventually found among the Taipings is the central plot of this historical novel of journey and self-discovery in 19th century China. This novel was created not only to entertain but to teach about political, social and cultural life in China during the mid nineteenth century.
comments about Tienkuo (mostly taken from Amazon’s Site)
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“Exciting Book…I like it very much. The characters are believable and the cultural details about customs accurate.”
Dr. Alice Murong Pu Lin, author of Grandmother Had No Name
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I’m having a blast reading Tien Kuo. It is fascinating and well written.
Ray Lum, former Asian Bibliographer at the Widener Library and Librarian for Western Languages at Harvard-Yenching Library
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I enjoyed the novel immensely–it’s a fun and exciting read.
John Rapp, Beloit College, author of “Clashing Dilemmas: Hong Rengan Issachar Roberts, and a Taiping ‘Murder’ Mystery,” Journal of Historical Biography 4 (Autumn 2008): 27-58, online at http://www.ufv.ca/jhb
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I like the book…it really held my interest…I am truly impressed.
Micki S. Nevitt, Librarian, Guilderland School District, NY
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“A rare treat. An engaging and historically accurate way to introduce young adults to a myriad of topics about China, including family, Confucianism, class differences, women’s roles etc.
Mel Horowitz, Catskill High School, Former President, U.S. China People’s Friendship Association
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I was captivated with this adventure from beginning to end. To add to my delight, I came away realizing that I had been given insight into an historical event, so not only was I richly entertained, but I was cleverly educated as well. What more could I ask from a book?
Donald Samson author of Dragon Boy & The Dragon of Two Hearts
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Masterfully interweaving history, culture, and characters, TIENKUO takes readers on a fascinating journey through 19th century China. It was a time of imperialism, trade, drug, and feudal wars. We are introduced to a variety of people caught in the vice of history. The adventures and love of an American missionary’s son and an alluring woman named Black Jade are the focal points, but along the way we meet soldiers and mercenaries, warlords and rogues, merchants and nobles. And we are escorted through a little-known, exotic, and compelling time and place. Students and teachers of Asian studies or Asian-American relations can especially benefit from it. History truly is made of the lives of the many small people caught in its great movements. TIENKUO gives us a delicious taste of a little known time and place and makes history come to life.
By Edward Tick Author of The Practice of Dream Healing plus War & The Soul: Healing Our Nation’s Veterans from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
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