Lord of Formosa: A Novel by Joyce Bergvelt

Lord of Formosa: A Novel. Joyce Bergvelt. Camphor Press, Ltd. April 2018. 480 pp. ISBN#: 9781788691390.

In 1624 the island of Formosa belongs to the Dutch as a valuable fortress and trading post.  The mainland, China, is fraught with tension and war as the Manchus battle the Ming dynasty and are slowly but certainly winning.  Ming supporters are fleeing south and actually leaving for Formosa and other islands in the vicinity.  Meanwhile Koxinga is the son of a powerful Ming Admiral who is willing to fight the Manchus to the bitter end.  However, that is not the way history is to unfold.

Koxinga hears a prophecy when he is very young that he will be the Lord of Formosa but also that he will have to pay an immense price for that glorious role.  That fuels his evolution as a thinker, soldier, and trader, roles that are fostered by his father’s illustrious training and respected role throughout China.  Meanwhile, the Dutch are in charge of Formosa but their strength is slowly being drained by the divisions in their own leadership.  Many are good at trade but their poor treatment of the Chinese and distrust of fellow Dutch leaders will prove to be their undoing.  When one makes that statement in a sentence, it may strike the reader as benign.  But the reality is far from benign; literally thousands of deaths will follow as the Dutch send leader after leader to Formosa while Koxinga is planning a massive sea and land battle.  The incremental victory of the Chinese on the island is fascinating reading. 

Koxinga, during these protracted developments, is suffering from what was probably syphilis.  He attempts to get a Dutch physician to heal him but that doesn’t work out so well.  Instead, his volatile temper is increasing to the point where his own supporters are afraid to be around him.  His behavior in the finale of this novel is ruthlessly brutal.  The Dutch men and women will lose numerous leaders and family members, but history is replete with such losses.  Koxinga is honored to this day as an incomparable leader who made Formosa the successful and safe place it was and remains to the present.

For those who love Chinese history, Lord of Formosa is a powerful read and one which this reviewer highly recommends!

The Ten Thousand Things by John Spurling

The Ten Thousand Things.  John Spurling. The Overlook Press. April 2014. 400 pp.  ISBN#: 9780715649565.

What are the Ten Thousand Things that the artist, government official, and philosopher Wang Meng says are “Mind” at the conclusion of this remarkable story which takes place in 14^th Century China?  They are everything sublime and temporal, every experience one could possibly experience combined with the exquisite expression of nature through art.  Stories abound in this rich text of Wang’s life events and stories others have told him that have really occurred or are tales of Chinese history, mythology, and art.  Characters are presented with their highly or poorly developed skills of dealing with the political troubles besetting China at the time and the mix is entrancing.

China of this time is experiencing the attack of rebels on Kublai Khan’s Mongolian rule, the beginning of the movement that will eventually usher in the Ming Dynasty.  Wang is so disgusted by what he experiences as a low-level bureaucrat that he escapes to the solitude of the mountains to draw and paint.  There he loses the jade ring he inherited from a notable and talented relative; the loss seems to affect his ability to paint and he wonders about the power behind objects and their connection to nature.  Is the artist one with all he experiences and expresses?

One tale describes an artist who appears to be almost a madman who throws paint upon paper placed on the floor and dances upon it until what he wants to create appears.  After reflection, while watching, Wang sees the genius of the technique and realizes how limited his skills and paintings are.  Mind creates through multiple and even unimaginable avenues!

The concept of student and master is explored through multiple stories, revealing the possibilities of openness or closure depending on one’s perception.  The same might be seen in the political spectrum; things are not always what may be perceived by participants or observers.

On and on it goes, but what is most remarkable about this collection of tales is the beauty of discovery in each scene, in each painting, in each conversation, in each conflict, and so on.  The characters are complex and simple, revealing the overlay of perception and motivation, again not always so clear and sometimes as clear as an epiphany of revelation.

The Ten Thousand Things is a literary masterpiece that reveals classical philosophy and art of 14^th Century China; it is bound to be best seller and a classic novel that will remain a timeless work beloved of its many readers.