Tai Pan (1986)
Directors: Daryl Duke
Cast: Bryan Brown, Joan Chen, John Stanton, Tim Guinee, Bill Leadbitter, Russell Wong
"Tai-Pan is Chinese for "supreme leader". This is the man with real power in his hands. And such a Tai-Pan is Dirk Struan who is obsessed by his plan to make Hong Kong the "jewel in the crown of her British Majesty". In 1841 he achieves his goal but he has many enemies who try to destroy his plans. Will they succeed?" (Source: www.amazon.com)
This movie deals primarily with the in-fighting between two rivals for dominance of the British opium trade in and around Hong Kong. Bryan Brown is the leader of one firm. (He seemed to me a bad choice for the role, since he was just too thin and tall and not tough looking enough. But that's just one man's opinion.) Brown has a wife and children back in Scotland, but his true home seems to be China. He has a beautiful Chinese mistress (played wonderfully by Joan Chen) and seems very content. But the leader of the other firm, played by John Stanton, is out to destroy all this happiness in an attempt to become the dominant figure in the China trade in the area. Tim Guinee is perfectly objectionable as Stanton's sexual sadist son.
The Chinese are there, but are only secondary figures of interest (except, of course, for Joan Chen). The focus is almost totally on these two budding robber barons and their various machinations to come out on top. I was disappointed that there was not much history in the movie, but as a story in-and-of-itself, it is pretty good. And Joan is nice to look at. And the movie does give us a chance to discuss Britain's opium trade in China. Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.
Historical Background:
Hong Kong is located on the South East coast of China, 80 miles South East of Canton, at the mouth of the Peal River. It has one of the worlds largest natural deep water harbors. The heart of the Hong Kong metropolis is the capital of Victoria on Hong Kong island. Other parts of Hong Kong are the Kowloon peninsula and the New Territories (which includes more than 230 surrounding islands). Tall mountains rise from the sea and create a rugged topography.
Through the Mongol invasions of the Tang and Song dynasties Hong Kong was an important trading center.
1279-1368 Yuan Dynasty (Mongolian control)
After that, the attention on Hong Kong declined.
1368-1644 Ming Dynasty
Mongol rule in China was brought to an end after civil war among Mongol princes.
1513 Hong Kong was first visited by the Portuguese mariner Jorge Αlvares. Αlvares began trading with the Chinese, as well as other trade stops up and down the coast of China. The Portuguese introduced tea, silk and other goods to Europe.
Portuguese merchants traded in Southern China. But clashes between China and Portugal ensued and the Portuguese were expelled.
1644-1911 Qing Dynasty
1644-1662 emperor Shun Zhi (Shun Chih).
1662-1723 emperor Kang Xi (Kang Hsi) 1662 - 1723 AD
1699 the British East India Company made the first sea venture to China. Soon after, Hong Kong's trade with British merchants grew rapidly. Hong Kong was established by the British East India Company.
1711 the British East India Company established a trading post in Canton (Guangzhou).
During the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong became one of the foremost military outposts for Imperial China.
1723 - 1736 emperor Yong Zheng (Yong Cheng).
1736-1796 emperor Qian Long (Chien Lung).
1773 the British East India Company assumed the monopoly of opium trading in Bengal, India and supplied the opium trade in China.
1796-1821 emperor Jia Qing (Chia Ching).
19th century -- a valuable business was the smuggling of opium to China from India, particularly by the British.
1821 - 1851 emperor Dao Guang (Dao Kuang).
by 1825 most of the money needed to buy tea in China was raised by the opium trade.
The Ming, and their successors the Qing, looking inward, remained unaware of the full extent of European expansion in southern Asia. By the time the Chinese realized that they themselves were threatened, it was too late to do anything about it.
1839-1842 -- the First Opium War started when the Chinese imperial government confronted foreign merchant ships and demanded they surrender their illegal cargo. Capt. Elliot, superintendent of the British fleet, asked the governor-general of India for as many ships as he could spare. He sent them to Hong Kong, where they protected the opium-carrying merchant vessels. Chinese junks sent by the emperor didn't stand a chance against the British warships.
1841 the British flag was placed on Hong Kong island by merchant-adventurers expelled from Canton.
1841 the British invaded China and won the First Opium War. During the war, Hong Kong was occupied by the British.
1842 (August 29) -- after the deaths of thousands of Chinese, the first Opium War ended with the Treaty of Nanking. The treaty forced the Chinese government to pay $15 million to the British merchants. Furthermore, it opened up five ports to English trade.
1842 Hong Kong was formally ceded by the Qing Dynasty of China under the Treaty of Nanking.
By the mid-18th century tea, in particular, was in high demand.
1843 Hong Kong became a crown colony.
1851-1862 emperor Xian Feng (Hsien Feng).
1851 -- Taiping Rebellion. A failed examination candidate named Hong Xiuquan, deranged by his failure, started a rebellion. He consolidated his power in the south, allowing the Manchus, just barely, to save themselves.
1854 -- Britain demanded the Qing authorities renegotiate the Treaty of Nanking to include: opening all of China to British merchants, legalizing the opium trade, exempting foreign imports from internal transit duties, suppression of piracy, regulation of the coolie trade, and permission for a British ambassador to reside in Beijing.
1856 (October 8) -- Qing officials boarded the Chinese owned ship the Arrow, and arrested twelve Chinese for suspected piracy and smuggling. British officials in Guangzhou demanded the release of the sailors because they were protected under the Unequal Treaties. Fighting the Taiping Rebellion, the Chinese officials had to back down.
1856-1860 -- the Second Opium War pitted the United Kingdom and France against the Qing Dynasty of China.
1857 -- responding to the Arrow incident, the British attacked Guangzho, taking the nearby fort and the town. American warships bombed Guangzhou. The people and soldier in Guangzhou forced the enemy to retreat from Humen.
1857 (late) -- the British and the French joined forces to attack and occupy Guangzhou, which they held for four years.
1858 (June) -- the first part of the war ended with the Treaty of Tientsin which opened eleven more Chinese ports to Western trade.
1860 (by October 6) -- the French and English occupied Beijing.
1860 (October 18) -- emperor's brother Prince Gong finally ratified the Treaty of Tientsin in the Convention of Peking, bringing The Second Opium War to an end.
1860 Kowloon Peninsula south of Boundary Street and Stonecutter's Island were ceded to the British under the Convention of Peking after the Second Opium War.
1862 the first specially recruited Hong Kong civil servants (to be taught Cantonese) were recruited.
1862-1875 emperor Tong Zhi (Tung Chih).
1875 - 1908 emperor Guang Xu (Kuang Hsu).
1898 (June 30) various adjacent lands were leased for 99 years.
1908 - 1911 emperor Xuan Tong (Hsuan Tung).
WWII Japanese Occupation lasted for three years and eight months. The cruel Japanese executed many residents of Hong Kong.
1911-1949 -- the Republic of China
1945 (August 15) the Japanese surrendered. The port was quickly re-opened.
1949 Hong Kong accepted a mass migration of Chinese refugees from the Chinese civil war and the coming of the Communist government.
Korean War the United Nations ordered a trade embargo against the Peoples Republic of China and Hong Kong lost its position as an entrepot.
Hong Kong established a textile industry and the economy grew extremely rapidly.
towards the 1970s greater growth was achieved when Hong Kong developed its financial and banking economy.
Late 1970s still great economic growth under the Open Door Policy (adopted under Deng Xiaoping).
1980s the British government of Margaret Thatcher started negotiations with China on Hong Kong.
1984 (December 19) the United Kingdom and China signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration, that would transfer Hong Kong to China.
1997 (June 30) end of the British lease on Hong Kong.
1997 Hong Kong under became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the PRC.
2003 (summer) Hong Kong was hit badly by the SARS virus.
Return to Home Page (Vernon Johns Society)