A master in hell before a minion in Heaven. I'll be a prince in China, and lord over
these heathen beggars, or I'll make a great many of them wish they'd better joss –
better luck – than to cross my bow.
Arriving in the midst of the bloodiest civil war in human history, Fletcher Thorson
Wood takes up the imperial cause against the "Christian" rebels, trains and fights
beside native Chinese troops, mandarins, and “Manilamen,” builds the most
powerful Army in China, and as reward for his achievements grateful Chinese
appoint Fletcher a mandarin of high rank, a general, and even honor him with a
temple near Shanghai.
Yankee Mandarin makes the reader see, feel, and understand the tumult of 1860s
China – “the ships and weapons, the countryside with its intricate network of canals,
the arcane maneuverings of Chinese politicians and merchants and the equally
complex rivalries among the foreign powers, the squalid bars and brothels whose
denizens simply struggled to survive each day, and the equally squalid conditions of
the Chinese people in their villages.”
Yankee Mandarin also is about the encounter, sometimes the clash, of Americans
and Chinese. More than a historical adventure, this novel recreates times long past,
places long lost in China, and long-silent voices of people in America, China,
England and the Philippines who lived through cataclysmic events that echo still.
these heathen beggars, or I'll make a great many of them wish they'd better joss –
better luck – than to cross my bow.
Arriving in the midst of the bloodiest civil war in human history, Fletcher Thorson
Wood takes up the imperial cause against the "Christian" rebels, trains and fights
beside native Chinese troops, mandarins, and “Manilamen,” builds the most
powerful Army in China, and as reward for his achievements grateful Chinese
appoint Fletcher a mandarin of high rank, a general, and even honor him with a
temple near Shanghai.
Yankee Mandarin makes the reader see, feel, and understand the tumult of 1860s
China – “the ships and weapons, the countryside with its intricate network of canals,
the arcane maneuverings of Chinese politicians and merchants and the equally
complex rivalries among the foreign powers, the squalid bars and brothels whose
denizens simply struggled to survive each day, and the equally squalid conditions of
the Chinese people in their villages.”
Yankee Mandarin also is about the encounter, sometimes the clash, of Americans
and Chinese. More than a historical adventure, this novel recreates times long past,
places long lost in China, and long-silent voices of people in America, China,
England and the Philippines who lived through cataclysmic events that echo still.
About the author: James Lande was born in Los Angeles in 1945 and grew up in Southern California. He served four years in the U. S. Army, graduated from the University of
Washington with a BA in Chinese Language and Literature, and lived in China (Taiwan) for three years. James was seasoned by a variety of jobs (ambulance attendant, marine
biology technician, hospital orderly, taxicab driver, policeman, swimming pool manager, ESL teacher, bartender, Chinese driving instructor, casualty insurance investigator...)
before settling into a 30-year career as a commercial applications software developer and project manager. Over the years, James has attempted several novels - Yankee
Mandarin is his first novel to reach publication.
Washington with a BA in Chinese Language and Literature, and lived in China (Taiwan) for three years. James was seasoned by a variety of jobs (ambulance attendant, marine
biology technician, hospital orderly, taxicab driver, policeman, swimming pool manager, ESL teacher, bartender, Chinese driving instructor, casualty insurance investigator...)
before settling into a 30-year career as a commercial applications software developer and project manager. Over the years, James has attempted several novels - Yankee
Mandarin is his first novel to reach publication.
Yankee Mandarin is no longer available at Amazon. However, a free copy of the eBook (mobi) can be requested from the publisher Old China Books |
Yankee Mandarin website copyright 2012 by James Lande
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| Click to register for the Old China Books book blog and follow along with the author's discussions of Yankee Mandarin |
| Only one man dared fight to defend Shanghai from rebel hordes – the American adventurer who called up a ragtag band of derelicts to defeat armies of thousands |
“…puts the reader directly into the chaos of mid-19th century Shanghai.”
"Historically convincing and very, very lively!" Pamela K. Crossley, author of The
Orphan Warriors
"A fascinating, eminently readable and vivid evocation of the time, place and
personalities of a truly remarkable moment in modern Chinese history." Richard J.
Smith, author of Mercenaries and Mandarins
"Historically convincing and very, very lively!" Pamela K. Crossley, author of The
Orphan Warriors
"A fascinating, eminently readable and vivid evocation of the time, place and
personalities of a truly remarkable moment in modern Chinese history." Richard J.
Smith, author of Mercenaries and Mandarins
| Yankee Mandarin is a publisher’s experiment in repackaging our title Yang Shen for what we are told is a different audience – readers who buy eBooks and make them bestsellers on Amazon. This edition of the novel has been reduced to bare essentials, removing all the paraphernalia having to do with the print edition, all the Chinese language, and the appendices, to make a slim edition with a new title that can be more quickly evaluated by a potential reader on the basis of cover, blurb, and the first 300 words. Otherwise, Yankee Mandarin tells the same exciting tale as Yang Shen. |