INSPIRED BY TRUE EVENTS
 
   

The Place: Anywhere, small or large, a room with at least one teacher and student.

Teacher: Who has ever heard of the Taiping Rebellion?

Student(s): Silence


Teacher:              During the 19th century, it was the greatest
                                     Christian uprising in the world.

Teacher: Does anyone know where this took place?

Student(s): United States?  Africa?  Europe somewhere ... etc. (none correct).

Teacher: The greatest Christian uprising of the 19th century happened in . . . 
                                                             CHINA.

Student(s): (gasp!)


----------------------------------------(you get the idea, right?)---------------------------------------------------
   Christian? China?

 Not now. Individuals, of course, but not as a nation. Western military intervention helped put the final nail in the coffin. 

   The West intervened . . . and did that?

   Never heard of such a thing?

   How about this? The West forced China to import opium.

                     
 Come on. You're kidding. No? XXX!!!!!xxx!         

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
  Paha Sapa Press found these facts so outrageous that when these were presented in a narrative style with believable characters, the decision to publish Stirring Li Chao was easy. The book was published in the fall of 2016. 

As a book of historical fiction, it merges an accounting of actual events with the fictional character, Li Chao. This helps to "get inside" these epic events. Proverbs, photos, illustrations, images--all these enhance the experience.

 Responsible for upwards of thirty million deaths (. . . which is not a misprint--we're talking MILLIONS!), those living in the midst of the Taiping Rebellion, Christian, Daoists, Confucianists, Buddhists, even dogs might have wondered (phrased as a Chinese might) . . .   
                                                                         
                                                         "What is Heaven’s reason?”
 __________________________________________________________________
From the backcover:

For anyone who has ever thought to question the role of western intervention in foreign affairs, or wanted to learn more about the “Middle Kingdom,” its ancient philosophies and spiritual heritage, and how these have influenced Chinese culture, the story of Li Chao, replete with over 60 proverbs, as a book of historical fiction, is a fine alternative for those who want the facts (but want the fun of fiction too).

Falsely accused, forced to forego a love and flee into the heart of a bloody civil/religious war, Li Chao struggles to make sense of life, death, and destiny. Wrestling with personal tragedies and a shocking crisis of identity, from a remote northern province, carrying wisdom from the ages, armed only with wits and grit, Li Chao aims for the southern shore (Canton)—but longs for more. Ruled by an ethos of filial duty and ancestral responsibility, yet lured by news of America’s gold, he embraces a journey of a lifetime—but with untold snares ahead and a demon hound behind, to reach his goal is anything but certain.
 

Note to the Reader
(extracted from the author's opening in the book)
​

​During the course of researching the reasons that prompted so many Chinese to leave their homeland and make the dangerous voyage to America during the latter half of the 19th century, I found that news of gold discoveries in America (which they referred to as "Gold Mountain") was not their only motivation. The Taiping Rebellion continued to rage (lasting over a decade before it was over). Many fled to escape the bloodshed. They became refugees.

In an attempt to understand not just the nature of the war, but how an individual might have perceived and reacted to such circumstances, required the study of a culture behind the thinking. Besides that, unless this person lived on a port city, it would require travel to get there, and naturally, it was my business to tag along and record the journey (fictitiously, of course)—and glimpse the forbearers of the present. (See map of Li Chao's journey on another page.)

​Many of the names presented in this book were actual participants in this clash of pagans, powers, missionaries and beliefs. Few in the west, I suspect, have ever heard of this precursor to the infamous Boxer Rebellion (which occurred decades after the demise of the Taiping). Precisely because of this suspicious underreporting of such a major event, it seemed worthy of mention here. Presenting facts as I found them, I also tried to give differing vantage points room to speak their minds.

         Reviews for Stirring Li Chao can be found on our blog page

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