J. Clavell "Tai-Pan : The Second Novel of the Asian Saga"

Set in the turbulent days of the founding of Hong Kong in the 1840s, TAi-PAN is the story of Dirk Struan, the ruler - the tai-pan - of the most powerful trading company in the Far East. He is also a pirate an opium smuggler, and a master manipulator of men. This is the story of his fight to establish himself and his dynasty as the undisputed masters of the Orient.