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hockgtjoa

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first registered 27.12.10

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about me

Hock G. Tjoa was born in Singapore to Chinese parents. He studied history at Brandeis and Harvard and taught European history and Asian political thought at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur. He has published George Henry Lewes, a Victorian Mind, "The social and political ideas of Tan Cheng Lock" and various articles in the Newsletter of the China History Forum. He is married and lives with his family in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California.
In 2010, he published The Battle of Chibi, selections translated from "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" (one of four traditional Chinese classics). In 2011, he adapted Lao She's "Tea House," Mandarin original first published in 1953, publishing it as Heaven is High and the Emperor Far Away, a Play. Both are part of his goal to contribute to a wider and greater understanding of China and Asia. He continues to work at this and is writing Operation Kashgar (working title), a spy thriller told from the point of view of the Spymaster of China.

favourite books

The Life of Pi, by Yann Martel.
Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Murakami
Genghis, Conn Iggulden
Haroun and the Ocean of Songs, Salman Rushdie
The Ring Trilogy, J. R. R. Tolkein
Blood Money, David Ignatius
The Chinese Emperor, Jean Levi (French original won a Prix Goncourt)
A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson
My Lead Dog Was a Lesbian, Brian Patrick O'Donoghue

my websites

http://hockgtjoa.blogspot.com/     http://www.amazon.com/Hock-Guan-Tjoa/e/B001HPMVZY

HarperCollins is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Self-publish with CreateSpace

my books

The Battle of Chibi (Red Cliff....

Hock G. Tjoa

The Battle of Chibi vividly retells selections (translated by the author) from the great Chinese classic, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.


Long ago, along a stretch of a river deep and wide but far away from the consciousness or imagination of anyone outside All under Heaven, a battle was fought that determined the fate of its people for the next four hundred years.

This novel combines fascinating characters in action as well as ideas in conflict and battle scenes, deception, and earnest debate; there is even a marriage arranged for the purpose of entrapping of the Loyalist leader.

It weaves together stories, drama, poetry--events and episodes that have engrossed Asian readers and listeners for the last seventeen hundred years. Above all, the warriors and leaders in this retelling, their loyalties and conflicts, show why this classic has been valued as the best introduction to Chinese thought.

The selected chapters are from a revision prepared for an e-version, May 2012 , expected publication date September 2012.

 

OPERATION KASHGAR (working tit....

Hock G. Tjoa

The Pashtuns in Afghanistan and Pakistan are determined to break away from both and form their own nation-state--with a nuclear device as bargaining chip.


Routine surveillance of North Korean activity brings to the attention of the Chinese intelligence agency a potential arms deal involving the sale of a nuclear device to the Pashtuns. Intrigued, the Chinese cast their intelligence net wider and discover FIVE other deals in the works. Spymaster Wang is concerned with nuclear proliferation, wrenching geopolitical realignments and the example the "Pashtun Spring" will have on restless minorities in China, such as the Tibetans and the Uyghurs.
The Spymaster must negotiate inter-agency and bureaucratic rivalries and personal ambitions, at home and abroad. Accompanied by his deputies--Hu, the Administrative Chief, and Tang, his most senior Analyst--he makes a journey to the West to build bridges.
Wang reaches for ancient insight into strategies for small states confronting superior forces and reflects on classical techniques of using an opponent's strength against him. But the struggle he must undertake cannot cease and the outcome always remains in doubt.
This is not the usual tale of "feel good vengeance" or the exploration of the Western id or libido in espionage. It appeals to readers with a curiosity about non-western traditions, cultures and expectations about the value of action--and non-action.
UPDATED 3/16/12

 

Heaven is High and the Emperor....

Hock G. Tjoa

This is the script for a play set in a teahouse in Beijing before 1950.


The world as depicted is that of those living at the bottom edge of civility into which corruption and exploitation roughly intrude; a world of little people caught up in the spin-cycle of world historical change. Imagine living through the American Revolution as a clerk or laborer, not one of those Sons of Liberty let alone a member of the Virginia aristocracy.

 

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latest

Casimir Greenfield wrote 1 day ago

Hi there - just extending the hand of friendship. I’ve been here f....

Christopher Roy Denton wrote 4 days ago

You're welcome! Yes, the Afridi are a Pukhtun tribe. I only meant ....

Sharda D wrote 6 days ago

Thank you so much. Eternally grateful!

Sharda D wrote 6 days ago

Dear Hock, thanks so much for keeping Mr Unusually's Circus of Dream....

kristylo wrote 7 days ago

HELLO, How are you today.my name is kristy,i saw your profile today ....

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my comments

latest

I wrote recently

I found this very interesting but also too much work. There is a great deal of originality and creativity in the imagination of the writer but this poor reader needs to see it in a language that he can understand more easily. I wish you much success with this; I think it is worth five stars but I ... view book

I wrote 7 days ago

I very much enjoyed reading chapters 4, 5, and 6 -- were 1, 2, and 3 included so that you would meet the minimum requirement? Anyway, the writing is good, the story (what there was of it) interesting although somewhat predictable. But there isn't enough to decide if this is going to be simply a po... view book

I wrote 12 days ago

Dear Fatema, I am afraid, this is not for me. I need characters and plot to relate to, although there have been exceptions in my reading. I wish you all the best; there is depth of feeling and power of expression in your writing. Regards, view book

I wrote 13 days ago

This is a story that has me hooked. It is well told (despite a few typos). Just brilliant. view book

I wrote 13 days ago

This is well imagined and well written. The story started with a Prologue in Michigan--I guess that was a kind of a pitch. The next chapters were all in Queensland with a drought and much young adult and tween trauma. This is a genre that does not appeal to me, I regret to say. My loss. I wish ... view book

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