by Meira Chand
For some moments Teng was silent.
‘If that is your feeling then that is what you must do. All that you say is right,’ he answered at last.
The small room seemed to glow brighter in the setting sun. Teng looked up at the shaft of brilliant light and then down at the shadows it cast on the floor, of himself and of Akira. It seemed to him suddenly that, if there was an existence after death, it would have to continue at the level of consciousness attained in a lifetime. This was why earthly life was of such significance. It was not in the dimension beyond life, but only here, where opposites clashed, that the level of consciousness could be raised. And if there were rebirth, it was that level of knowledge taken over in death that would be returned to the world with each new incarnation.
Teng stepped forward and then stopped to look back once more at the shadows trailing behind them. He walked on and Akira followed.
PRINCIPAL FICTIONAL CHARACTERS
Cordelia Addison
Donald Addison
John Addison
Dr Janet Allen
Dr Chen
Old Chieko
Bill Clayton
Flora Clayton
Lily Clayton
Martha Clayton
Michiko Dayal
Tilik Dayal
Mr Fukutake
Jun Hasegawa
Colonel Kato
Dr Keswick
Nadya Komosky
Sergei Lekhovich
Marco Mariani
Mr Metzger
Art Morton
Akira Murata
Captain Nakamura
Kenjiro Nozaki
Jacqueline Nozaki
Naomi Nozaki
Shizuko Nozaki
Yuzuru Nozaki
Mr Ohara
Fat Man Ping
First Secretary Henry Percival
Mrs Primakov
Bradley Reed
Joe Russed
Ivan Shepenov
Hugh Smollett
Rod Smythe
Mr Strang
Professor Teng Li-sheng
Colonel Zayazeff
Heiner Zimmer
PRINCIPAL HISTORICAL CHARACTERS
General Korechika Anami
Lieutenant Anders
General Prince Yasuhiko Asaka
Rash Bihari Bose
Subash Chandra Bose
Chang Hsueh-liang
Chang Tso-lin
Grandma Chao
Chiang Kai-shek
Madame Chiang Kai-shek
Prince Chichibu
W. H. Donald
General Dyer
Dr Grazier
Ambassador Grew
Colonel Kingoro Hashimoto
Counsellor Shunrokuro Hidaka
Emperor Hirohito
Father Jacquinot
American Consul Johnson
Joseph Keenan
Marquis Koichi Kido
Prince Fumimaro Konoye
General Douglas MacArthur
Count Makino
General Iwane Matsui
Emperor Meiji
Prince Mikasa
Colonel Akira Muto
Empress Nagako
Admiral Nagano
General Kesago Nakajima
General Maresuke Nogi
General Sugiyama
Kantaro Suzuki
Emperor Taisho (Prince Yoshihito)
Prince Takamatsu
Police Commissioner Tegart
General Hideki Tojo
Mitsuru Toyama
Amleto Vespa
Sir William Webb
General Heisuke Yanagawa
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The happenings in this book are based closely upon historical events, and many of the characters who appear in this narrative are based upon actual figures and their roles in the era covered. It is, however, important to stress that, while I hope the book may be seen as an historical document, it is also a work of fiction. All portraits of the characters portrayed are fictional, as are many of the events. My interpretation of Emperor Hirohito and other historical figures is purely my own.
Many books were vital to me in my research, and I am grateful to them all for their illuminations. I must, however, particularly mention Japanese Terror in China by H. J. Timperly, correspondent for the Manchester Guardian at the time of the rape of Nanking. This contains the almost day by day official documentation of the International Committee of the Safety Zone in Nanking, during the time of their ordeal. It contains, as well as the official filing of reports and numerous letters to the Japanese Embassy, confidential reports, personal letters and diary entries of unimpeachable verity.
Dr Keswick’s letter in the front of the old Bible belonging to Martha Clayton, is taken from Guinness of Honan by Mrs Howard Taylor, for which I am also indebted for an insight into missionary life in China.
I have also valued greatly the interesting recounting of his life told to me by A. M. Nair in Tokyo shortly before his death.
I would like to thank Dr Kaoru Sugihara for his advice while planning this book and also Dr Shou-ren Wang. I am most grateful to Prof. John Pritchard for his detailed reading of the finished manuscript for historical accuracy and many helpful comments. I should also like to thank Shegeki Hijino and Prof. Philip Billingsley for a further reading of the text in this regard. And my further thanks to Yoriko Kohno for her generous help with research.
ALSO BY MEIRA CHAND
THE GOSSAMER FLY
ISBN: 978-981-4828-21-5
Confronted by an arrogant and manipulative new maid after her mother is sent back to England following a breakdown, Natsuko, a young girl of English-Japanese parentage, is thrust into a dark and sinister adult world, causing her to retreat into mounting isolation, confusion, fear and anger, leading to a dramatic conclusion in this emotionally charged story.
LAST QUADRANT
ISBN: 978-981-4828-22-2
In the havoc of a great typhoon, Akiko finds herself stranded with Eva, her adoptive mother, Kyo, the natural mother she has never known and Daniel, a troubled young man who has fallen in love with her. In the brief calm of the typhoon’s eye, the group arrives at the comparative safety of their wealthy English neighbour’s concrete house. There they must wait out the violence of the last quadrant – the wildest part of the storm. As the refugees draw together in a fight for survival and are forced to reckon with their deepest selves, the terrible night becomes a turning point for each of them.
THE BONSAI TREE
ISBN: 978-981-4828-23-9
Liberal-minded heir to a traditional business empire, Jun Nagai brings his beautiful, intelligent English wife Kate Scott back to Japan after a whirlwind romance. A marriage his powerful and complex mother Itsuko naturally disapproves. While Jun is pulled between the two cultures, owing loyalty to both, Kate is thrown into an unfamiliar world. Stripped of all romantic illusions, she struggles to retain her individuality in a world where her role of a wife lies within strict social constructs.
SACRED WATERS
ISBN: 978-981-4779-50-0
Orphaned as a child and widowed at thirteen, Sita has always known the shame of being born female in Indian society. Her life constrained and shaped by the men around her, she could not be more different from her daughter, Amita, a headstrong university professor determined to live life on her own terms. Richly layered and beautifully evocative, the novel is a compelling exploration of two women’s struggle to assert themselves in male-dominated societies of both the past and the present.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Meira Chand is of Indian-Swiss parentage and was born and educated in London. She has lived for many years in Japan, and also in India. In 1997 she moved to Singapore, and is now a citizen of the country. Her multi-cultural heritage is reflected in her novels.
Also by Meira Chand:
A Different Sky
A Far Horizon
House of the Sun
The Painted Cage
Meira Chand, A Choice of Evils
