On a Chinese Screen · Character

The Taipan

Thirty years in China, not one word of the language, and a piano repertoire of London musical comedies he'll perform on request for anyone at the club.

major

Also known as taipan

First appearance: XLIX: The Taipan

As a major figure in On a Chinese Screen, The Taipan is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

A powerful Western merchant whose presence embodies colonial authority and the moral compromises of trade.

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The Taipan runs Jardine's, gives generously to charity, plays a decent round of golf, and has never once set foot in the Chinese city beyond his own compradore's office. He is a bachelor by policy — marriage, he says, is no use to a man in China — and he prides himself on hating the country and the people with the same cheerful thoroughness he brings to a billiards tournament. His unfathomable frivolity, that grey-haired man singing Lily Elsie ditties nine thousand miles from home, is what makes him the treaty port's most admired and most unsettling fixture.

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See The Taipan in XLIX: The Taipan

Character Web

6 connections

A slice of how The Taipan sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Psychological
Rivalry
Professional
Other

Character groups

Protagonist
Expatriate Community Members
Social and Authority Figures

+1 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Falling action.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

The emotional peak occurs when the stripling’s youthful audacity and pride in his strength reach their zenith…

Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.

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Relationships

Little Mrs. Turner
psychological · ambivalent
The Doctor
rivalry · negative
Higgins
professional · ambivalent
Fanning
professional · ambivalent

Little Mrs. Turner
Little Mrs. Turner is infatuated with the Taipan, seeking his attention and approval in a dynamic that borders on obsession.
The Doctor
The Doctor and the Taipan are often at odds, representing contrasting worldviews—medical humanitarianism versus commercial pragmatism.
Higgins
Higgins works under the Taipan as a clerk or subordinate, their interactions defined by business orders and hierarchical deference.
Fanning
Fanning is a business associate or subordinate of the Taipan, involved in trade negotiations and company operations.

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See The Taipan in XLIX: The Taipan

In the story

The Taipan appears across 13 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

On a Chinese Screen
A powerful Western merchant whose presence embodies colonial authority and the moral compromises of trade.
VI: Dinner Parties
Represented by the 'number one at Jardine’s' and other business leaders at the Treaty Port dinner.
I: Legation Quarter
Not directly present in the excerpt, but the diplomatic setting and themes of colonial ennui and cultural isolation resonate with the Taipan's world.
IX: The Inn
The narrator, traveling in a sedan chair, arrives at the inn and settles in the guest chamber.
X: The Glory Hole
Present among the company in the Glory Hole, representing the tea firms.
XXI: Dr. Macalister
The narrator, who is the guest at Dr. Macalister's tiffin and observes the doctor's transformation.
XXXVIII: The Philosopher
The narrator's host who initially tries to summon the philosopher in a cavalier manner.
The Skipper
The narrator, who engages the skipper in conversation about democracy and socialism.
Nightfall
Implied as the traveler experiencing nostalgia and sentimentality.
XLIV: The Normal Man
The narrator, who observes and reflects on Robert Webb's character and the rarity of normalcy.
The Old Timer
Not directly present; the old timer's story is independent of the taipan.
XLVII: Failure
The chapter describes a failed tea-taster who embodies the decline of the old merchant class, though the Taipan himself is not directly named; the description aligns with the Taipan's milieu.
XLIX: The Taipan
Protagonist of the chapter; reflects on his career and social ascent, experiences a disturbing hallucination of a grave, and dies of shock or illness after writing a desperate letter to return to England.

Chapter companion notes

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See The Taipan in XLIX: The Taipan

See The Taipan in On a Chinese Screen