Prelusion (Preface) of Bellatrix, sequel to Unconquered

​This book is dedicated to
the memory of
two special friends
who made
this book and trilogy possible

Michael K.S. Pang
and
Yang Qianli 

Prelusion
One might think writing a book, even a trilogy, would be easier than building and running a television station with no money, a feat I was foolish enough to attempt in my youth. This assumption is categorically and indubitably erroneous. Writing is harder by multiple degrees of magnitude. I’m not suggesting authors should put down their pens and start building TV stations, which requires certain deranged bravado and recklessness, as well as a total disregard for the real world's economic consequences. Make no mistake, many people helped me with my TV endeavour, and I would like to thank them all, but it’s a story for another time. 

When it comes to creative writing, combining imagination with substance, such as the chapters in Unconquered recounting the life and death of the Shang Dynasty warrior queen, Fu Hao, I couldn’t have done it without help either. And help came my way over the years, often without my realizing it. 

In 1980, when I was producing a weekly one-hour Chinese-language program on Toronto’s multilingual television station CFMT-TV, now Rogers OMNI-TV, I included a cultural segment on the etymology of Chinese characters. Initially, I drew all my material from Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字), the first Chinese dictionary authored by Xu Shen (許慎) around 100 CE during the Eastern Han Dynasty. However, I found some of the book’s definitions to be unsatisfactory. As I was not a Chinese scholar, I needed help, for which I approached Professor James Hsu (RIP), who was teaching East Asian Studies at the University of Toronto. By a stroke of luck, the professor was an expert on ancient China. At the time, he was working on a project categorizing a large cache of oracle bones for the Royal Ontario Museum. He introduced me to his seminal work, Ancient Chinese Society, one of my go-to references for writing the story of the Shang. Professor Hsu is mentioned in Unconquered as David Huang’s mentor, whereas his academic achievements are fictionalized as his protégé’s attributes in the story, a commixture of fact and fiction.

In 1989, I was introduced to Michael Pang in Toronto, who was presented as a mogul in the broadcast and television technologies industry. He was a Chinese Canadian from Hong Kong, similar to my status, and his Hong Kong-based company was a major player in mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. During the 1990s, his company further developed a dominant position in the professional and broadcast audio sector, implementing numerous high-profile projects in China. 

In early 1991, I accepted the court appointment to serve as the receiver-manager of the television station I helped establish. After resuscitating the service and pulling the company back from the brink of total collapse, I realized I needed to build a new production facility to replace the old one, which was falling apart. It would also improve the company’s asset value, hopefully commanding a higher price in the eventual asset sale to repay all creditors. Michael helped by introducing me to the latest cutting-edge technologies at the time. He also intervened to settle a dispute between a mutual friend and the TV station, to which I was bound by fiduciary duty, resolving a problem inherited from before the receivership to everyone’s satisfaction. Afterwards, Michael returned to Hong Kong to focus on developing his company’s business in the vibrant Chinese market.

Following the successful auction sale of the television station and the termination of the receivership, I visited Hong Kong in 1997 to witness the handover ceremony of the city’s return to China. I dropped in on Michael. One thing led to another, and I stayed to set up a company in Guangzhou with Michael’s support. I ended up living and working in China for twenty years. It is safe to say, without his help, I would not have had enough knowledge about China to author any of the books of this trilogy. 

Over the years, I became much better acquainted with Michael. He introduced me to everyone in his family, including his four brothers. His younger brother, Francis, a pioneer in education, founded the Beijing Concord College of Sino-Canada. The high school is the first in China to issue dual Chinese and Canadian diplomas to its graduates, allowing them to enter Canadian universities directly. Michael was also involved in the project and helped develop an extensive network of educational establishments across China, including the Canadian International School of Beijing, which received a two-decade commemoration plaque from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during his first state visit to Beijing. Two characters in the trilogy, Charlie and Viola, attend the schools. For his contributions to education and in strengthening Canada-China relations, Francis received the Order of Canada.  (The schools are now operated by Charles, Francis' son, who received the commemoration plaque from Prime Minister Carney.)

Life is a box of chocolates, but now and then, one encounters a bitter variety. Michael’s family suffered the scourge of cancer, and he was a victim of it. Nevertheless, all the good deeds he had done in life would not be in vain. This trilogy could not have existed without Michael. This book is, therefore, dedicated to his memory. 

Michael’s China story started with a young, wide-eyed broadcast engineer who went to China in 1972 to support the satellite newscast of Nixon’s historic visit. He would stay to significantly impact the development of China’s television, radio and audio industries. It is a fascinating story for another time.

In 2005, while working on network coding technologies in China, I became acquainted with an elderly Chinese gentleman, whose name, when mentioned by people who recognized it, seemed to cast a spell of awe over them. Mr. Yang Qianli, the founder and chairman of the annual China Satellite Application Conference, was also a member of the Technology Committee of the Chang’e Moon-landing Project and a senior professor on the dissertation panels of China’s top universities in science and technology. At the same time, he was a three-star general and the Deputy Director of the Communications Department of the General Staff of the PLA, who had led the technology and engineering team in launching China’s first geosynchronous communications satellite. Despite his reputation for being strict and uncompromising in his demand for perfection, Director Yang only showed me his kindness and easy-going nature, and we hit it off immediately. He also introduced me to Sidney Rittenberg, an American who had lived an extraordinary life in China. 
​
When Director Yang learned of my interest in oracle bones, he organized a visit to Anyang, where the site of Yinxu, the ruins of the last capital of the Shang Dynasty, was located. Upon our arrival, the head of the military establishment in the area, Commander Xu, who was a close friend of Director Yang and fictionalized as Uncle Xu in Unconquered, rolled out the red carpet to welcome us. Thus, the story of Fu Hao and the discovery of her undisturbed tomb began to germinate in my mind. Though past retirement age, Director Yang worked tirelessly, contributing to China's rejuvenation. He passed away in 2020 after combating cancer for years. I visited him after he was committed to the hospital, and he was holding endless meetings in his room. This trilogy, especially this book, is also dedicated to his memory.

Readers who have enjoyed Unconquered will find the sequel, Bellatrix, equally stimulating and captivating. In addition to new, surprising theories about Shang’s origin, its migration route, and the identity of Xia, Shang’s preceding dynasty, the book will reveal heretofore unexplained mysteries in the Chinese classic Dream of the Red Chamber. Readers will discover the true backgrounds of the author, his wife and two survivors of the twelve leading ladies featured in the story. A big surprise lurks within the last pages of Bellatrix, but peeking is strictly prohibited. Carpe Liber—seize the book!