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![]() First edition (UK) | |
Author | Tan Twan Eng |
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Cover artist | Caroline Tomlinson for jellylondon.com |
Language | English |
Publisher | Myrmidon (UK) Weinstein (US) |
Publication date | 2007 (UK), 2008 (US) |
Publication place | United Kingdom |
Media type | Print & eBook |
Pages | 448 |
ISBN | 1-905802-04-8 |
Followed by | The Garden of Evening Mists (2012) |
The Gift of Rain is the first novel by Malaysian novelist Tan Twan Eng. It was published in 2007 by Myrmidon Books in the United Kingdom and the following year by Weinstein Books in the United States, and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize that year. [1]
The novel is set in Penang. It concerns Philip Hutton, of mixed Chinese-English heritage, and his relationship with Hayato Endo, a Japanese diplomat who teaches him aikido. As war looms and the Japanese invade, both Endo and Philip find themselves torn between their loyalty to each other, versus loyalty to their country and family, respectively. Philip decides to assist the Japanese and Endo in administering the country in an attempt to keep his family safe, but wherever possible, he passes intelligence to the guerrilla fighters of Force 136, [2] which include his best friend Kon.
Hapkido is a Korean martial art. It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, grappling, throwing techniques, kicks, punches, and other striking attacks. It also teaches the use of traditional weapons, including knife, sword, rope, nunchaku, cane, short stick, and middle-length staff, gun, and bō (Japanese), which vary in emphasis depending on the particular tradition examined.
The Snake Temple, also known as the Temple of the Azure Clouds, is a Chinese temple within George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. Located at Bayan Lepas, the temple is well-known for being a refuge of resident snakes, said to be reincarnated disciples of the deified Buddhist monk Master Qingshui, to whom the temple is dedicated.
Choi Yong-sool, alternative spelling Choi Yong-sul, was the founder of the martial art Hapkido. He was born in today's North Chungcheong Province, South Korea and was taken to Japan during the Japanese occupation of Korea when he was eight years old. Choi later stated that he became a student of Takeda Sōkaku, and studied a form of jujutsu known as Daitō-ryū Aiki-jūjutsu (大東流合気柔術) while in Japan. Choi returned to Korea after the end of World War II and in 1948 began teaching his art at a brewery owned by the father of his first student Seo Bok-seob. He first called his art "Yu Sul (유술)" or "Yawara " later changing it to "Yu Kwon Sool " and "Hap Ki Yu Kwon Sool " and eventually Hapkido.
Kapitan China Chung Keng Quee was the founder and administrator of modern Taiping in Perak, Malaysia. Appointed "Capitan China" by the British in 1877, he was a millionaire philanthropist and known as an innovator in the mining of tin. He was involved in many other industries including farming, pawnbroking and logging. He was respected by both Chinese and European communities in the early colonial settlement. His survival in the chaotic era owes much to his standing as leader of the Hai San, a Chinese secret society in British Malaya during the time of the Larut Wars (1862–73). a position he is said to have held till early 1884 although in all probability he continued to remain a leading member. The old fort at Teluk Batu was built by him to safeguard the mine that he opened there. He was a member of the Commission for the Pacification of Larut and sat as one of six members of the Advisory Perak State Council appointed by the British. Commenting on the role of the Perak Council, Richard James Wilkinson wrote,
"It is for the reader, in the light of subsequent events, to judge how far the Councillors were right or wrong, and to see for himself who really did the pioneer work of building up the prosperity of Perak. In the published accounts of British rule in Malaya, sufficient prominence has not always been given to the efforts of these early pioneers; the reaper, intent on his own work, is apt to forget the man who sowed. These Council Minutes are the record of the work of the sowers. A study of that record will show how much the State owes to Sir Hugh Low and to his fellow-Councillors, especially Raja Dris, Sir William Maxwell, and the Chinese towkays, Ah Kwi [Chung Keng Quee] and Ah Yam."
Hankido (Korean: 한기도) is a new martial art style developed by Myung Jae-nam using circular flowing movements owing to Myung Jae-nam's background in traditional Korean dance.
The architecture of Penang reflects the 171 years of British presence on the island, coalescing with local, Chinese, Indian, Islamic and other elements to create a unique and distinctive brand of architecture. Along with Malacca, Penang is an architectural gem of Malaysia and Southeast Asia. Unlike Singapore, also a Straits Settlement, where many heritage buildings had to make way for modern skyscrapers and high-rise apartments due to rapid development and acute land scarcity, Penang's architectural heritage has enjoyed a better fate. Penang has one of the largest collections of pre-war buildings in Southeast Asia. This is for the most part due to the Rent Control Act which froze house rental prices for decades, making redevelopment unprofitable. With the repeal of this act in 2000 however, property prices skyrocketed and development has begun to encroach upon these buildings, many of which are in a regrettable state of disrepair. The government in recent years has allocated more funding to finance the restoration of a number of derelict heritage buildings, most notably Suffolk House, City Hall and historic buildings in the old commercial district.
Chung Ling High School is a secondary school in George Town, Penang, Malaysia. It was initially established in 1917 as a primary school, and later became a junior high school in 1923, becoming the oldest extant Chinese high school in Malaysia. Following the merger of The Chinese High School in Singapore in 2005, Chung Ling High School became the oldest surviving Chinese high school in Southeast Asia.
Wu Lien-teh (Chinese: 伍連德; pinyin: Wǔ Liándé; Jyutping: Ng5 Lin4 Dak1; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Gó͘ Liân-tek; Goh Lean Tuck and Ng Leen Tuck in Minnan and Cantonese transliteration respectively; 10 March 1879 – 21 January 1960) was a Malayan physician renowned for his work in public health, particularly the Manchurian plague of 1910–11. He is the inventor of the Wu mask, which is the forerunner of today's N95 respirator.
Road to Dawn is a 2007 Chinese historical film directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Derek Chiu. The film depicts an obscure episode in Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary life, when he sought refuge in Penang from July to December 1910. He relocated the Southeast Asian headquarters of his political party, the Tongmenghui, to Penang and convened the Penang Conference to stage the Second Guangzhou Uprising.
Cheah Tek Soon was a 19th-century Penang businessman, and headman of the Hokkien in Penang, after whom Tek Soon Street was named. He was an active member of the Penang community and the bandstand that was erected near the Town Hall before the Japanese Occupation was his gift to the city.
Foo Tye Sin was a Justice of the Peace and an influential community leader of 19th century. Penang born Foo Tye Sin, a British subject, was a Hakka tin miner who could trace his ancestry to the Yong Ting District, Ting Chou Prefecture, Fujian. He was educated at St. Xavier's Institution and the Penang Free School. Tye Sin Street (四条路), or Lebuh Tye Sin as it is now known as, is named after him.
Tan Twan Eng is a Malaysian novelist who writes in English. He published his first novel, The Gift of Rain, in 2007. He is best known for his 2012 book The Garden of Evening Mists which won the Man Asian Literary Prize and Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, making Tan the first Malaysian to be recognised by all three awards.
Yeap Chor Ee (葉祖意) was a businessman and philanthropist. He was born in the village of Nan'an, Fujian, China, in 1867. He came to Penang at the age of 17 in the 1880s virtually penniless, and found work as a barber. He rose to become the richest men in Penang. Over a course of thirty years, he built an empire with real banking, real estate and commodities trading activities. He founded the Ban Hin Lee Bank in 1918 and many other companies. Yeap Chor Ee remained the only individual who single-handedly funded the establishment of a bank in that era. He also became one of the State's leading philanthropists. Yeap died in 1952 at the age of 85. By then, he was known as "The Grand Old Man of Penang", praised for his "old-world courtesy, humility, generosity and integrity".
Tye Kee Yoon was a Vice Consul of Qing dynasty China in Penang, one of the founders and 'Five Great Sponsors,' of the Kek Lok Si owned property in Perak, and was proprietor of a business named Chop Hen Choong Toong. He arrived at Penang, a penniless coolie from China, in 1873, but by December 1907, had risen to the prominent position of diplomat. Success and recognition followed that appointment. He became a Revenue Farmer, and succeeded in obtaining the Gambling Farm for Taiping (Perak), the following year. In 1910 he was appointed to the Committee of the District Hospital, Penang. Disaster soon followed success beginning with the death of his wife, Khoo Lye Neoh on Sunday 6 April 1913 and later that year, on Friday 14 November, of his daughter, the wife of Khoo Chye Hean.
Albert Kwok, with the full name Albert Kwok Fen Nam was a leader of a resistance fighter known as the "Kinabalu Guerrillas" during the Japanese occupation of Borneo. He is regarded as the initiator of the so-called "Double Tenth Revolt" from 10 October 1943.
The George Town Literary Festival (GTLF) is an annual literary festival which takes place in the city of George Town, Penang, Malaysia. It is currently the largest world literature festival organised in Malaysia and the first literary event in Southeast Asia to receive the Literary Festival Award at the London Book Fair International Excellence Awards.
Penangite Chinese are ethnic Chinese Malaysians of full or partial Chinese ancestry who either hail from or live within the State of Penang. As of 2020, 45% of Penang's population belonged to the Chinese ethnic group, making ethnic Chinese the largest ethnic community within the state.
The Garden of Evening Mists is a 2019 Malaysian English-language historical drama film directed by Tom Lin Shu-yu from the screenplay of Richard Smith and adapted from Tan Twan Eng's 2012 novel of same name. A woman, still haunted by her experiences in a Japanese internment camp as a child, travels to Cameron Highlands during the Malayan Emergency and becomes the apprentice of a mysterious Japanese gardener. It stars Lee Sin-je, Sylvia Chang and Hiroshi Abe.
61 Meyer Road was a bungalow on Meyer Road, Singapore. It was built by Sir Manasseh Meyer, who died shortly after its completion. It then served as the residence of businessman Parkcane C. Hwang.