Battling the Wind and Waves on the Sea of Commerce

Publication: April 28, 2022


Battling the Wind and Waves on the Sea of Commerce is the last volume of the historical – love fiction trilogy, Sailing across the Red Storm Trilogy, of modern Chinese history. Through a riveting representation of the historical journey of the nation and the personal struggles of its characters, this trilogy describes the darkest and brightest pages in modern Chinese history; a harsh and lifeless winter, a warm spring filled with vitality and hope, and a flourishing hot summer.

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Battling the Wind and Waves on the Sea of Commerce

Welcome to my website 欢迎读者们参阅和浏览我的网站

I am a retired university lecturer, living in Southampton. Apart from writing, I practice Chinese medicine and teach Tai Chi and Qing Gong.

Based on my own experience, I have written and published a historical-romance trilogy, Sailing across the Red Storm, which describes panoramically the great changes in China in the last half century from 1960s to 2010s. Covering the darkest and brightest pages in modern Chinese history, the books show how China has changed from a dictatorial and poor country during the Cultural Revolution to a dynamic and prosperous modern country, the second largest economic power in the world. It is a compelling historical fiction with a moving love story. From my books, readers will know more about Chinese history and culture.
I hope you enjoy exploring my website. I’d love to hear from you for your comments and questions.

我是英国南安普顿大学退休教师。英籍华人学者,作家。我出生在新中国成立的那一年。是文革中的老三届和1977届大学生。我亲眼目睹和经历了从50年代开始的许多历史事件,如反右派,大跃进,灾荒年,文化大革命,改革开放,等等。尤其是在文革中,我和自己的家人朋友们遭受了残酷的政治迫害。
根据自己和家人,朋友们的亲身经历,我创作了英文和中文的历史-爱情小说三部曲《穿越红色暴风雨》《宦海沉浮》和《商海风云》,受到了海内外读者们的好评。三部曲描写了现代中国从1965到2015年间半个世纪中巨大的社会变化。展示了现代中国历史上最黑暗的一页和最光明的一页。读者们可以看到,中国是怎样从文革中一个封闭,专制,残暴和贫困的社会,变成了改革开放后一个开放,自由,充满活力和繁荣的社会。尽管还存在着许多诸如不民主,腐败和贫富不均等社会问题。
在这个网站中,读者们可以看到我博客中关于我的书,书的背景和我个人生活中的趣事。看到读者们对我书的评价,我新书的出版信息,以及和我联系的方式。
衷心希望能和大家一起交流,切磋,讨论我的作品,文学创作,以及政治,经济,文化和各种社会问题。

John Xiao Zhang


John Xiao Zhang was born in 1949 in northeast China. He suffered greatly during the Cultural Revolution in 1960s to 1970s. After he finished his university in 1980s, he worked as a lecture in Beijing Language University. He travelled to U.K in 1988 to study for a Ph.D. degree at Southampton University. Since then he worked as a lecturer and freelance writer. He was a well-known Shakespeare scholar and published some books and many articles on Shakespeare, English literature, Chinese literature and culture. In recent years, he has published a compelling historical-romance fiction trilogy, which has been commented on highly by the readers from different countries.