Official Interview: Raymond K Li

[kandscreeley]

Today's Chat with Sarah features Raymond K Li author of The Wheel.

Official Review

Kindle edition on Amazon

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1. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

My college education during my youth was in Mathematics, Statistics, Economics, Finance and Accounting, highlighted with MBA and Ph.D. degrees from the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania. I started my career as an assistant professor in Statistics for six years but later switched to being a senior executive in a major multinational bank, Wall Street firms and a large pension fund. I retired twelve years ago after a career lasting for 32 years in the financial world.

Although quantitative subjects were my tools to make a living, my real interest was in Chinese literature, philosophy, and history. Driven by my search for life's meaning, I have spent the past thirty years reading these classics in my spare time.

2. When did you first discover your passion for writing?

In 2012, a near-death experience woke me up and motivated me to terminate a career in a world where only money matters. After my retirement, I decided to do something more meaningful – enlightening my children, relatives, and friends. I initially had no ambition in publishing and kept my first work, Confucius Analects, in a manuscript form. After reading it, my good friend, Mitch, regarded it highly and asked, “Why don’t you get it published? Would it be more meaningful benefiting the world than benefiting just a few people?” I replied, “In a highly competitive book market, its readership will be tiny. It is not worth the publishing cost and effort.” He said, “Why should you care about the royalty versus the cost of publishing? Since this is a good book, just one more inspired reader will outweigh a million dollars. The value of a good book cannot be measured in terms of money.” I took his advice and got it published by iUniverse.

Many excellent reviews of this book prompted me to continue writing three more books on Chinese classics – Sun Tzu’s Military Principles, Mencius in Modern Perspectives, and the Life and Words of Confucius. I wrote them with a common objective – to inspire the reader with wise, moral, and ethical ideas.

Although these books had excellent reviews, I realized that they had a common shortfall. They are too academic, like textbooks, and do not appeal to common readers. I therefore decided to write a mesmerizing novel and interlace it with subtle yet potent messages on morality, meaning of life, fate and fortune, love and hatred, romance, loyalty and treachery, war and peace, political ideology, governance, economic theory, and many other human experiences. This led to my recent work, The Wheel.

3. Let us discuss your book The Wheel. This takes place in China from the reign of Emperor Yíng Zhèng to the early years of the Hàn Dynasty. How did you choose that period?

I chose this period not only because of its critical importance in Chinese history but its abundance in episodes, characters, and settings which allow me to develop a plethora of themes mentioned above and fit them perfectly into a historical framework.

4. How much research did you do before writing this story?

I undertook three years research before writing this book. The first task was to study Chinese historical classics, such as Shi Ji (The Book of Records) by Sima Qian ( circa 135 BCE), Han Shu (The Book of Han) by Ban Gu (circa 32 CE – 92 CE), and Zi Zhi Tong Jian (Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government) by Sima Guang (circa 1019 CE – 1086 CE). The goal of this phase was to accurately identify historical figures, facts, places, and dates. The next step was to review various commentaries written by other historians and scholars about the mindset, personalities, contribution, success, and failure of major characters in the novel. The third step was to visit the Wunan Museum in Chang Sha, China and study the customs, attire, utensils, architectures, furniture, weapons, armor, chariots, ancestral offerings, paintings, maps, and everyday objects during that period. The fourth step was to study taxation, currency, criminal law, and drafting law during the period. I need to ensure that my book does not miss any important historical facts and major figures and that the dates, places, and facts are accurately described. In addition, all narratives and description of settings, appearances, attires, manners, and actions of characters in the story closely reflect the reality in that period. This fiction aims to transport the reader back in time. I want to avoid distorting history and giving a false impression of the past.

5. As a historical fiction, how much of the book is fact and how much is fiction?

In brief, about 30% was historical fact, and 70% was creative fiction. This answer needs further elaboration. The historical episodes, facts, characters, places, and dates are precisely and accurately described according to historical records and provide a backdrop and framework for the creative drama. The main plot is in line with historical records, whereas side plots and subplots are creative drama. The actions, dialogues, thoughts, emotions, personalities, psyches, scenes, settings, and ancillary narratives are creatively introduced to bring the characters and events to live. Events and dialogues in this novel represent what they likely would have been given the historical context and are dramatized for the purpose of highlighting the gravity of the crises at that time and portraying the characters as living beings rather than mere historical figures.

6. The reviewer discusses the many characters and how easy it was to follow them. How did you keep them all straight? How did you make it easy for the reader to do so?

There are hundreds of characters in this complex story, which is composed of over a hundred vignettes. The inclusion of all of them is necessary because each plays a critical role in the development of the story. In addition, transcribed names in Chinese add another layer of difficulty for the reader. To overcome this problem, I included a table of characters at the beginning of each section to explain the identities and the inter-relationship among characters described in the section. In addition, the table also includes a list of places and relates them to modern-day provinces in China. Therefore, many reviewers found it easy to follow the flow of the story.

7. Which of these characters is your favorite? Which was hardest to write?

My favorite characters are Liu Bang, Lu Zhi, Lady Bao, Lady Dou, Liu Heng, Liu Che, Zhang Qian, in this order.

Liu Bang was the main protagonist of the fiction. His rise and leadership style were remarkable.

Lu Zhi fitted into a main theme of this fiction, karma, and the title of the book, The Wheel. Her decadence was a reminder for the reader.

Lady Bao was an example of a good mother and prudent ruler.

Lady Dou was an example of a good wife. The romance between her and Liu Heng, the fifth emperor of Han, was also touching.

Liu Heng was an example of a benevolent emperor.

Liu Che was an adventurous and ambitious emperor. He was a famous emperor in Chinese history with remarkable achievements. However, his regime was also tainted with much folly.

The loyalty and devotion of Zhang Qian to his mission was honorable. The love story between him and Amar was also touching.

Lu Zhi was virtuous when she was young but became a monster later in life. Her psyche, emotion, and the transition of her personality are hardest to write.

8. What's next for you?

I am developing a plot of a novel based on a contemporary setting.

I like to end with lighter questions.

9. If you could visit and view but not change any one time period, what time would you visit?

If I could travel back in time, I would like to return to the period during the regime of emperor Liu Heng, an era of peace and prosperity fostered by a prudent and benevolent government.

10. Who's your favorite author?

Margaret Michell, author of Gone with the Wind. I learned a lot from her writing style, vocabulary, and character development.

11. What's your favorite song?

My favorite song is: “What Is a Youth,” in the movie of Romeo and Juliet.

12. Would you rather live in a bustling city or the quiet countryside?

I would rather live in the countryside because its serenity promotes clear thinking. However, the amenities of bustling cities are indispensable.