Wayne and his book “Finding the Way,” are featured in Myfanwy Cook’s column on debut novelists, “New Voices,” in the Historical Novel Society’s Magazine.
For the PDF of the full article as it appears in the physical magazine click here: PDF of Historical Novels Review-New Voices-Issue 87 (February 2019)
The portion of the article featuring Wayne, is reproduced below from the “Historical Novels Review,” Issue 87 (February 2019).
New Voices
“Idealism, injustice and intrigue are explored by Loretta Goldberg, Kerri Maher, Wayne Ng and Signe Pike in their debut novels.”
Wayne Ng’s novel Finding the Way: A Novel of Lao Tzu(Earnshaw Books, 2018) draws readers into the world of two philosophers, Lao Tzu and Confucius. “Although many people may have heard of yin/yang, tai chi and kung fu,” Ng explains, “most would not attribute their genesis to Lao Tzu, one of the most revered minds of ancient China and the founder of Taoism.
“I was brought up with a vague fusion of Taoism and Confucianism,” he says. That said, “I didn’t know anything about this philosopher until I read my wife’s favourite book, The Tao of Pooh, an interpretation of Lao Tzu’s seminal work, the Tao De Ching.” It was from this starting point that the silken thread of Ng’s story started to emerge. “Legend tells us that 2600 years ago China was in constant war and upheaval… A brilliant, yet naïve, romantic emerged, doomed to tragedy and despondent at the world’s moral decay. So much so that he rode off on a water buffalo to die.”
Ng wanted to find out and what left Lao Tzu in such despair. “I devoured the Tao De Ching as a portal into the dreamer that he must have been. I fell in love with the notion of an enlightened idealist, one who dreamt of a better world, a just society, but whose idealism was crushed by a harsh reality. As a social worker I identified with the quiet rebellion he fostered, and his profound sense of social justice.”
What Ng learnt from his study of The Way/Taoism was that “our thirst for sanity and simplicity is a quest that transcends culture and time. Through imagining his story and the development of his philosophy, I questioned much of how I work, live and play. In essence, I discovered Taoism, and my own way. Ancient China is filled with fascinating stories and riveting characters waiting to be brought to life. I wanted to introduce the west to a time, a place and a legend that has largely been ignored, but in an entertaining way. The result was a political thriller wrapped in a philosophical bow tie.”
(…article continues….)
Drawing from a wide swathe of periods and places, Goldberg, Maher, Ng, and Pike have illuminated hidden characters and causes through their novels and brought historical injustices to light.
About the contributor: Myfanwy Cook is an Associate Fellow at two British Universities and a creative writing workshop designer.
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