The purpose of the Asian Saga was, according to Clavell—descendant of a family long in service to the British Empire, and who was a prisoner of war of the Japanese during the Second World War—to tell "the story of the Anglo-Saxon in Asia".
[1] Ordered by publication date: Ordered by internal chronology: Four of the six books—Tai-Pan, Gai-Jin, Noble House, and Whirlwind—follow the dealings of the great trading company Struan's, the Noble House of Asia (based on Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited), its founder Dirk Struan, and his various descendants.
As a tie-in, Linc Bartlett's (Noble House) namesake ancestor appears in Clavell's film Walk Like a Dragon (1960).
[citation needed] After publishing Whirlwind, Clavell wrote a shorter version of the story which focused on two characters from the book.
Titled Escape: The Love Story from Whirlwind, the book is generally not considered an official part of the Asian Saga; nonetheless, some reviewers said it helped flesh out several aspects of the original novel.
He asked that the Noble House give aid and sanctuary to Sun Yat-sen and to assist him to overthrow the Manchu dynasty.
However, it is speculated in Noble House that it was given to May-may (Dirk Struan's mistress) and passed down to their descendant Sir Shih-teh "Shitee" T'Chung.