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''Het verboden rijk'' ("The forbidden kingdom") is a novel by Dutch author J. Slauerhoff (1898–1936). First published in 1931, the novel follows two narratives simultaneously—that of the Portuguese poet Luís de Camões, and that of a 20th-century Morse code operator. A sequel, ''Het leven op aarde'' ("Life on earth"), was published in 1933; a third book was planned but never finished. ==Plot== The novel's prologue tells of Antonio Farria, the Portuguese governor of a colony in China. Farria's settlement is destroyed by the Chinese, for which he blames the government back in Portugal, who have neglected the colony. After taking revenge on a Chinese city Farria founds what will become Portuguese Macau, which was to act as a thorn in the side of the Portuguese but, in the end, remained loyal. The narrative proper begins with a semi-historical account of Luís de Camões, the 16th-century Portuguese poet who wrote the epic poem ''Os Lusíadas''. In Slauerhoff's novel, Camões flees Portugal after an affair with a woman destined to marry the Portuguese crown prince.〔Francken 14–15.〕 In the meantime the government in Macau is challenged by a merchant, Pedro Velho, who seeks rapprochement with the Chinese. A clever ruse by the governor and his accomplices makes Velho leave the colony for the hinterland. Pilar, the daughter of governor Farria by a Chinese woman, flees a forced marriage and is thought to take refuge in a Dominican monastery. Camões's ship is wrecked off the coast of Macau, and when he lands, still holding his epic poem, Camões ends up in the garden home of a ruined estate where he discovers Pilar. A vision of his Portuguese lover merges with the half-Chinese woman, who is living as a Chinese in the house of her former nurse. Pilar helps Camões recover his health, but when he leaves to investigate a fire (the governor had the monastery burned down) he is arrested.〔Francken 15–7.〕 The second strand, a first-person narrative, is of the 20th-century radio operator, a short, swarthy Irishman who thinks he is descended from a sailor stranded after the Spanish Armada. He remains nameless; in ''Het leven op aarde'' he is called Cameron. His life spirals downward after a shipwreck. Addicted to drugs he takes again to the sea on a run-down cargo ship. The freedom offered at sea fails to satisfy him and he longs to be taken over by a higher power.〔Francken 17.〕 After torture, which he endures by taking narcotics, Camões is allowed to return to writing but in his poetry reveals Pilar's hiding place. He is punished by being sent on a trade mission to Beijing and on departure sees her again, now standing next to her intended husband. The mission is a fiasco, and Camões returns alone. He assaults a Chinese farmer and steals the man's clothes.〔Francken 18.〕 The radio operator's story continues: he finds himself in a garden home where he thinks he's been before. References abound linking Camões to the Irishman, who feels as if he is being taken over by another. Later, his ship is attacked near Hong Kong by pirates and the crew abducted and taken deep into China, where he finds clothes containing gold coins— here, Camões and the Irishman merge.〔Francken 18–19.〕 In the final chapter the Irishman, paying for passage to Macao with 16th-century gold coins, finds himself defending the church of old Macau with Dominican monks against an invading army. It turns out that Camões had returned from his expedition to save the settlement. Pilar gives Camões his poem back, but again he is exiled. Before the Irishman sets sail to Hong Kong, he trails the half-Chinese daughter of a Portuguese governor. He is despondent since he was unable to help or harbor the spirit of the other who sought refuge in him. His final plan is to go straight into China, from Shanghai.〔Francken 19–20.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Het verboden rijk」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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