Adventure Magazine Cover

# Museum Catalog Note

This October 1928 issue of Adventure magazine contains "King Taotai," a complete novelette by Charles Gilson set in post-Boxer Rebellion Tientsin. The story concerns Paul Ritchie, a junior Chinese customs official facing financial ruin from gambling debts and an imminent transfer to Peking. Mysteriously invited to dinner by King Taotai, the powerful Manchu mandarin and city governor, Ritchie accepts despite their minimal prior acquaintance. During an elaborate meal at the Taotai's mansion, King proves charming yet enigmatic, discussing East-West cultural differences while remaining oblique about his motives. After dinner, Ritchie witnesses King's subordinate deliver tribute money—Chinese hundred-dollar bills purportedly from rice taxation. The story blends intrigue, local politics, and the colonial treaty-port setting. The issue also contains stories by Bertrand Sinclair (Montana range tale), Thomson Burtis (circus), Alexandre Dumas (serial conclusion), and others addressing adventure themes across varied settings.