Ricardo Joppert, a sinologist from Brazil, is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, English, French, and Chinese, but at heart feels most like a Chinese. In fact, he believes that in a former life he was a senior minister to Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty. (photo by Hsueh Chi-kuang) (photo by Hsueh Chi-kuang)

In the more than two millennia of documented Chinese history, Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty has always been seen as a tragic, misplaced figure. An heir to the imperial throne by birth, but an artist by nature, he suffered a tragic fate, leaving to the world only his works of calligraphy and painting.

But today, 900 years after Huizong lost his empire and died at the hands of a foreign people in the wilderness of northern China, a Sinologist from Brazil, Ricardo Joppert, is trying to "reverse the verdict" on this artist emperor.

To do this, Joppert has delved deep into Chinese historical works, and come up with documentary evidence to show that Huizong ruled with a grand vision for posterity, and that there is much misunderstanding about him.

This March, his book Integrite Imperiale: L'heritage de Song Hui-zong (in French) will be released in Paris, bringing to fruition a lifelong ambition. At the same time, he will publish Taiwan Revisited (in English), which recounts his lifelong affection for the Republic of China.

The older generation in Taiwan may have some vague memories of an occasion nearly a half century ago, when a young and handsome "child prodigy" from Brazil visited Taipei. It was quite a story at the time. This 16-year-old Brazilian youth had already, at the age of 14, won first prize on a Brazilian television quiz show, startling everybody with his rich knowledge of China.

As a result, the ROC ambassador to Brazil, T.T. Li, noticed him, and eventually he was invited to visit the ROC by then-minister of education Chang Chi-yun and vice foreign minister Shen Chuang-huan. This event planted the seeds of a lifelong love for Chinese culture and for Taiwan.

His name is Ricardo Joppert.