Who is Wolfgang Mauss from Tai-Pan and what is their importance?

Mauss is an Austrian reverend who is a good friend of Dirk Struan. The reverend had been married three times and has been in the Orient for more than twenty years. He reads and writes Chinese and is able to communicate with the Chinese in their own language and functions as an interpreter for Dirk. He is trusted by Dirk and is active in his opium trade. He is at the settlement when Dirk hides to await the arrival of the lorcha with the bullion.