Bøger af Hanson Chan

This is the Chinese version of "The Saga of a Taoist Nun," Book 2. Hanson Chan's The Saga of a Taoist Nun 1 & 2, the second editions of Hua Hu, Book 1 & 2, both previously published in Chinese and in English, are novels of Chinese martial arts based on a historical event and polemics between Taoism and Buddhism during the imperial times in China. The center and focus of this religious controversy were an ancient Taoist scripture, known as Hua Hu Jing, which was written and circulated in China since the fourth century. According to history, the Taoist scripture stated that Lao Tzu, the famous philosopher and author of the Tao Te Ching, after finished his writing for the foundation of Taoism left China for India, where he taught a student named Sakyamuni, and that this last disciple of his founded a religion later called Buddhism, which preached kindness to all. However, the above story was challenged by Buddhists and deemed as a fabricated slander. For centuries, debates between the two religions were held without any result until the time of Khan Kubilai's reign when the Taoists were finally announced defeated and the then Mongol emperor decreed that all copies of Hua Hu Jing were to be banned and burnt...... Hanson Chan, author of the novels Hua Hu 1: The Forbidden Scripture & Hua Hu 2: Thunder Spell, used this historical incident as background and wrote the story of a Taoist girl who at the last request of her Sifu must fulfill her sworn duty to save the sole surviving copy. Hua Hu, Book 1: The Forbidden Scripture describes the twists and turns of her flight from Yenching (today's Beijing) with the book, while being pursued by Buddhist's and the Mongol military, to Dun-Huang. Hua Hu, Book 2: The Thunder Spell uncovers secrets hidden within the Taoist scripture. It was believed that the instruction for "Thunder Spell" was kept within the text of Hua Hu Jing. As legend revealed, the magical power of Thunder Spell was the highest technique for Taoists to summon deities of natural forces to perform magic in their ceremonial services. If one possessed the skill, power and success would be followed soon. So, in the process of unveiling the final truth, the Taoist girl was trapped and forced into a series of bloody fights against trickery and betrayal, selfishness and vanity, as well as dreams and disappointments during her struggles and involvement with different other sects in Taoism. In writing these two novels, Hanson Chan not only examined volumes of books related to the historical incidents, but also made several trips to China to visit various sites of interest for factual details. He will share his research and information with readers in these books.

This is a newly revised English edition of the same Chinese original. The names in the text are the Pin-Yin of Mandarin, which also appear in simplified Chinese formats as the identifiers to reinforce who's who and what's what throughout the book especially when such a new name comes up for the first time in the order of the chapters. Chinese History Made Easy by Hanson Chan has been praised for its concise and fresh narrations of the general history of China for common readers ever since its first publication in simplified Chinese edition by Xinhua Publishing Co., Beijing, China, in 2008. Then, based on the reader's demand, its second edition appeared in 2011, and its third edition in 2015. In the "Preface", the author said: "Chinese History is easy. It is easy to learn, easy to understand, and easy to remember. In this book, I'll show the readers a simple way of how easy it can be." He explained: "There is a gift I hand out hidden between the texts of this book. There are keys for every reader to unlock doors getting through the maze of long corridors that lead to houses of many kings and queens, numerous rebels and generals in the courses of old and new histories of China. Those are useful keys for outsiders because when you try frantically to snooping over the endless volumes of Chinese writings on the five thousand years of its history and cultural developments through the ages, you do need a good guide. This book is aiming to do that and more. It is easy to read and understand, and importantly, it also helps you to remember." Simply speaking, the book deals with the entire five thousand years of history of China into three sections. Consecutively, they are (1) The Ancient Period, (2) the Imperial Ages, and (3) the Modern Times. In which the Ancient Period deals with the section of its myths and origins, and its ancestors and rulers before the Qin Dynasty was formed in 221 BC. The Imperial Ages tells the section began with the First Emperor of China who was enthroned in 221 BC until the Last Emperor who abdicated in 1912 (contents of the book I: Ancient & Imperial). The Modern Times is the contents of Book II. What is more, he introduces three "conceptual imageries" for readers to relate to the historical progress and cultural development of the entire span in Chinese history. Each has its own feature for the readers to recall its characteristic. One for each section, they are great helps to reinforce one's memory. He said: "Throughout my presentation, I have selected and focused systematically on important events and major figures for discussion according to their similarities and differences. I assigned conceptual imageries to reinforce one's memory. In addition, I used simple arithmetic to recall historical dates. I chose one political system compared to others for signs of division when I am dealing the progress of development and continuity of Chinese culture as a whole. ... There were periods of peace and there were periods of chaos alternatively. All in all, they constitute records of a long path of continuous struggles of a people and a nation, lessons of either successes or failures." In short, the interpretation in this book is fresh and unique. Together, it aims to achieve the five purposes below: (1) To help to form an outline that will never forget; (2) To examine Chinese history of five thousand years in three separate sections; (3) To reinforce the reader's memory, three basic concepts are adopted and introduced; (4) To provide an easy way to build a solid base for anyone to become an expert; (5) To use it as a tool, simply for easy reading and understanding as a common reader may wish.

This is the original Chinese version of the English translation of the same book entitled Chinese History Made Easy (volume 1: Ancient Period & Imperial Ages) by Hanson Chan. It was first published in Traditional Chinese, now this is in Simplified Chinese. According to the author, Chinese history is easy. It is easy to learn, easy to understand, and easy to remember. Chinese History Made Easy by Hanson Chan has been praised for its concise and fresh narrations of the general history of China for common readers ever since its first publication in simplified Chinese edition by Xinhua Publishing Co., Beijing, China, in 2008. Then, based on the reader's demand, its second edition appeared in 2011, and its third edition in 2015. In the "Preface," the author said: "Chinese History is easy. It is easy to learn, easy to understand, and easy to remember. In this book, I'll show the readers a simple way of how easy it can be." He explained: "There is a gift I hand out hidden between the texts of this book. There are keys for every reader to unlock doors getting through the maze of long corridors that lead to houses of many kings and queens, numerous rebels and generals in the courses of old and new histories of China. Those are useful keys for outsiders because when you try frantically to snooping over the endless volumes of Chinese writings on the five thousand years of its history and cultural developments through the ages, you do need a good guide. This book is aiming to do that and more. It is easy to read and understand, and importantly, it also helps you to remember." Simply speaking, the book deals with the entire five thousand years of history of China into three sections. Consecutively, they are (1) The Ancient Period, (2) the Imperial Ages, and (3) the Modern Times. In which the Ancient Period deals with the section of its myths and origins, and its ancestors and rulers before the Qin Dynasty was formed in 221 BC. The Imperial Ages tells the section began with the First Emperor of China who was enthroned in 221 BC until the Last Emperor who abdicated in 1912 (contents of the book I: Ancient & Imperial). The Modern Times is the contents of Book II. What is more, he introduces three "conceptual imageries" for readers to relate to the historical progress and cultural development of the entire span in Chinese history. Each has its own feature for the readers to recall its characteristic. One for each section, they are great helps to reinforce one's memory. He said: "Throughout my presentation, I have selected and focused systematically on important events and major figures for discussion according to their similarities and differences. I assigned conceptual imageries to reinforce one's memory. In addition, I used simple arithmetic to recall historical dates. I chose one political system compared to others for signs of division when I am dealing the progress of development and continuity of Chinese culture as a whole. ... There were periods of peace and there were periods of chaos alternatively. All in all, they constitute records of a long path of continuous struggles of a people and a nation, lessons of either successes or failures." In short, the interpretation in this book is fresh and unique. Together, it aims to achieve the five purposes below: (1) To help to form an outline that will never forget; (2) To examine Chinese history of five thousand years in three separate sections; (3) To reinforce the reader's memory, three basic concepts are adopted and introduced; (4) To provide an easy way to build a solid base for anyone to become an expert; (5) To use it as a tool, simply for easy reading and understanding as a common reader may wish.

This is a novel based on a religious feud between the Taoists and the Buddhists in the Mongol period of China. The story of Hua Hu, Book 1 & 2, in English editions are the complete translations of the Chinese versions of Hua Hu, Book 1 & 2, which were previously published in 2006. In real history, "Hua Hu" or "Lao Tzu's Hua Hu Jing" was the name for a once very popular Taoist scripture, which circulated in ancient China. And, originally, it was written by a Taoist named Wang Fou in 305 A.D., its main contents were a narration of Lao Tzu's West Journey after he had finished Tao Te Ching and exited on an ox through the gate that later became part of the Great Wall. However, the book quickly became valuable as well as controversial due to an alleged conviction inside the text that Lao Tzu's westward journey eventually went to India and enlisted Sakyamuni (the founder of Buddhism) as his disciple. This sparked off a long debate over the issue between Taoists and Buddhists on whether it was fact or fiction. For the next nine hundred years, the center issue kept intensifying yet remained unsettled. Meanwhile the Taoist scripture Lao Tzu's Hua Hu Jing circulated and popular from the fourth to the thirteenth centuries in China. And, its contents also kept enlarging. Then, during the early part of the Mongol period, it suddenly suffered a series of banning and burning officially by the decree of the emperor in three occasions...... Why was it banned and burned and how was that happened becomes the main story of Hanson Chan's two novels of martial arts on this particular subject.

In addition to the Chinese text, there is a brief English summary of all the names and places of our 111 ancestors of the direct bloodline tracing from son to father, father to grandfather, and grandfather to great-grandfather, and so on until reaching the originator of the "Chan" family tree or genealogy that this writer has found through records of genealogy, public entries, and including history of ancient China. "Chan" in Chinese is a Romanized translation of its Cantonese pronunciation done in Hong Kong; it pronounced "Chin" in Tai-shan dialect, and "Chen" in Mandarin. So, nowadays, when we see "Chan" or "Chin or "Chen," it might be simply the same last name in Chinese, but sounds different. This book details the clan records of the Cha-chou Village of the Chan family in Liu-cun, Taishan, Guang-dong, China. Chen You, the originator of the clan was a resident of Nan-xiong before he moved to Xin-hui, then his offspring continued their migration to Taishan; first relocated to Shang-ge, again to Lang-mei that became the center of Liu-cun. By 1703, Chen Yu-fu settled at Cha-chou Village. Chen Yu-fu (1657-1727), who lived during the early part of the Qing Dynasty, was a renowned scholar of Confucianism, and he wrote and published books which were reprinted even in the present days. According to the record, Chen Yu-fu became a "Jie-yuan" in his civil examination in Guang-dong Province in 1690; and, surprisingly, his son Chen Han also became a "Jie-yuan" in 1714. What was more, his great-grandson Chen Si-guan earned the title of "Jin-si" in 1803 and was praised as the only person who had held such a honor within the Ming and Qing dynasties in the Taishan County. Interestingly, the Taishanese were the earliest group of Chinese labors who came to the United States as railway workers on contracts. Then, many of them settled down afterwards and their offspring were American-born who helped the development of many Chinatowns in major cities in USA and Canada. If you were one of those Taishanese descendants and lost track of your ancestors, or maybe just the partner, or a friend of such a well-known bloodline of the Chinese Pioneers, here is a chance that you might find the roots and names in the Chan's (or Chen's) various branches in this journal of genealogy among the pages.

This is the English version of The Death and the CCP's Posthumous Evaluations of Ch'u Ch'iu-pai (1899-1935). Adding to the reconstructed details of the last days of his life, it also analyzed the authenticity of the Superfluous Words (To-yu te hua), and traced the evolution of Ch'u's posthumous evaluations by the Chinese Communists. It was originally written as a thesis for the author's M.A. Degree in History. As documented, he read both primary and secondary sources during his research. Besides the Superfluous Words, Ch'u's earlier biographical writings, i.e., A Journey to the Land of Hunger and Impressions of the Red Capital Seen Through the Mind, others of Ch'u's published writings were also examined. Among the secondary sources, a variety of materials written either in Chinese or in English were used. Needless to say, whenever the Chinese-language materials are cited for presentations, the English translations used in this thesis are basically the work of the author. Because of this publication, an update on information of significant events and related findings are added in 2018.

This is the Chinese version of "The Saga of a Taoist Nun," Book 1. Hanson Chan's The Saga of a Taoist Nun 1 & 2, the second editions of Hua Hu, Book 1 & 2, both previously published in Chinese and in English, are novels of Chinese martial arts based on a historical event and polemics between Taoism and Buddhism during the imperial times in China. The center and focus of this religious controversy were an ancient Taoist scripture, known as Hua Hu Jing, which was written and circulated in China since the fourth century. According to history, the Taoist scripture stated that Lao Tzu, the famous philosopher and author of the Tao Te Ching, after finished his writing for the foundation of Taoism left China for India, where he taught a student named Sakyamuni, and that this last disciple of his founded a religion later called Buddhism, which preached kindness to all. However, the above story was challenged by Buddhists and deemed as a fabricated slander. For centuries, debates between the two religions were held without any result until the time of Khan Kubilai's reign when the Taoists were finally announced defeated and the then Mongol emperor decreed that all copies of Hua Hu Jing were to be banned and burnt...... Hanson Chan, author of the novels Hua Hu 1-The Forbidden Scripture & Hua Hu 2-Thunder Spell, used this historical incident as background and wrote the story of a Taoist girl who at the last request of her Sifu must fulfill her sworn duty to save the sole surviving copy. Hua Hu, Book 1: The Forbidden Scripture describes the twists and turns of her flight from Yenching (today's Beijing) with the book, while being pursued by Buddhist's and the Mongol military, to Dun-Huang. Hua Hu, Book 2: The Thunder Spell uncovers secrets hidden within the Taoist scripture. It was believed that the instruction for "Thunder Spell" was kept within the text of Hua Hu Jing. As legend revealed, the magical power of Thunder Spell was the highest technique for Taoists to summon deities of natural forces to perform magic in their ceremonial services. If one possessed the skill, power and success would be followed soon. So, in the process of unveiling the final truth, the Taoist girl was trapped and forced into a series of bloody fights against trickery and betrayal, selfishness and vanity, as well as dreams and disappointments during her struggles and involvement with different other sects in Taoism. In writing these two novels, Hanson Chan not only examined volumes of books related to the historical incidents, but also made several trips to China to visit various sites of interest for factual details. He will share his research and information with readers in these books.

This is the English version of "The Saga of a Taoist Nun", Book 1. Hanson Chan's The Saga of a Taoist Nun, Book 1 & 2, in English editions are in fact the second and revised editions of Hua Hu, Book 1 & 2, which were previously published in 2006. Both are translations from the original Chinese versions by the same author. In real history, "Hua Hu" or "Lao Tzu's Hua Hu Jing" was an ancient Taoist scripture that circulated in China in the fourth century. It stated that Lao Tzu, after having finished the Tao Te Ching and discovered Tao, left China for India, where he taught a disciple named Sakyamuni. This disciple founded a religion called Buddhism, which preached kindness to all. However, its story was challenged by Buddhists and deemed as a slander. For centuries, debates between the two religions were held with no result until the Kubilai Khan's reign when the Taoists were allegedly defeated and the Mongol emperor decreed all copies banned and burnt. Hanson Chan's two martial arts novels about Hua Hu Jing are based on this particular event and more...... Here is one of the reviewers commenting on book 1: In Hua Hu, Book 1: The Forbidden Scripture, Hanson Chan weaves Chinese history, legend and some of his own speculations into a fast-paced adventure story. The ascension of Mongol emperor Kubilai Khan and the defeat of China's Taoists is the backdrop for this tale in which Taoist Mystic Pearl finds herself the protector of the last surviving copy of the Hua Hu scripture. Keeping the scripture safe means fleeing the world she knows and setting out on a quest to find the Taoist monk Uncle Eighteen. Danger and treachery lie in wait for Mystic Pearl at every turn, but her good training, a little luck and some help from a newly won ally are there to help her succeed in her quest. Like Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, the novel's premise draws upon historic fact and religious controversy to create a page turning story. Rather than Brown's Catholicism, the religion is Taoism whose belief system and history will likely be new for many Westerners. Using the surviving, but incomplete Hua Hu manuscript as a starting point, Chan imagines the flight one manuscript might have taken in its escape from those who sought its destruction. Suspense and martial arts action move the story along, while colorful descriptions bring the cast of characters and the Chinese towns and countryside the story takes place in to life. The novel closes with a powerful ending that also leaves room for the continuation of the story in sequels.

Deng Xiao-ping (or also known as "Teng Hsiao-ping" in earlier version of translation) visited the United States as Vice-Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, from January 28 to February 5, 1979, nine days in all, marking a major event in the history of Sino-U.S. relations. This visit was in the wake of the thaw achieved between China and the United States, by Mao Ze-dong and Zhou En-lai in the early 1970s, with a vision of inaugurating China's future international influence and paving the way for China's gradual reform and opening up to the western world, alongside the implementation of its modernization program. At that time, Hanson Chan worked with China Daily News in New York as deputy editor-in-chief and also in charge of news reporting when Deng Xiao-ping visited the United States, so he was naturally assigned and duty-bound to cover the entire event. There was something very special regarding his reporting besides just being a news reporter, as he mentioned in the "Forward" of this book: "Most notably, during my reporting in Atlanta, I met a senior adviser of the Chinese delegation by chance at the shopping area within the big hotel they stayed..".; he then said that after a short chat and in addition to both exchanged names, he boldly made a suggestion by pointing out that the four cities being selected and arranged for Vice-Premier Deng to visit did not include New York and San Francisco -- which happened to be the two places with the largest number of Chinese Americans and overseas Chinese among all Chinatown settlements in USA; therefore, he wondered, would they consider paying tribute to and encouraging the majority of overseas Chinese in America in the form of writing an inscription (by Vice-Premier Deng) and let it be published through the newspaper he worked with? As a result, he was really overjoyed to receive Deng Xiao-ping's historic handwritten inscription on a piece of white paper at the Seattle airport on February 5, shortly before the Vice-Premier ended his visit. And the inscription reads: "May you make greater efforts to enhance the friendship between the Chinese and American peoples. May you make more contributions to the socialist construction of the motherland, and to the great cause of reunification of the motherland, with Taiwan returned to the motherland. -- Deng Xiao-ping." Having learned what happened, a reporter from Xinhua News Agency accompanying with the delegation immediately issued the news of that particular event, which "I took back to my newspaper along with Deng's inscription. Both were published on the front page on February 7, 1979." Then, 30 years later, in early October 2010, Hanson Chan met with Vice-President Mr. Yao Lishi of Xinhua Publishing House in Beijing, and was encouraged to write a book detailing all the activities in the itinerary of Deng Xiao-ping's nine-day visit to the United States, and to include and describe as vividly as possible the wider and the little-known insider stories throughout the entire trip. He accepted the challenge. This was how the contents of this book which in Chinese originally entitled "The Nine Days That Deng Xiao-ping Visited the United States" was initially first written in Chinese and published in the mainland China, and for the following five years, it strictly circulated within the mainland of China alone, from 2011 to 2016. Now, for this newly revised and republished Simplified Chinese edition, it is available in USA and for readers who live beyond.

This is a novel about Chinese youth gangs who walked the streets of Chinatown for a protective fee on the one hand, and they guarded gambling dens in smoky basements at night on the other. This became their routines for a low, flat living and hung about. They were new immigrants, and arrived as teenagers who could hardly speak English and skipped schools. Against such a backdrop and environment, Ah Loong, a member of one of the youth gangs and a big brother, was trapped and framed unknowingly while he was groping for a way out, and fought for a better solution of his intriguing involvement that often faced moments of life and death. A Chinatown named "Knife," located within a bigger, wealthier city, was like a settlement for an ethnic community of Chinese immigrants, old and new. It was named as such because the few streets that formed its boundary and extension on all sides resembling the strokes a Chinese character meant "Knife." That was one feature. The other feature for it earned such a name was due to the notorious stories of its gang wars in the past, when they waived knifes in fights to determine their fates for control of the tongs which ran the affairs of the community. However, the old time and the unspoken glory had passed by, as some traditions and practices remained and lingered; at the present, needless to say, guns replaced knifes in many brawls and struggles as this story began ...

This is a collection of articles that deal with accounts of the author's participation in "Bao-diao" movement, Chinatown reform, and his work and involvement of the republication of the China Daily News on a daily function in New York in the 70s and 80s of the 20th Century. Other articles include reports, comments, analysis, and criticism on social issues concerning Chinese heritage for Chinese-American as well as the past and current development of U.S. and China relation; in addition, the questions which surrounds the future of Taiwan, the reunification with Mainland China, and its present status and dilemma are discussed. Since the author has been a journalist and a screenplay writer, the movies which he had written and filmed are reviewed in speeches that he was asked to deliver and commented. Last, not the least, there is a full text of an oral history of his own story as a Chinese immigrant to the United States since teenage, his research on his family genealogy, and how he coped with every step to survive and to maintain his belief of a better tomorrow.

This is the "Simplified Chinese" version of An Interpretive History of the Valiant Chinese in America written by the author. It is a thoughtful interpretation, rather than a simple narration, of the Chinese both as a group of immigrants and as a minority from Asia seeking for a better tomorrow in the land of the United States. It reveals the hardships and the uncommon encountering of the early arrivals, and explains the processes and changes that they had endured for survival. Besides describing most of the harsh experiences and the hard earned respects along a lengthy path of struggles, the author also provides, or attempts to give, a comprehensive insight on events that unfairly happened to all the Chinese, and most conditions did not improve until they as a downgraded race have been lawfully recognized and cordially accepted as citizens with the basic sharing of rights like the others. Needless to say, this book recounts the different stages of the Chinese difficulties and struggles from the past to the present, before they could gradually ascend as a whole. However, in examining issues regarding discrimination and other injustice, it ventures to cover not only the historical facts of how-things-happened, but also explores the interrelated causes of why-things-happened. Another distinctive feature of this book was the focus of the main story line of the valiant group among the Chinese immigrants in the 20th century as well as among the Chinese-Americans, who initially started to explore ways to change the fate for themselves and for their motherland, i.e., China, especially the efforts they made since the Second World War and thereafter. A major differentiation of itself from a number of similar books on subject of the history of the Chinese in USA, interestingly, is that it reveals the often untold mystery of motivation and confrontation among the Chinese with regard to their views on Chinese politics being debated for support in cities of the United States, and that remained a strangely ongoing phenomena which appeared from day to day in many of Chinese communities; if grouped by status of identities, those involved in the rift were immigrants old and new, sometimes included foreign students from either Taiwan or Hong Kong, and joined by Chinese-Americans by birth or citizens of those who might have legally claimed US citizenship through their own merits. It was an unending fight with polemics among Chinese outside of China. Yet, for whatever intention, a general picture of the crawls showed that whoever took part in such an effort more or less would all entangle themselves with issues uncompromising between the KMT and the CCP of the Chinese politics, which played out aboard in their communal arena. Therefore, to elaborate and discuss that, topics related to events in the United States, in Taiwan, and in the mainland of China are reviewed. As for the bravery of the so-called "valiant," it is understandably meant to refer to those who had dared to fight against injustice, dared to pursue their ideal, and dared to take action. In short, it is also a metaphor to honor those who fit such a meaning in the long struggle of improving the status for all the Chinese in America, since this book is about all of them who came to USA in seeking dreams as a start, and for whose who stride along as descendants of the early forefathers; no matter immigrants or citizens they might be, they all need something called "courage." It is always the braves who took the leads and this book is dedicated to the innovative spirit of such few.

This is the English version of "The Saga of a Taoist Nun", Book 2. Hanson Chan's The Saga of a Taoist Nun, Book 1 & 2, in English editions are in fact the second and revised editions of Hua Hu, Book 1 & 2, which were previously published in 2006. Both are translations from the original Chinese versions by the same author. In real history, "Hua Hu" or "Lao Tzu's Hua Hu Jing" was an ancient Taoist scripture that circulated in China in the fourth century. It stated that Lao Tzu, after having finished the Tao Te Ching and discovered Tao, left China for India, where he taught a disciple named Sakyamuni. This disciple founded a religion called Buddhism, which preached kindness to all. However, its story was challenged by Buddhists and deemed as a slander. For centuries, debates between the two religions were held with no result until the Kubilai Khan's reign when the Taoists were allegedly defeated and the Mongol emperor decreed all copies banned and burnt. Hanson Chan's two martial arts novels about Hua Hu Jing are based on this particular event and more...... In this second book, "Hua Hu, Book 2: The Thunder Spell", the author picks up where his previous novel "The Forbidden Scripture" leaves off. Mystic Pearl and her new champion White Ling find themselves lost in a desert having escaped from the battle in the cave. We see Mystic Pearl's mission to protect the precious Hua Hu manuscript and to locate surviving members of her Taoist sect turns into a mission fought with peril, with surprises lurking around every corner. Nothing is what it seems to be. Meanwhile we see Mystic Pearl beginning to come into her own as a woman. She goes from being someone who runs from her problems to someone who is starting to tackle them head on. Again, Chinese history and culture including some historical figures play a key role in the story of a Taoist Girl trying to find her place in the world......

This is a novel based on a religious feud between the Taoists and the Buddhists in the Mongol period of China. The story of Hua Hu, Book 1 & 2, in English editions are the complete translations of the Chinese versions of Hua Hu, Book 1 & 2, which were previously published in 2006. In real history, "Hua Hu" or "Lao Tzu's Hua Hu Jing" was the name for a once very popular Taoist scripture, which circulated in ancient China. And, originally, it was written by a Taoist named Wang Fou in 305 A.D., its main contents were a narration of Lao Tzu's West Journey after he had finished Tao Te Ching and exited on an ox through the gate that later became part of the Great Wall. However, the book quickly became valuable as well as controversial due to an alleged conviction inside the text that Lao Tzu's westward journey eventually went to India and enlisted Sakyamuni (the founder of Buddhism) as his disciple. This sparked off a long debate over the issue between Taoists and Buddhists on whether it was fact or fiction. For the next nine hundred years, the center issue kept intensifying yet remained unsettled. Meanwhile the Taoist scripture Lao Tzu's Hua Hu Jing circulated and popular from the fourth to the thirteenth centuries in China. And, its contents also kept enlarging. Then, during the early part of the Mongol period, it suddenly suffered a series of banning and burning officially by the decree of the emperor in three occasions...... Why was it banned and burned and how was that happened becomes the main story of Hanson Chan's two novels of martial arts on this particular subject.

This is the Chinese original of the popular version of Chinese History Made Easy (volume 2: The Modern Time) by Hanson Chan . The author stresses that Chinese history is easy, and that it is easy to learn, easy to understand, and easy to remember. In his two books on China, the author shows the readers a simple way of how easy it can be. For an overall outline, he has divided the entire five thousand years of history of China into three sections. Consecutively, they are: (1) The Ancient Period, (2) The Imperial Ages, and (3) The Modern Times. In which the Ancient Period deals with the section of its myths and origins, and its ancestors and rulers before the Qin Dynasty was formed in 221 BC. The Imperial Ages tells the section began with the First Emperor of China who was enthroned in 221 BC during the Qin Dynasty until the Last Emperor who abdicated under the Qing Dynasty in 1912. As for the section of the Modern Times, the author discusses the events that had happened after the Revolution in 1911 till the days of the present. In his easy-to-follow presentation, the author has purposely introduced three "conceptual imageries" for readers to relate to the historical progress of the entire span in Chinese history. Each has its own feature for the readers to recall its characteristic. One for each section, they are great helps to reinforce one's memory. Throughout the pages of these two volumes, he has selected and focused systematically on important events and major figures for discussion according to their similarities and differences. In addition, he uses simple arithmetic to recall historical dates, and concentrates on lessons of successes and failures that have shaped the continuity of Chinese culture as a whole. It is the written style and simplicity of the book that has attracted numerous readers of the young in China ever since its first publication in 2008.

This is the English version of "Hua Hu", Book 2. Hanson Chan's Hua Hu, Book 1 & 2, in English editions were in fact published in 2006. Both were translated from the original Chinese versions by the same author, and Chinese versions are also available. Hanson Chan's "Hua Hu", Book 1 & 2, were novels of Chinese martial arts based on a historical event and polemics between Taoism and Buddhism during the imperial times in China. The center and focus of this religious controversy were an ancient Taoist scripture, known as Hua Hu Jing, which was written and circulated in China since the fourth century. According to history, the Taoist scripture stated that Lao Tzu, the famous philosopher and author of the Tao Te Ching, after finished his writing for the foundation of Taoism left China for India, where he taught a student named Sakyamuni, and that this last disciple of his founded a religion later called Buddhism, which preached kindness to all. However, the above story was challenged by Buddhists and deemed as a fabricated slander. For centuries, debates between the two religions were held without any result until the time of Khan Kubilai's reign when the Taoists were finally announced defeated and the then Mongol emperor decreed that all copies of Hua Hu Jing were to be banned and burnt...... Hanson Chan, author of the novels Hua Hu 1-The Forbidden Scripture & Hua Hu 2-Thunder Spell, used this historical incident as background and wrote the story of a Taoist girl who at the last request of her Sifu must fulfill her sworn duty to save the sole surviving copy. Hua Hu, Book 1: The Forbidden Scripture describes the twists and turns of her flight from Yenching (today's Beijing) with the book, while being pursued by Buddhist's and the Mongol military, to Dun-Huang. Hua Hu, Book 2: The Thunder Spell uncovers secrets hidden within the Taoist scripture. It was believed that the instruction for "Thunder Spell" was kept within the text of Hua Hu Jing. As legend revealed, the magical power of Thunder Spell was the highest technique for Taoists to summon deities of natural forces to perform magic in their ceremonial services. If one possessed the skill, power and success would be followed soon. So, in the process of unveiling the final truth, the Taoist girl was trapped and forced into a series of bloody fights against trickery and betrayal, selfishness and vanity, as well as dreams and disappointments during her struggles and involvement with different other sects in Taoism. In writing these two novels, Hanson Chan not only examined volumes of books related to the historical incidents, but also made several trips to China to visit various sites of interest for factual details. He will share his research and information with readers in these books.