Hua Hu Jing is an ancient Taoist scripture that was written in China in the fourth century. The book stated that Lao Tzu, after having finished the Tao Te Ching and discovering Tao (the way with nature), left China for India, where he taught a disciple named Sakyamuni. This disciple founded a religion called Buddhism, which preached kindness to all.
Its story was challenged by Buddhists and deemed as slander. For centuries, debates between the two religions were held without result until Kubilai’s reign when the Taoists were finally defeated and the Mongol emperor decreed that all copies of Hua Hu Jing were to be banned and burnt.
Hanson Chan, author of the novels Hua Hu I–The Forbidden Scripture & Hua Hu II–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 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 and describes how the Taoist girl reveals them.
It was believed that the instruction for Thunder Spell was kept within Hua Hu Jing. Thunder Spell, according to legend, was the highest technique for Taoists to summon deities of natural forces to perform magic in their ceremonial services. It represented power and success if one possessed the skill.
In the process of unveiling the hidden secrets, the Taoist girl is trapped and forced into a series of bloody fights against trickery and betrayal, selfishness and vanity, as well as dreams and failures during her struggles and involvement with different sects or characters in Taoism.
As the story inches to its conclusion, experiences and results from her mission have a surprise impact on her future goals and convictions, turning the theme to that of inspiration.
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 cites of interest for factual details. He will share his research with the audience on the history and facts as well as the structure of different plots and themes he believes provide valuable information for these two books.
