Song of a Water Dragon

Song of a Water Dragon is a biography of He Yi An, a Chinese Daoist born amidst the shift from Imperial to modern China. His life, steeped in centuries-old beliefs, ceremonies, and practices, collides with the rise of Communism, the frenzy of modernation, and rejection of "superstitious traditions."

He Yi An is born into a middle class family, the son of a respected leather craftsman. Early in life he is initiated into the local Daoist Bible Society, where he learns sutras (musical poems on the nature of the Dao) and various musical instruments. As the privileged first son of wealthy parents, his future is bright with promise.

However, ill fortune strikes with the death of his first-born child. In rapid succession, misfortune after misfortune befalls him. Once blissfully ignorant of events outside his own life, He Yi An is suddenly swept up in the frenzied Communist takeover of China. As a landlord and member of the middle class, he and his family are immediate targets for persecution.

He Yi An is removed from his home and forced to live in a stable with his second wife and newborn child. He is hungry, exhausted from physical labor, and sick with fear that vengeful farmers might kill him. It is in these times of desperation that the sutras comfort He Yi An, and dutiful recitation saves him from madness and suicide.

This remarkable work is a cultural record, a firsthand account of a landmark era in China's history, and a moving testimony to the strength of the human spirit.

Norman S. Track, Ph.D., author of Canada's Royal Garden (Viking Books, 1994) is an ethnographer and Photographic Consultant to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton, Canada. While making several trips to China over a period of years to research irises, and later the Naxi, Dr. Track met and developed a trust with He Yi An. Through this trust came his life story. Dr. Track resides in Toronto, Canada.

Hardcover. 151 pages.