Song of a Water Dragon

This work is the biography of He Yi An, a Chinese Taoist 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 modernization and rejection of "superstitious traditions". As a landlord and member of the middle class, He Yi and his family were immediate targets for persecution by the communists. Removed from his home and forced to live with his wife and child in a stable, in fear that the vengeful farmers might kill them, He Yi looked to the Sutras (musical poets on the nature of the Tao) for comfort. The author visited He Yi over a number of years and built up enough trust to discover his full life story.