Page 24 of Dragonkeeper


  “Wait!” Ping said. “What is the baby’s name?”

  The dragon thought for a moment. “Call him Kai Duan which means beginning,” he said. “Long Kai Duan.”

  Before Ping had a chance to say anything else the dragon flapped his wings and took three paces off the edge of the cliff. He was so thin that the strong wind carried him easily over the breaking waves. He flew off without a backward glance. His life had been full of hardship. Ping hoped he would find peace on the Isle of the Blest. It seemed impossible that his fragile wings could carry him over such a distance. Ping watched him until he was too small to see. She prayed he’d have the strength to reach his destination.

  She looked down at the baby dragon standing unsteadily at her feet. Would she be able to live up to Danzi’s expectations? In the past weeks she had achieved impossible things. She had found her name. She had gained the friendship of an Emperor—and lost it again. She had helped a dragon.

  “Come on, Kai,” she said, picking up the little creature. “We have to find a she-goat.”

  She was no longer the timid girl who endured a miserable life of slavery rather than venture into the unknown. She was responsible for the last dragon. She turned her back on Ocean. Her path lay a different way and she was looking forward to the journey.

  GLOSSARY

  CASH

  A Chinese coin of low value with a square hole in the middle.

  CHANG

  A measure of distance equal to about 2.3 metres.

  CINNABAR

  A bright red mineral whose chemical name is mercuric sulphide.

  CONFUCIUS

  A Chinese philosopher who lived around 500 BCE.

  FIVE CLASSICS

  Five Chinese books, more than 2000 years old, that formed the basis of knowledge in ancient China.

  FOUR SPIRITUAL ANIMALS

  The dragon, the qilin, the red phoenix and the giant tortoise. The ancient Chinese named four constellations after these animals.

  HAN DYNASTY

  A period in Chinese history when the emperors all belonged to a particular family. It lasted from 202 BCE to 220 CE.

  HAN FOOT

  A measure of length equal to about 23 centimetres.

  JADE

  A semiprecious stone also known as nephrite. Its colour varies from green to white.

  JIN

  The measure of weight for gold.

  JUJUBE

  A name for the fruit known as the Chinese date.

  LIA measure of distance equal to about half a kilometre.

  MOU

  A measure of land area one pace wide and 240 paces long.

  PANGOLIN

  An animal with a scaly skin and a long snout that eats ants.

  QI

  According to traditional Chinese beliefs, qi is the life energy that flows through us and controls the workings of the body.

  QILIN

  A mythical Chinese animal with the body of a deer, tail of an ox and a single horn.

  RED PHOENIX

  A mythical Chinese bird that looks a lot like a peacock.

  SHEN

  According to traditional Chinese beliefs, shen is the spiritual energy that drives our mental and spiritual activities. It is sometimes translated as the soul.

  SHU

  A measure of weight equal to about half a gram.

  PRONUNCIATION

  The Chinese words in this book are written in pinyin which is the official way of writing the sound of Chinese characters using the English alphabet. These words aren’t always pronounced the way you might think. Here is a guide to help you pronounce them properly.

  Diao Dee-ow (rhymes with now)

  Hua Hw-ar (rhymes with far)

  Huangling Hwang-ling

  Kai Duan Kai (rhymes with buy) Dw-aan

  Lao Ma L-ow (rhymes with now) Ma (rhymes with far)

  Liu Che Lee-oo (oo as in loop) Chur (as in church)

  Long Danzi Lung (u as in butcher) Dan-za

  Ping Sounds just like it looks

  Tai Shan Tai (pronounced as tie) Shan

  Tian Tee-en

  Wang Cao Wah-ng Ts-ow (like the end of ‘cats’ and the end of ‘now’)

  Wei Wei Way Way

  Wucheng Woo-chung

  This story is set in the year 141 BCE, the first year of the long reign of Emperor Wudi. Long Danzi’s words of wisdom were inspired by the Dao De Jing, an ancient Chinese work written more than 2500 years ago. The Dao forms the basis of the Chinese philosophy Daoism and encourages people to live a simple, honest life with as little interference with nature as possible.

  Carole Wilkinson’s Dragonkeeper series is loved by readers all over the world and books in the series have won both literary and children’s choice awards. Carole embarked on her writing career at the age of 40, happily leaving behind her previous employment as a laboratory technician in jobs involving blood and brains. She has been making up for lost time ever since. She has a fascination with dragons and is interested in the history of everything. Her books are a combination of meticulous research and imagination.

  Carole’s website is carolewilkinson.com.au

  First published in 2003 by

  This edition published in 2012

  by

  an imprint of Walker Books Australia Pty Ltd

  Locked Bag 22, Newtown

  NSW 2042 Australia

  www.walkerbooks.com.au

  This ebook edition published in 2013

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  Text © 2003 Carole Wilkinson

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:

  Wilkinson, Carole, 1950– author.

  Dragonkeeper / Carole Wilkinson.

  4th edition.

  Series: Wilkinson, Carole, 1950– author. Dragonkeeper; bk. 1.

  For secondary school age.

  Subjects: Child slaves – China – Juvenile fiction.

  Dragons – China – Juvenile fiction.

  A823.3

  ISBN: 978-1-742590-58-5 (ePub)

  ISBN: 978-1-922244-08-6 (e-PDF)

  ISBN: 978-1-922244-09-3 (.PRC)

  Cover illustration © 2012 Sonia Kretschmar

  Map by Julian Bruère

  For John

  who first introduced me to dragons

  and Lili

  my resident editor and sounding board

  PRAISE FOR THE DRAGONKEEPER SERIES

  “I was riveted by the magical adventures, beautifully told, of a nameless Chinese slave girl.”

  KATHARINE ENGLAND, AUSTRALIAN BOOK REVIEW

  “… entrancing, beautifully written story … a wonderfully satisfying and unexpected climax.”

  ADELAIDE ADVERTISER

  “An enchanting blend of fantasy and history.”

  THE AGE

  “A journey … is the essence of this outstanding novel …

  It is a story that informs as it delights and leaves the reader with a yearning to know more.”

  THE CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, JUDGES’ REPORT

  “… an ambitious novel, marrying ancient Chinese history and culture with magic and fantasy … the sights, smells and tastes of this fantastic ancient China are fully realised.”

  AUSTRALIAN BOOKSELLER AND PUBLISHER

  “… a superb novel …”

  CANBERRA TIMES

  “Enchanting and fascinating … something worth celebrating.”

  KATE FEWSTER, VIEWPOINT

  “… proof that the fantasy genre is still working its magic.”

  JODIE MINUS, THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN

  THE DRAGONKEEPER SERIES

  Dragonkeeper

  Garden of the Purple Dragon

  Dragon Moon
>
  Blood Brothers

  Dragon Dawn (prequel)

  OTHER BOOKS BY CAROLE WILKINSON

  The Dragon Companion

  Ramose: Prince in Exile

  Ramose and the Tomb Robbers

  Ramose: Sting of the Scorpion

  Ramose: Wrath of Ra

  YOUNG ADULT

  Sugar Sugar

  Stagefright

  PICTURE BOOK

  The Night We Made the Flag

  TRUE TALES SERIES

  Ned Kelly’s Jerilderie Letter

  THE DRUM SERIES

  Black Snake

  The Games

  Alexander the Great

  Fromelles: Australia’s Bloodiest Day at War

  THE BEAT SERIES

  Hatshepsut: The Lost Pharaoh of Egypt

  Find out about Carole’s books on her website

  www.carolewilkinson.com.au

 


 

  Carole Wilkinson, Dragonkeeper

 


 

 
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