(Above – Paul Tian-Kermode’s I Ching chart as created by Father Xavier Pombo at his birth).
*At the beginning of each Chapter for ‘The Duel of the Sorcerers’ is the I Ching Divination for each day for Paul Tian-Kermode during the period from January 30th 1916 to April 17th, 1917 (the time duration of the novel ‘The Duel of the Sorcerers’). Above is the I Ching Chart. For example, ‘Qian, meaning Heaven, Qian, meaning Heaven’ represents the I Ching Divination for Paul Tian-Kermode for 30th January 1916 and is taken from The I Ching or Yi Jing, (usually translated as Book of Changes or Classic of Changes), is an ancient Chinese divination text and among the oldest of the Chinese classics. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zhou period (1000–750 BC), over the course of the Warring States period and early imperial period (500–200 BC) it was transformed into a cosmological text with a series of philosophical commentaries known as the "Ten Wings”, attributed to Confucius. After becoming part of the Five Classics in the 2nd century BCE, the I Ching was the subject of scholarly commentary and the basis for divination practice for centuries across the Far East, and eventually took on an influential role in Western understanding of Eastern thought. *
About The Inner Circle
‘The Inner Circle’ is a series of historically-based fantasy-quest novels. At its heart is the concept that Time is not linear, but folded. Through the special Elemental Portals (described below), a Guardian of the Wu Xing is able to ‘Time Surf’ through a transference of mental consciousness. She projects her mind through the appropriate Elemental Portal and experiences a transference of consciousness. She is watched over while her mortal body appears to be in a deep coma by her Protector. The Song dynasty mystic Chuang Tzu’s musing on being a man dreaming of being a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming of being a man provides an apt analogy to ‘Time Surfing’, the ability of the initiated Human Mind to experience a transference of consciousness to beings and crucial events in the past or the future.
The ‘Wu Xing’, the five earth elements in (Chinese) cosmology, tether the Universe and keep the violent primordial forces of Yin and Yang in harmony. Throughout human history, the Five Guardians of the Wu Xing have worked together to bring harmony to human affairs. In ancient times, their ‘Master Guardian’ has been the Emperor of China, but since ‘The Mandate of Heaven’ had been lost during the tumultuous Qing Empire, the role of ‘Master Guardian’ has fallen to a succession of Chinese-speaking Jesuit Priests, starting with Matteo Ricci who began the Jesuit China Missions in 1602, advising the Qing dynasty’s Wanli Emperor. Each Wu Xing element is represented by a Guardian, a Protector and a Portal.
In ‘Duel of the Sorcerers’, Book One of the ‘Inner Circle’ series, we are introduced to three of the Elemental Guardians and their ‘Master Guardian’. Given that Wu Xing is universal, the Guardians of the Wu Xing are not limited to being Chinese.
Glossary
Download the PDF version of the glossary here
Contents
Download the PDF version of the list of contents here
List of Characters
Download the PDF version of the list of characters here