Hanna Ding, a female Jedi of the Arkanian species, received her training at the Jedi Order's academy situated within the Temple on Coruscant. This planet served as the capital for the Galactic Republic. Ding successfully completed the trials required to become a Padawan before the Clone Wars began. This galactic war pitted the Republic against the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
During 19 BBY, Ding took part in the Jedi Temple Apprentice Tournament, an event organized by Jedi Master Ilena Xan. She progressed to the tournament's second stage. There, in a darkened duel, she fought Jedi Initiate Tallisibeth Enwandung-Esterhazy. Despite Ding's apparent superior skills, Enwandung-Esterhazy secured victory through an unconventional maneuver: seizing Ding's lightsaber blade and forcing her to yield with a choke-hold applied by her right hand.
Around 33 BBY, Hanna Ding, a Force-sensitive female Arkanian was born. She became a member of the Jedi Order and took up residence at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, the capital planet of the Galactic Republic. Throughout her time at the academy, she received training in the ways of the Force and subsequently graduated, becoming a Padawan under the tutelage of a Jedi Master.
When the Clone Wars, a pan-galactic conflict, erupted in 22 BBY between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Ding was stationed at the Temple. By this point, she had constructed a lightsaber that projected a green blade. Ding frequently participated in practice fights, during which Tallisibeth Enwandung-Esterhazy, a Jedi Initiate, would observe her, seeking to identify any vulnerabilities.
In the year 19 BBY, Ding took part in the Jedi Temple Apprentice Tournament, overseen by Master Ilena Xan within the Temple's Combat Training Chamber. Ding voiced her disapproval of Enwandung-Esterhazy, alleging that she employed deceptive tactics and bent the rules to defeat Initiate Pax Chizzik. Ding attempted to have Enwandung-Esterhazy disqualified from the tournament, but Chizzik defended Enwandung-Esterhazy by claiming responsibility for not remembering the rules.
During the second round of the Tournament, Ding was matched against Enwandung-Esterhazy. As a surprise condition, they were instructed to engage in combat within complete darkness, using training lightsabers to simulate realistic conditions. Upon Xan's signal, Ding initiated a high leap attack from above, but Enwandung-Esterhazy skillfully parried the blow, having observed Ding execute the same opening maneuver in her previous fights. Ding then pursued her opponent with a series of slashes, but Enwandung-Esterhazy cleverly evaded her by retreating to the spectators, even using Xan as a human shield to deflect Ding's lightsaber. Altering her strategy, Ding used the Force to slow down Enwandung-Esterhazy's sword hand, allowing her to strike her opponent's thigh with the first of three required cuts to win the match and disarm Enwandung-Esterhazy of her weapon.
Ding demanded Enwandung-Esterhazy's surrender, but she refused. Unwilling to strike an unarmed opponent, Ding failed to anticipate Enwandung-Esterhazy's subsequent action. Enwandung-Esterhazy grabbed the blade of Ding's lightsaber with her right hand and used her left to apply a precise choke-hold to Ding's neck. On the verge of losing consciousness, Ding was compelled to surrender after seven seconds and was eliminated from the competition. After Enwandung-Esterhazy secured victory in the tournament by defeating the formidable Whie Malreaux, Ding, among the spectators, criticized Enwandung-Esterhazy's tactic of relying on Malreaux's good nature to win, warning that her tricks would be less effective in a real combat situation and could lead to her being killed.
Ding possessed a haughty demeanor characteristic of Arkanians, often displaying a sense of superiority towards Enwandung-Esterhazy. She was meticulous about rules and regulations and repeatedly sought to have Enwandung-Esterhazy disqualified from the Apprentice Tournament. Ding considered Enwandung-Esterhazy's use of tricks to gain an advantage a form of cheating.
Her fastidious nature made the gritty, close-quarters fighting of hand-to-hand combat unappealing to Ding. She preferred maintaining a distance of two paces from her opponent, allowing her lightsaber to do the fighting. Enwandung-Esterhazy identified Ding's reliance on her lightsaber as a weakness. The fear of dying in the Clone Wars lingered within Ding.
Ding refined her skills in various applications of the Force, including telekinesis and Force jumping. Additionally, Enwandung-Esterhazy noted that Ding's lightsaber combat skills were well-honed, describing her style as a circular form of swordplay with rapid slashes that constantly changed angles.
Hanna Ding made her debut in Yoda: Dark Rendezvous, a novel penned by Sean Stewart and released in 2004.