Yin Cheng Gong Fa Association North American Headquarters
Copyright © 2000 YCGF_NAH. All rights reserved.
=========================================================================================================
Baguazhang (八卦掌) is one of the three famous internal martial arts styles. No one can clearly
prove who, when, and where it was invented. We do know that it was first taught during the mid
nineteenth century in Beijing by Dong Haichuan (董海川) – generally regarded as the first generation
master of Baguazhang. Most people believe he was the founder of the art. As a great martial artist, his
life was a saga filled with many legends that has been retold in many different versions, as evident in
the inscriptions on his tombstones.
The four tombstones
Originally Dong Haichuan’s grave was first located next to the beside of the Red Bridge Avenue
(Hongqiao Dadao红桥大道) northeast of Zhenshushu (榛椒树), outside of Dongzhi Gate (东直门) of
Beijing. In 1982, it was moved to Wanan Public Cemetery (Wanan Gongmu万安公墓) in the western
suburb of Beijing by the Beijing Baguazhang Association. Today there are four old tombstones at Dong
Haichuan’s grave. They were erected by Dong’s disciples and grand disciples over the years. The
tablets record some valuable information about Dong Haichuan’s life.
First Tablet, erected by Yin Fu (尹福) and others in 1883
Dong Haichuan passed away in the December of 1882. The first memorial tablet was erected by
Yin Fu and others in March of 1883. The front side of the tablet contains brief, simple descriptions of
Dong Haichuan’s life. Because this tablet was erected shortly after Dong’s death, by a number of
people who knew him best, one can be better assured of its validity and accuracy. This tablet is
therefore considered to be the most valuable account of Dong Haichuan’s life.
On the back side of the tablet, the inscription includes some of the eulogy and a list of the names of
the tablet makers. The list consists of the names of 56 disciples and 11 grand disciples. It is said that
the names are ordered according to the student’s duration of study with Dong – Yin Fu’s name coming
first. In accordance with custom, the names of people who participated in that effort were inscribed on
back of the tablet. This is the reason the names of some prominent disciples were not listed. Mostly
likely they were away at the time, or could not be contacted in time to participate in the tablet’s
creation.
The inscription on the front side describes Dong Haichuan’s life as follows: “Dong was from Zhu
Family Village (朱家坞) in the south of Wenan (文安) City. From a young age, Dong did not do farm
work, but enjoyed hunting, and loved helping people in need. When he got older, he traveled to many
places. During his travels he met a person wearing a yellow hat (meaning a Daoist master) who taught
Dong martial arts. In his middle age, something happened which resulted in his becoming a eunuch. He
worked in the King Su’s palace (肃王府). In old age he retired and moved out of the palace, and
started teaching martial arts. About thousand people, from commoners to nobles, from businessmen to
high ranking officials, studied with him. He did not teach everyone the same thing in the same way,
rather, he adapted his teaching to each student. One time, while he was in northern China, several
people holding weapons surrounded and attacked him, but he was incredibly fast, able to defend
himself in all directions. Everyone was in awe of this feat. In his last days, when people touched his
arms and legs, they were still very strong, as if made of iron. For three days he sat with his back
straight in a chair, finally passing away in this posture. People believe this was Yuhua (羽化), or
emergence. (Yu means feather, hua means transformation. According to ancient Daoist beliefs, for
great masters, death is but a transformation into a higher, immortal being, much like a pupa
transforming into a butterfly.) Hundreds of disciples and students in Beijing wore the traditional white
cloth in an act of mourning. His graveyard was located outside of Dongzhi Gate of Beijing. This tablet
was made in commemoration of him.”
This account of his life was simple, honest, and straightforward, containing no tall tales or
exaggerations. It does not even attempt to cover the fact he was castrated in his middle age. In
traditional society this was something to be ashamed of. Today most researchers believe the
information from this tablet inscription to be authentic and true. So with some certainty we can
determine that Dong Haichuan:
• Came from Zhujiawu Village,
• Traveled to many places and learned martial arts from a Taoist master,
• Became a eunuch in his middle age,
• Worked in the King Su’s palace,
• Was a great martial artist and taught many students in different ways in Beijing,
• His original gravesite was known.
prove who, when, and where it was invented. We do know that it was first taught during the mid
nineteenth century in Beijing by Dong Haichuan (董海川) – generally regarded as the first generation
master of Baguazhang. Most people believe he was the founder of the art. As a great martial artist, his
life was a saga filled with many legends that has been retold in many different versions, as evident in
the inscriptions on his tombstones.
The four tombstones
Originally Dong Haichuan’s grave was first located next to the beside of the Red Bridge Avenue
(Hongqiao Dadao红桥大道) northeast of Zhenshushu (榛椒树), outside of Dongzhi Gate (东直门) of
Beijing. In 1982, it was moved to Wanan Public Cemetery (Wanan Gongmu万安公墓) in the western
suburb of Beijing by the Beijing Baguazhang Association. Today there are four old tombstones at Dong
Haichuan’s grave. They were erected by Dong’s disciples and grand disciples over the years. The
tablets record some valuable information about Dong Haichuan’s life.
First Tablet, erected by Yin Fu (尹福) and others in 1883
Dong Haichuan passed away in the December of 1882. The first memorial tablet was erected by
Yin Fu and others in March of 1883. The front side of the tablet contains brief, simple descriptions of
Dong Haichuan’s life. Because this tablet was erected shortly after Dong’s death, by a number of
people who knew him best, one can be better assured of its validity and accuracy. This tablet is
therefore considered to be the most valuable account of Dong Haichuan’s life.
On the back side of the tablet, the inscription includes some of the eulogy and a list of the names of
the tablet makers. The list consists of the names of 56 disciples and 11 grand disciples. It is said that
the names are ordered according to the student’s duration of study with Dong – Yin Fu’s name coming
first. In accordance with custom, the names of people who participated in that effort were inscribed on
back of the tablet. This is the reason the names of some prominent disciples were not listed. Mostly
likely they were away at the time, or could not be contacted in time to participate in the tablet’s
creation.
The inscription on the front side describes Dong Haichuan’s life as follows: “Dong was from Zhu
Family Village (朱家坞) in the south of Wenan (文安) City. From a young age, Dong did not do farm
work, but enjoyed hunting, and loved helping people in need. When he got older, he traveled to many
places. During his travels he met a person wearing a yellow hat (meaning a Daoist master) who taught
Dong martial arts. In his middle age, something happened which resulted in his becoming a eunuch. He
worked in the King Su’s palace (肃王府). In old age he retired and moved out of the palace, and
started teaching martial arts. About thousand people, from commoners to nobles, from businessmen to
high ranking officials, studied with him. He did not teach everyone the same thing in the same way,
rather, he adapted his teaching to each student. One time, while he was in northern China, several
people holding weapons surrounded and attacked him, but he was incredibly fast, able to defend
himself in all directions. Everyone was in awe of this feat. In his last days, when people touched his
arms and legs, they were still very strong, as if made of iron. For three days he sat with his back
straight in a chair, finally passing away in this posture. People believe this was Yuhua (羽化), or
emergence. (Yu means feather, hua means transformation. According to ancient Daoist beliefs, for
great masters, death is but a transformation into a higher, immortal being, much like a pupa
transforming into a butterfly.) Hundreds of disciples and students in Beijing wore the traditional white
cloth in an act of mourning. His graveyard was located outside of Dongzhi Gate of Beijing. This tablet
was made in commemoration of him.”
This account of his life was simple, honest, and straightforward, containing no tall tales or
exaggerations. It does not even attempt to cover the fact he was castrated in his middle age. In
traditional society this was something to be ashamed of. Today most researchers believe the
information from this tablet inscription to be authentic and true. So with some certainty we can
determine that Dong Haichuan:
• Came from Zhujiawu Village,
• Traveled to many places and learned martial arts from a Taoist master,
• Became a eunuch in his middle age,
• Worked in the King Su’s palace,
• Was a great martial artist and taught many students in different ways in Beijing,
• His original gravesite was known.
Dong Haichuan
The inscription on this kind of tablet can only be short and simple. Since his passing, however, there have spread many myths and legends about the
life of this great master. Although many details of those stories may contain inaccuracies if not outright falsehoods, these stories are a part of the oral
history of Dong Haichuan’s life – only the following outlines of his life can be determined with some certainty:
Second Tablet, erected by Yin Fu and others in 1904
This tablet was erected in the March of 1904 by Dong’s senior disciple Yin Fu and 59 martial art teachers of Hebei Martial Arts School.
The inscription of the front side of the tablet contained more details about Dong’s martial art study with the Taoist master, and then some descriptions
of Dong’s personality.
Third Tablet, made by Ma Gui (马贵) and others in 1930
This tablet was erected on March 26, 1930 by Ma Gui and six other third and fourth generation masters.
Ma Gui, belonging to the third generation, actually spent more time studying directly with Dong Haichuan than most second generation masters. Also
Dong lived at Ma’s home for several years after retirement, so Ma should have known Dong very well. Ma was highly respected in the Beijing martial arts
society, and was the group leader of the third generation Baguazhang family.
The inscription of the front side of the tablet tells more stories about Dong Haichuan, especially mentioned Dong met his master in Jiuhua Mountain.
This tablet also contains the twenty characters generation list used within the Baguazhang family.
Some people believe that these descriptions of Dong’s life are slightly exaggerated. Some doubt Dong really learned his skills at Jiuhua Mountain, but
no one can disprove these stories either.
Fourth Tablet, erected by Lu Shukui (卢书魁) and others in 1930
This tablet was erected on March of 1930 by Lu Shukui, a fourth generation master. It is interesting that Lu Shukui’s name also appeared on the third
tablet. The third and fourth tablets were made at the same time. There is no special or new information in the inscription of the fourth tablet.
These tablets offered some new information, but leave us with many questions. Some of these questions are very important and controversial:
1. Who was Dong Haichuan’s teacher?
2. When did the art begin to be called Baguazhang?
3. Why did Dong become a eunuch?
The first question is focused on who actually invented Baguazhang? Most people believe it was Dong Haichuan who told his disciples that he had a
teacher, because it would have been impossible for his disciples to simply fabricate a story about a teacher for him. Some people believe it is true that
Dong had a teacher, so that Dong was not the founder of Baguazhang but just taught the art and made it famous and popular. Some people believe
Dong created Baguazhang himself, having drawn inspiration from something slightly similar.
Many people do not believe the story mentioned above about Dong learning Baguazhang with a Taoist master. They think that Dong made up a story
just to comply with tradition. According to that tradition, good things always came from a secretive source, and must have a long history. Even if Dong
had in fact told his disciples that he had a teacher, it could still be a story he made up to disguise the fact that he invented the art. This practice was in
fact very common in an extremely conservative society where only old things were respected (the older the better). We find this practice in many of the
most famous martial art lineages, where founders were often famous emperors, generals, and philosophers in distant antiquity. But for the true
cognoscenti, the “I met a Daoist/Buddist/Immortal/unusual person while travelling in remote, inaccessible mountains…” story is but a code for “I invented
this.”
There are two reasons people believe that Dong invented Baguazhang. One is that Dong made up the story because no one had ever practiced
Baguazhang before Dong, to this day every Baguazhang practitioner's genealogy can be traced to a single source – which is Dong. It was said that there
were several different Baguazhang styles taught from different lineages, but later all these were proven to be false.
Dong also changed too many movements when he taught Baguazhang. As mentioned earlier this runs counter to Chinese tradition. In the past,
people thought that if you changed something too much from your master's teaching, it meant you did not respect your master.
Who was Baguazhang invented by and when was it invented? No one can answer these questions. In China today, the question of whether
Baguazhang came from Dong or someone else is still not settled. It can be determined that Dong Haichuan was the first person who taught Baguazhang
publicly. So for convenience, we say that Dong Haichuan was the first generation master of Baguazhang.
Second question: When did the term Baguazhang (or Baguaquan) first come into use? On all tablets, there is no any mention that the martial art Dong
taught is named Baguazhang or Baguaquan. So far we do not know clearly when this name was first used. Again, if the name was used from the
beginning, when Dong started teaching the art, it would lend credence to the hypothesis that Dong learned it from someone. However if the name was
used very late in Dong’s life, it is more likely then that Dong created this art. Some stories say when Dong first demonstrated his skill at King Su’s palace,
he told the king it is Bagua, while others say when Dong taught the art, it was just called Circle Walking Palm (Zhuanzhang 转掌) in the beginning, and
later changed to Baguazhang. So far no one has been able to determine when and who started calling it Baguazhang.
On the third question, “Why did Dong become a eunuch?” the most common story is that he killed someone in a fight. In order to avoid jail or even
possibly the death penalty, he became a eunuch and then hid inside the king’s palace. Others say Dong did it in order to practice some special skills. A
few thought Dong joined some organization dedicated to the overthrow of Manchu Dynasty, and that he did it so that he could get close to the king and
await the perfect opportunity to assassinate him or even the emperpor. There were even a few who believed Dong did some very bad things, like rape,
and that was his punishment. This version is extremely unreliable because again, knowing what traditional society was like, if Dong really did this, he could
never be employed by a king and respected by so many people no matter how great his martial arts skill was. At that time for most people, especially for
martial artists, rape was one of the most lowly, despicable types of crimes. On the other hand, killing people in combat, whether the cause is just or not, is
something most martial artists could relate to and understand.
life of this great master. Although many details of those stories may contain inaccuracies if not outright falsehoods, these stories are a part of the oral
history of Dong Haichuan’s life – only the following outlines of his life can be determined with some certainty:
Second Tablet, erected by Yin Fu and others in 1904
This tablet was erected in the March of 1904 by Dong’s senior disciple Yin Fu and 59 martial art teachers of Hebei Martial Arts School.
The inscription of the front side of the tablet contained more details about Dong’s martial art study with the Taoist master, and then some descriptions
of Dong’s personality.
Third Tablet, made by Ma Gui (马贵) and others in 1930
This tablet was erected on March 26, 1930 by Ma Gui and six other third and fourth generation masters.
Ma Gui, belonging to the third generation, actually spent more time studying directly with Dong Haichuan than most second generation masters. Also
Dong lived at Ma’s home for several years after retirement, so Ma should have known Dong very well. Ma was highly respected in the Beijing martial arts
society, and was the group leader of the third generation Baguazhang family.
The inscription of the front side of the tablet tells more stories about Dong Haichuan, especially mentioned Dong met his master in Jiuhua Mountain.
This tablet also contains the twenty characters generation list used within the Baguazhang family.
Some people believe that these descriptions of Dong’s life are slightly exaggerated. Some doubt Dong really learned his skills at Jiuhua Mountain, but
no one can disprove these stories either.
Fourth Tablet, erected by Lu Shukui (卢书魁) and others in 1930
This tablet was erected on March of 1930 by Lu Shukui, a fourth generation master. It is interesting that Lu Shukui’s name also appeared on the third
tablet. The third and fourth tablets were made at the same time. There is no special or new information in the inscription of the fourth tablet.
These tablets offered some new information, but leave us with many questions. Some of these questions are very important and controversial:
1. Who was Dong Haichuan’s teacher?
2. When did the art begin to be called Baguazhang?
3. Why did Dong become a eunuch?
The first question is focused on who actually invented Baguazhang? Most people believe it was Dong Haichuan who told his disciples that he had a
teacher, because it would have been impossible for his disciples to simply fabricate a story about a teacher for him. Some people believe it is true that
Dong had a teacher, so that Dong was not the founder of Baguazhang but just taught the art and made it famous and popular. Some people believe
Dong created Baguazhang himself, having drawn inspiration from something slightly similar.
Many people do not believe the story mentioned above about Dong learning Baguazhang with a Taoist master. They think that Dong made up a story
just to comply with tradition. According to that tradition, good things always came from a secretive source, and must have a long history. Even if Dong
had in fact told his disciples that he had a teacher, it could still be a story he made up to disguise the fact that he invented the art. This practice was in
fact very common in an extremely conservative society where only old things were respected (the older the better). We find this practice in many of the
most famous martial art lineages, where founders were often famous emperors, generals, and philosophers in distant antiquity. But for the true
cognoscenti, the “I met a Daoist/Buddist/Immortal/unusual person while travelling in remote, inaccessible mountains…” story is but a code for “I invented
this.”
There are two reasons people believe that Dong invented Baguazhang. One is that Dong made up the story because no one had ever practiced
Baguazhang before Dong, to this day every Baguazhang practitioner's genealogy can be traced to a single source – which is Dong. It was said that there
were several different Baguazhang styles taught from different lineages, but later all these were proven to be false.
Dong also changed too many movements when he taught Baguazhang. As mentioned earlier this runs counter to Chinese tradition. In the past,
people thought that if you changed something too much from your master's teaching, it meant you did not respect your master.
Who was Baguazhang invented by and when was it invented? No one can answer these questions. In China today, the question of whether
Baguazhang came from Dong or someone else is still not settled. It can be determined that Dong Haichuan was the first person who taught Baguazhang
publicly. So for convenience, we say that Dong Haichuan was the first generation master of Baguazhang.
Second question: When did the term Baguazhang (or Baguaquan) first come into use? On all tablets, there is no any mention that the martial art Dong
taught is named Baguazhang or Baguaquan. So far we do not know clearly when this name was first used. Again, if the name was used from the
beginning, when Dong started teaching the art, it would lend credence to the hypothesis that Dong learned it from someone. However if the name was
used very late in Dong’s life, it is more likely then that Dong created this art. Some stories say when Dong first demonstrated his skill at King Su’s palace,
he told the king it is Bagua, while others say when Dong taught the art, it was just called Circle Walking Palm (Zhuanzhang 转掌) in the beginning, and
later changed to Baguazhang. So far no one has been able to determine when and who started calling it Baguazhang.
On the third question, “Why did Dong become a eunuch?” the most common story is that he killed someone in a fight. In order to avoid jail or even
possibly the death penalty, he became a eunuch and then hid inside the king’s palace. Others say Dong did it in order to practice some special skills. A
few thought Dong joined some organization dedicated to the overthrow of Manchu Dynasty, and that he did it so that he could get close to the king and
await the perfect opportunity to assassinate him or even the emperpor. There were even a few who believed Dong did some very bad things, like rape,
and that was his punishment. This version is extremely unreliable because again, knowing what traditional society was like, if Dong really did this, he could
never be employed by a king and respected by so many people no matter how great his martial arts skill was. At that time for most people, especially for
martial artists, rape was one of the most lowly, despicable types of crimes. On the other hand, killing people in combat, whether the cause is just or not, is
something most martial artists could relate to and understand.
| Dong Haichuan’s grave in the Wanan Public Cemetery of Beijing |
Biography of Dong Haichuan
Here is the commonly told version of Master Dong Haichuan’s life:
Dong Haichuan, also named Jide (继德), was born on November 20 (October 13 in the lunar calendar), 1797 (the second year of the Emperor Jiaqing
嘉庆二年) in Zhujiawu (Zhu Family Village) of Wenan County, Hebei Province.
From a very young age Dong had a love for martial arts. He studied Shaolin 18 Luohanquan very hard. Gradually his gongfu level became good. He
traveled throughout the country searching for excellent masters of high level martial arts. Nobody knows clearly where he went and what happened on
his way during this period.
There are several versions of the story about Dong Haichuan’s martial arts training. The most common one is that he met Taoist Master Bi Dengxia (毕
澄霞 or 壁灯侠) in Jiuhuashan (九华山) Mountain in Anhui (安徽) Province and learned Baguazhang with him. It is said that Master Bi's gongfu was very
special. First he had Dong walk the circle, and then learned the many developmental changes that come from doing so. He taught Dong how to acquire
and use internal force. He also taught Dong that the principle of Yijing (易经), which includes the Bagua concept, was the foundation of all things. Dong
practiced every posture very carefully and thought of how to develop each one. Dong learned qigong as well. In this way many martial art skills were
combined into internal exercises. Dong also studied Daoism, because he knew that any high-level study must have high level philosophy as its
foundation. It is said that Master Bi Dengxia had another gongfu brother named Guo Jiyuan (郭济元) who taught Dong Haichuan also. The two brothers
always stayed together and were called Hehe Erxian (和合二仙) – Harmonious and Coordinated Immortals. Dong left Master Bi after ten years of training
and continued his travels. He visited many places and fought many people. Each time he won easily. He knew he had mastered the high-level martial
arts he desired. He then traveled to Beijing, the capital city of China.
Around the mid 1860s, he started to teach a very special new gongfu style known today as Baguazhang in Beijing. It is said that at this time his level
of skill was so unlike anything people in Beijing had seen before. Soon Baguazhang became very famous and popular.
In Beijing he worked in the King Su’s palace* and started to teach his art to others. It is said his first student was Quan Kaiting (全凯亭) who was a
housekeeper at the palace. Generally people respect Yin Fu as Dong’s senior disciple and the group leader in the second generation, as Quan did not
continue his practice and stay with the group.
When Dong got old, he moved out of the King’s palace. At first he stayed at Ma Gui’s home for several years. Ma was Yin Fu’s disciple and learned
with Dong directly from his early years. Later Dong moved to his disciple Shi Jidong (史继栋)’s home until he passed away. Shi’s wife was adopted as his
daughter. Dong passed away on December 5 (October 25 in the lunar calendar), 1882 (the eighth year of the emperor Guangxu 光绪八年).
* About the title of King Su: During Qing Dynasty, the highest rank of nobility under the emperor is wang (王) – king, which could only be given to the
emperor’s sons. There were four levels within the rank of king – Qinwang (亲王), Junwang (郡王), Beile (贝勒), and Beizi (贝子). When a person was
given a rank, it also added a name in front to form a title, such as Su Qinwang, Duan Junwang. Some titles could be inherited directly, for example if the
father’s title was Qinwang, then his eldest son could inherit this title, rank and all of its privileges. This direct inheritance of the highest level rank king,
Qinwang, gave only eight kings during the Qing Dynasty. These kings made great contributions in the war for establishing the new dynasty. In other
cases, the rank was reduced in subsequent generations, where for example, the Qingwang title became Junwang, with corresponding reductions in
status and pay.
Su Qinwang (肃亲王) or simply called Su Wang (肃王) – King Su was one of those eight kings having direct inheritance of the title. There were ten
generations from Su Qinwang. The first generation of Su Qinwang was Haoge (豪格) who was the oldest son of the second emperor of Qing Dynasty.
When Dong Haichuan worked in the King Su’s palace, it was during the period of the eighth and ninth generation kings. The eighth generation king was
Huafeng (华丰 1804 – 1869) who inherited the title of Su Qinwang from 1853. The ninth generation king was Longqin (隆懃 1840 – 1898) who inherited
the title of Su Qinwang from 1870 onwards.
Dong Haichuan taught Baguazhang in Beijing
The Qing Dynasty was ruled by Manchurian conquerors. Most Manchurians, even emperors, kings, and nobles, loved the martial arts. They always
invited great masters to teach their elite units and security guards. Sometimes, even the emperor and his family studied a martial art. This provided
many opportunities for the masters. It was a golden age for research and development in the martial arts.
When Dong Haichuan first came to Beijing, he wanted to observe others first before displaying his skills. He was hired as a servant in Su Wang's
family. Su Wang (肃王) - King Su, was the emperor's cousin. He was fond of martial arts and had invited many famous masters to his palace. Master Sha
Huizi (沙回子), the supervisor of the king's security guards, was the best of them. His wife, Ma Jinfeng (马金凤), was also a good master.
One day, King Su held a big party. Because many guests were attending, the room was full. Every servant but Dong was having a difficult time
working his way through the crowd. Dong walked very fast amongst the guests without ever touching anyone. The king noticed that and was very
surprised. He asked Dong: "How could you do that so well? I think you must practice a martial art." "Yes" Dong answered. "Can you show me something
that you know?" "Yes." Then Dong went to the yard and performed his Shaolinquan forms. When he finished, the king said: "I don't think this is the only
thing you know. Please show me your best." "OK." Dong performed the techniques that Master Bi Dengxia taught him in the Jiuhuashan Mountain.
The techniques were very special, beautiful, and exciting to watch. One move flowed into another, one change followed another, seeming endless,
inexhaustible. Nobody said a word because they had never seen this style before. "What is it?" The king asked Dong when he finished his performance.
It was a very good question that Dong could not answer, Master Bi had never mentioned the name. Since a king’s question must be answered, Dong
thought of the principles in which Bagua is based, and said: "It is Bagua." "Great! Can you tell me more about Bagua?" the King said. "Yes." Dong
explained, using some basic ideas and skills. The king was very happy, and said: "You are great master. You do not need to be a servant. You should
take security job for me.” Everybody congratulated him except for one angry and jealous person, Sha Huizi, the supervisor of the security guards.
Sha Huizi resented the fact everyone thought Dong Haichuan was great, and wanted to prove that he was still the best in the palace. He asked the
king to allow him to challenge Dong. Naturally the king wanted to see this, and asked Dong if he would accept the challenge. When Dong said yes, the
real fighting began. Sha executed all of his techniques with full force intending to injure or even kill Dong. But Dong was relaxed, his internal force very
strong, stable, and nimble. He did not attack often, mostly just defending himself. Everyone saw this and understood that Dong could have beaten Sha
easily but held back. Sha also knew this. So he quit fighting and blushed with shame. The king told Dong: “You are now the new supervisor of my
guards, in charge of all security affairs". Of course Sha hated Dong even more and wanted revenge.
Sha and his wife Ma Jinfeng hatched a plan. They knew that they could not beat Dong in a fair fight, so they decided on assassination. One night,
after everyone went to bed, Sha took a sword and his wife took a flint-lock and sneaked into Dong's bedroom quietly. Much to their surprise, they found
the bed empty. At which point Dong jumped down from the ceiling, where he had held himself onto the beam, and fought the two assailants in the dark.
Dong was very quick, he seized their weapons and captured Sha and Ma alive. Sha and Ma were very afraid, knowing if Dong took them to the king, they
would be executed. They begged Dong piteously, "If you let us run away, you are our master (in Chinese, this means they must respect Dong forever),
and we will leave Beijing immediately and never come back." Dong said it was okay and let them go. The couple left Beijing that night and went to
northeast China. There they taught martial arts and became famous. It is said when Dong was old, Master Sha came back secretively, seeking
opportunity for revenge but finding none, he killed Dong’s disciple Ma Weiqi instead. This made Dong very upset. (This story is very popular within the
Baguazhang family, but it is doubtful that it is true. One reason is the name of Ma Weiqi appears on the first tombstone at Dong Haichuan’s grave. It
seems to imply that Ma was still alive at that time.)
Dong Haichuan became very famous from the day he made his gongfu public. He had a good job and made many good friends with whom he
practiced and studied martial arts. Many people at that time thought Dong was the greatest master, so they wanted to study with him. Of course, many
people challenged him but he defeated all of his challengers.
At that time, some other great masters resided in Beijing, such as Yang Luchan (杨露禅), the greatest Taijiquan Master and the first person to make
Taijiquan public and famous. Guo Yunshen (郭云深), and Liu Qilan (刘奇兰), both great Xingyiquan masters were also in Beijing at this time. Guo and Liu
traveled and fought in many places and made Xingyiquan famous. Song Mailun (宋迈伦) was also there, the greatest Sanhuang Paochui (三皇炮捶) –
Three Emperor Cannon Fist master who built Huiyou Biaoju (会友镖局), the most famous security-guard company in China.
All of these great masters were friends, fought together, researching and developing their great skills together. There are many stories about these
men, yet they all agree that Dong Haichuan was the best among them. One interesting story is about Dong’s initial encounter with Guo Yunshen. They
fought for three days until Guo thought Dong was a better fighter. They then discussed their techniques and decided to merge Xingyi and Bagua into
one system, which meant that everybody who studied Xingyi, would have to study Bagua, and vice versa. This is the reason people in the know say
“Xingyi and Bagua are one family”.
Dong Haichuan worked for the king for about twenty years. After he retired, he moved out from the palace and taught Baguazhang to his many
disciples and students. When Dong Haichuan taught Baguazhang, he used a very special teaching method. He taught his students the main ideas of
Bagua, and then taught the movements and application skills according to each person's body condition and personality. He also allowed students to
change some of their movements. As a result, almost every student had different movements but nonetheless shared the same core ideas. This is one
reason why there are so many different Baguazhang styles today. It is also an important reason why many people believe that it was Dong Haichuan who
invented Baguazhang.
Some of Dong’s students are very famous. Among them Yin Fu, nicknamed Shou Yin (瘦尹) – Thin Yin, Cheng Tinghua (程廷华) , nicknamed Yanjing
Cheng (眼镜程) – Spectacle Cheng, and Song Yongxiang (宋永祥), nicknamed Huayuan Song (花园宋) – Garden Song were the most famous. Because
of their skills, only these three branches were qualified to be called styles. They are respected in name as: Yin Style Baguazhang, Cheng Style
Baguazhang, and Song Style Baguazhang.
Dong’s other famous students include Song Changrong (宋长荣); Ma Weiqi (马维祺), nicknamed Mei Ma (煤马) – Coal Ma, Shi Jidong (史计栋),
nicknamed Zeitui Shi Liu (贼腿史六) – Thief Leg Shi Liu; Liu Dekuan (刘德宽), nicknamed Daqiang Liu (大枪刘) – Big Spear Liu, Liu Fengchun (刘凤春),
nicknamed Cuihua Liu (翠花刘) – Artifical Flower Maker Liu, Wei Ji 魏吉; Liang Zhenpu (梁振蒲), nicknamed Guyi Liang (估衣梁) – Old Clothes Business
Liang, and Wang Lide (王立德). Students who came from the Xingyiquan group include: Li Cunyi (李存义), nicknamed Dan Dao Li (单刀李) – Single
Broadsword Li, Zhang Zhankui (张占魁), nicknamed Shandianshou (闪电手) – Lightening Hand, Geng Chengxin (耿成性), and Zhou Mingtai (周明泰), etc.
In the morning on December 5, 1882, Master Dong Haichuan had difficulty gathering his qi. He summoned his disciples. "Today I do not feel well, I
know I will die. All of you take care of yourselves. I hope you work very hard to make our group bigger, and that the essence of our arts can be kept and
propagated forever." He sat upright, smiled, and passed away quietly in the chair. Several hundred people mourned for him at his funeral. During his
legendary life, he made a huge contribution to Chinese martial arts. Although never married, never the less he had a very large family.
Here is the commonly told version of Master Dong Haichuan’s life:
Dong Haichuan, also named Jide (继德), was born on November 20 (October 13 in the lunar calendar), 1797 (the second year of the Emperor Jiaqing
嘉庆二年) in Zhujiawu (Zhu Family Village) of Wenan County, Hebei Province.
From a very young age Dong had a love for martial arts. He studied Shaolin 18 Luohanquan very hard. Gradually his gongfu level became good. He
traveled throughout the country searching for excellent masters of high level martial arts. Nobody knows clearly where he went and what happened on
his way during this period.
There are several versions of the story about Dong Haichuan’s martial arts training. The most common one is that he met Taoist Master Bi Dengxia (毕
澄霞 or 壁灯侠) in Jiuhuashan (九华山) Mountain in Anhui (安徽) Province and learned Baguazhang with him. It is said that Master Bi's gongfu was very
special. First he had Dong walk the circle, and then learned the many developmental changes that come from doing so. He taught Dong how to acquire
and use internal force. He also taught Dong that the principle of Yijing (易经), which includes the Bagua concept, was the foundation of all things. Dong
practiced every posture very carefully and thought of how to develop each one. Dong learned qigong as well. In this way many martial art skills were
combined into internal exercises. Dong also studied Daoism, because he knew that any high-level study must have high level philosophy as its
foundation. It is said that Master Bi Dengxia had another gongfu brother named Guo Jiyuan (郭济元) who taught Dong Haichuan also. The two brothers
always stayed together and were called Hehe Erxian (和合二仙) – Harmonious and Coordinated Immortals. Dong left Master Bi after ten years of training
and continued his travels. He visited many places and fought many people. Each time he won easily. He knew he had mastered the high-level martial
arts he desired. He then traveled to Beijing, the capital city of China.
Around the mid 1860s, he started to teach a very special new gongfu style known today as Baguazhang in Beijing. It is said that at this time his level
of skill was so unlike anything people in Beijing had seen before. Soon Baguazhang became very famous and popular.
In Beijing he worked in the King Su’s palace* and started to teach his art to others. It is said his first student was Quan Kaiting (全凯亭) who was a
housekeeper at the palace. Generally people respect Yin Fu as Dong’s senior disciple and the group leader in the second generation, as Quan did not
continue his practice and stay with the group.
When Dong got old, he moved out of the King’s palace. At first he stayed at Ma Gui’s home for several years. Ma was Yin Fu’s disciple and learned
with Dong directly from his early years. Later Dong moved to his disciple Shi Jidong (史继栋)’s home until he passed away. Shi’s wife was adopted as his
daughter. Dong passed away on December 5 (October 25 in the lunar calendar), 1882 (the eighth year of the emperor Guangxu 光绪八年).
* About the title of King Su: During Qing Dynasty, the highest rank of nobility under the emperor is wang (王) – king, which could only be given to the
emperor’s sons. There were four levels within the rank of king – Qinwang (亲王), Junwang (郡王), Beile (贝勒), and Beizi (贝子). When a person was
given a rank, it also added a name in front to form a title, such as Su Qinwang, Duan Junwang. Some titles could be inherited directly, for example if the
father’s title was Qinwang, then his eldest son could inherit this title, rank and all of its privileges. This direct inheritance of the highest level rank king,
Qinwang, gave only eight kings during the Qing Dynasty. These kings made great contributions in the war for establishing the new dynasty. In other
cases, the rank was reduced in subsequent generations, where for example, the Qingwang title became Junwang, with corresponding reductions in
status and pay.
Su Qinwang (肃亲王) or simply called Su Wang (肃王) – King Su was one of those eight kings having direct inheritance of the title. There were ten
generations from Su Qinwang. The first generation of Su Qinwang was Haoge (豪格) who was the oldest son of the second emperor of Qing Dynasty.
When Dong Haichuan worked in the King Su’s palace, it was during the period of the eighth and ninth generation kings. The eighth generation king was
Huafeng (华丰 1804 – 1869) who inherited the title of Su Qinwang from 1853. The ninth generation king was Longqin (隆懃 1840 – 1898) who inherited
the title of Su Qinwang from 1870 onwards.
Dong Haichuan taught Baguazhang in Beijing
The Qing Dynasty was ruled by Manchurian conquerors. Most Manchurians, even emperors, kings, and nobles, loved the martial arts. They always
invited great masters to teach their elite units and security guards. Sometimes, even the emperor and his family studied a martial art. This provided
many opportunities for the masters. It was a golden age for research and development in the martial arts.
When Dong Haichuan first came to Beijing, he wanted to observe others first before displaying his skills. He was hired as a servant in Su Wang's
family. Su Wang (肃王) - King Su, was the emperor's cousin. He was fond of martial arts and had invited many famous masters to his palace. Master Sha
Huizi (沙回子), the supervisor of the king's security guards, was the best of them. His wife, Ma Jinfeng (马金凤), was also a good master.
One day, King Su held a big party. Because many guests were attending, the room was full. Every servant but Dong was having a difficult time
working his way through the crowd. Dong walked very fast amongst the guests without ever touching anyone. The king noticed that and was very
surprised. He asked Dong: "How could you do that so well? I think you must practice a martial art." "Yes" Dong answered. "Can you show me something
that you know?" "Yes." Then Dong went to the yard and performed his Shaolinquan forms. When he finished, the king said: "I don't think this is the only
thing you know. Please show me your best." "OK." Dong performed the techniques that Master Bi Dengxia taught him in the Jiuhuashan Mountain.
The techniques were very special, beautiful, and exciting to watch. One move flowed into another, one change followed another, seeming endless,
inexhaustible. Nobody said a word because they had never seen this style before. "What is it?" The king asked Dong when he finished his performance.
It was a very good question that Dong could not answer, Master Bi had never mentioned the name. Since a king’s question must be answered, Dong
thought of the principles in which Bagua is based, and said: "It is Bagua." "Great! Can you tell me more about Bagua?" the King said. "Yes." Dong
explained, using some basic ideas and skills. The king was very happy, and said: "You are great master. You do not need to be a servant. You should
take security job for me.” Everybody congratulated him except for one angry and jealous person, Sha Huizi, the supervisor of the security guards.
Sha Huizi resented the fact everyone thought Dong Haichuan was great, and wanted to prove that he was still the best in the palace. He asked the
king to allow him to challenge Dong. Naturally the king wanted to see this, and asked Dong if he would accept the challenge. When Dong said yes, the
real fighting began. Sha executed all of his techniques with full force intending to injure or even kill Dong. But Dong was relaxed, his internal force very
strong, stable, and nimble. He did not attack often, mostly just defending himself. Everyone saw this and understood that Dong could have beaten Sha
easily but held back. Sha also knew this. So he quit fighting and blushed with shame. The king told Dong: “You are now the new supervisor of my
guards, in charge of all security affairs". Of course Sha hated Dong even more and wanted revenge.
Sha and his wife Ma Jinfeng hatched a plan. They knew that they could not beat Dong in a fair fight, so they decided on assassination. One night,
after everyone went to bed, Sha took a sword and his wife took a flint-lock and sneaked into Dong's bedroom quietly. Much to their surprise, they found
the bed empty. At which point Dong jumped down from the ceiling, where he had held himself onto the beam, and fought the two assailants in the dark.
Dong was very quick, he seized their weapons and captured Sha and Ma alive. Sha and Ma were very afraid, knowing if Dong took them to the king, they
would be executed. They begged Dong piteously, "If you let us run away, you are our master (in Chinese, this means they must respect Dong forever),
and we will leave Beijing immediately and never come back." Dong said it was okay and let them go. The couple left Beijing that night and went to
northeast China. There they taught martial arts and became famous. It is said when Dong was old, Master Sha came back secretively, seeking
opportunity for revenge but finding none, he killed Dong’s disciple Ma Weiqi instead. This made Dong very upset. (This story is very popular within the
Baguazhang family, but it is doubtful that it is true. One reason is the name of Ma Weiqi appears on the first tombstone at Dong Haichuan’s grave. It
seems to imply that Ma was still alive at that time.)
Dong Haichuan became very famous from the day he made his gongfu public. He had a good job and made many good friends with whom he
practiced and studied martial arts. Many people at that time thought Dong was the greatest master, so they wanted to study with him. Of course, many
people challenged him but he defeated all of his challengers.
At that time, some other great masters resided in Beijing, such as Yang Luchan (杨露禅), the greatest Taijiquan Master and the first person to make
Taijiquan public and famous. Guo Yunshen (郭云深), and Liu Qilan (刘奇兰), both great Xingyiquan masters were also in Beijing at this time. Guo and Liu
traveled and fought in many places and made Xingyiquan famous. Song Mailun (宋迈伦) was also there, the greatest Sanhuang Paochui (三皇炮捶) –
Three Emperor Cannon Fist master who built Huiyou Biaoju (会友镖局), the most famous security-guard company in China.
All of these great masters were friends, fought together, researching and developing their great skills together. There are many stories about these
men, yet they all agree that Dong Haichuan was the best among them. One interesting story is about Dong’s initial encounter with Guo Yunshen. They
fought for three days until Guo thought Dong was a better fighter. They then discussed their techniques and decided to merge Xingyi and Bagua into
one system, which meant that everybody who studied Xingyi, would have to study Bagua, and vice versa. This is the reason people in the know say
“Xingyi and Bagua are one family”.
Dong Haichuan worked for the king for about twenty years. After he retired, he moved out from the palace and taught Baguazhang to his many
disciples and students. When Dong Haichuan taught Baguazhang, he used a very special teaching method. He taught his students the main ideas of
Bagua, and then taught the movements and application skills according to each person's body condition and personality. He also allowed students to
change some of their movements. As a result, almost every student had different movements but nonetheless shared the same core ideas. This is one
reason why there are so many different Baguazhang styles today. It is also an important reason why many people believe that it was Dong Haichuan who
invented Baguazhang.
Some of Dong’s students are very famous. Among them Yin Fu, nicknamed Shou Yin (瘦尹) – Thin Yin, Cheng Tinghua (程廷华) , nicknamed Yanjing
Cheng (眼镜程) – Spectacle Cheng, and Song Yongxiang (宋永祥), nicknamed Huayuan Song (花园宋) – Garden Song were the most famous. Because
of their skills, only these three branches were qualified to be called styles. They are respected in name as: Yin Style Baguazhang, Cheng Style
Baguazhang, and Song Style Baguazhang.
Dong’s other famous students include Song Changrong (宋长荣); Ma Weiqi (马维祺), nicknamed Mei Ma (煤马) – Coal Ma, Shi Jidong (史计栋),
nicknamed Zeitui Shi Liu (贼腿史六) – Thief Leg Shi Liu; Liu Dekuan (刘德宽), nicknamed Daqiang Liu (大枪刘) – Big Spear Liu, Liu Fengchun (刘凤春),
nicknamed Cuihua Liu (翠花刘) – Artifical Flower Maker Liu, Wei Ji 魏吉; Liang Zhenpu (梁振蒲), nicknamed Guyi Liang (估衣梁) – Old Clothes Business
Liang, and Wang Lide (王立德). Students who came from the Xingyiquan group include: Li Cunyi (李存义), nicknamed Dan Dao Li (单刀李) – Single
Broadsword Li, Zhang Zhankui (张占魁), nicknamed Shandianshou (闪电手) – Lightening Hand, Geng Chengxin (耿成性), and Zhou Mingtai (周明泰), etc.
In the morning on December 5, 1882, Master Dong Haichuan had difficulty gathering his qi. He summoned his disciples. "Today I do not feel well, I
know I will die. All of you take care of yourselves. I hope you work very hard to make our group bigger, and that the essence of our arts can be kept and
propagated forever." He sat upright, smiled, and passed away quietly in the chair. Several hundred people mourned for him at his funeral. During his
legendary life, he made a huge contribution to Chinese martial arts. Although never married, never the less he had a very large family.