History of Tung Tai Chi Lineage

In the big village of Xingtai, in Renxian County, Hebei (or Hopeh) Province, north of the Yellow River, about 400 km south of Beijing, the Tung family held a coaching inn. As Master Tung Kai-Ying describes it, 'A bit like in Western movies! One would stop there to feed horses, eat and sleep... In those days, every family farmed its land, sewed its clothes and shoes... Everything was done in the village.'

Tung Ying-Kiai (also transcribed as Tung Ying-Kit or Dong Ying-Jie) came from a peasant family. Having heard of the power of Tai Chi Chuan and attracted by the art of the fist very early on, despite frail health in his youth, the very young Tung Ying-Kiai once answered to a visitor of the family that he wished 'to become a martial artist, improve his health, be able to defend himself and make Tai Chi Chuan known around the world.' The visitor, Liu Ying-Zhou, who admired very much this determination, was an expert and a friend of Yang Lao-Zhen. Thus, he taught Tung Ying-Kiai the basics. Since he was himself an old man, he asked another disciple of Yang Lao-Zhen, Li Zeng-Kui, to help him in this task.

One year later, Liu took Tung to Huining, to visit Master Li Xiang-Yuan (Bao-Yui), a very discrete student of Hao Weizhen (also known as Guo Wei-Zheng). And to learn the 'Kai He' Tai Chi: a style called 'hard' or 'open and closed.' This style is part of the Wu/Hao school, founded in the early 19th century in Guangfu, in Yongnian County, by Wu Yuxiang who created it from an old set of the Chen family.

Before accepting him as a student, Master Li asked Tung for a demonstration. He nodded, then did some partner exercises with this new student. In order to show him an application, he hurt his arm deep into the bone using only one finger, which instilled great admiration from his new recruit! When his training was finished, Li sent his disciple back home, offering him to come back occasionally: Ying-Kiai's health had become excellent, his body was strong, and his talent had grown.

Since he admired very much the Yang family, which in those days lived in Beijing, he went there to study. People tried to discourage him; people told him that Yang only taught his Kung Fu to family members. To this, Tung answered: 'Determination can move heaven and earth. Sword bearing knights, men of arms of the old days, treated with regard and great respect their teachers in order to learn their art. It is not impossible to learn if you treat them well. I shall do all that is in my power to learn from Master Yang.' Yang Cheng-Fu was the greatest Tai Chi Master in those times. He immediately accepted Tung as disciple in Beijing, who soon became an assistant, then a friend. Tung trained assiduously, from morning to evening. When Yang travelled to the south, he always asked Tung to come along. They travelled in different regions of China, where they were invited by the Province authorities. They taught together in Nanking, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou and in many other historical or beautiful places.

Tung and Yang co-authored Yang's last book: 'Tai Chi Chuan applications,' published in Shanghai. Their friendship lasted more than 17 years, until the death of the one who was called 'The Venerable.' Both Tung and Yang Sau-Chung (or Shou-Zhong), the eldest son of Yang, officially inherited the style. Tung had gained quite a lot of experience; he stayed some time in Canton, then left the country in which he was born for Hong Kong after the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese war.

The Tung family has transmitted the very complete tradition of Tai Chi Chuan, with a rare ease and simplicity. Through generations, the family has spread Tai Chi Chuan teachings across Southeast Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia. Master Tung Hu-Ling established schools in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Hawaii, and California. Master Tung Kai-Ying founded schools in Los Angeles and taught throughout the USA and Europe, with an International Celebration in 1999 bringing together 230 students and teachers from multiple countries.

As Master Tung Kai-Ying says: 'Many students do not know which Tai Chi Chuan set they are learning and who their teacher is! This changes the relation to the set, even if the principles seem identical. In the traditional Chinese view, the authenticity of the teaching and its lineage are important. In fact, the art was not taught publicly until a little more than a century ago. The knowledge of the sets was kept by some families. Therefore, the correct way consists in knowing the teacher, the teacher of the teacher and the whole lineage.'