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Grand master Dong (Tung) Ying Jie was born in Renxien County in Hebei
Province. He was a clever youth but weak in health. As a young man, he
was always interested in martial art. One day a family friend named Liu
Ying Zhou came to visit and they were introduced to each other. Mr. Liu
was an expert in martial art; he was a friend of a famous Taiji Master
Yang Lao Zhen from Canton. Ying Jie had heard of the ultimate power of
Taiji, so when Mr. asked him about his ambition, he answered, “I want to
become a martial art master to improve my health and to defend myself.
Once I succeed, I want to popularize martial art all over the world.”
Mr. Liu admired his ambition and began to teach him some basic training.
At that time, Mr. Liu was already over seventy years old, and could only
give oral instructions and was unable to demonstrate physically. So
after several months, he asked Li Zeng Kui, a disciple of Yang Lao to
teach him the Thirteen Postures of Taiji.
A year later, Mr. Liu took Ying Jie to Huining village to visit a Hao
style Master Li Xiang Yuan (Bao Yui) who is a disciple of Hao We Jeng
(founder of Hao style Taiji). Master Li lived in a big mansion with big
courtyards; he went outside of his door to welcome Mr. Liu. Master Li
was very courteous to his guest; they sat in the living room and chatted
for a while. Mr. Liu asked Master Li to except Dong Ying Jie as his
student and quickly said, “Ying Jie, kneel down and thank Master Li.”
Master Li asked Ying Jie to demonstrate what he learned. Master Li
watched with a smile and nodded his head. When Master Li demonstrated an
application by putting his finger on Ying Jie’s arm, he felt the pain
penetrate deep into his bone. Dong Ying Jie admired Master Li’s skill
and realized he has a chance to learn from a great Master. After
training everyday for several years, Master Li saw his skill had greatly
improved, so he asked him to go home and only come back occasionally for
instruction. When he got home, his health was good and body was strong.
At home he continued his study in education and martial art. He sent
invitations far across the country to meet great martial artists.
Whenever there were visitors, he would ask them to stay and treat them
with good meals and vine. He made many friends and became well known.
People with exceptional abilities came from far to exchange profound
knowledge.
Dong Ying Jie was keen on Taiji and particularly admired the Yang family
in Beijing. He left home once again to further his study. When he
arrived in Beijing, people told him Master Yang’s Gong Fu would not be
taught outside their family so he should just go home. But Dong Ying Jie
remarked, “Determination can move heaven and earth.” Ancient chivalrous
swordsmen always treated their teacher with respect and righteousness in
order to learn the art; it is not impossible to learn from them if you
treat your master magnanimously. If the art would not be taught outside
the family, then how could Master Yang Lu Chan learn it from Chen’s
village; I will do what ever is necessary to learn from Master Yang.
When learning from Master Yang Chen Fu, he practiced assiduously for
several years. When Master Yang went to the south, he would always ask
Dong Ying Jie to come with him. For three years, he followed his teacher
from morning ‘til dawn and gradually his Taiji reached perfection. Later
they would travel to Nanjing, Shanghai, Hanzhou, Suzhou and other
historical and scenic places to make friends and pass on the art. When
they were in Suzhou, his teacher, master Li came to visit. Dong Ying Jie
was very happy to see Master Li; he kneeled down to show respect. Master
Li said, “ I know you are keen on learning and had traveled all over
with Master Yang. I have come to see you. I know you still need some
improvement; besides, there are many great martial artists in the south,
so I am afraid you might be in an unfavorable situation and bring
disgrace to Master Yang. I want to teach you some exercises to improve
your internal energy.” Master Li stayed in Suzhou for over a year,
helping Ying Jie develop strong internal power and perfect his
applications. He then returned north.
In 1931, Dong Ying Jie followed his teacher to Canton and had studied
with Master Yang for over then years by then. His earnest effort moved
Master Yang, thus he taught him the Yang style completely. Later, Dong
Ying Jie and Yang Shou Zhong, the eldest son of Yang Chen Fu inherited
Yang’s legacy together. He stayed in Canton to fulfill his and his
teacher’s dream to popularize Taiji. For many years, he taught all over
Southeast Asia. When Hong Kong fell in to hands of foreign invaders, he
lived in a secluded live in Macao. Then he acquired a liking for Chinese
painting, calligraphy and fine arts. He also wrote a book to divert
himself. He paid little attention to current affairs but maintained high
moral standards. When he was in good humor, he would demonstrate his
skills to his pupils; when moving, he was like a dragon swimming in the
clouds; when still, he was like a mountain. His actions were full of
agility and subtlety. He could throw his opponent farther then three
meters, or he could store his energy, hollow his chest and be softer
than cotton. His elusive movements combined with his extreme quickness
and lively spirit would hypnotize the spectators. It was incredible to
see such a high level master in action. But Grand master Dong always
said that he had received Master Yang’s oral instruction and Master Li’s
physical supervision, and for himself was not satisfied with his art and
often said modestly that he only opened the door to the acme of taiji.
Dictionary of Special Taiji Phrases-A publication of
the Chinese Sports Department.
Dong (Tung) Ying Jie (1898-1961) was a Yang style Taiji master born in
China, Heibei Province, Ren Xiang County. Although intelligent as a
young man his health was weak so he decided to study martial arts. First
he learned “Taiji Thirteen Postures” with Master Li Zeng Kui. He then
was a serious student of the Hao (Wu) style from Master Li Xiang Yuan, a
top disciple of Hao Wei Zhen. Later Dong moved to Beijing to continue
his Taiji training from the famous Yang family. There he became a 17
year protégé and close friend of Yang Chen Fu. In collaboration with
Master Yang, Dong wrote the book, “Taijiquan Application”. Dong Ying
Jie’s Taiji reached a high level. He expanded the grandness and achieved
a deep understanding of the principles. His skill gained great respect
for Taiji and he became a key representative of the Yang style. He
expressed his knowledge in a book widely known throughout Southeast Asia
titled, “Taijiquan Explained” (which later was translated into English
by his great grandson Master Alex Dong Da De). Master Dong Ying Jie has
well known students throughout the world. His legacy of high level Taiji
has been passed down the family line. World renowned masters of Taiji
from his family include his son Dong (Tung) Hu Ling and daughter Dong (Tung)
Jasmine. (His grandsons Dong (Tung) Kai Ying and Dong Zeng Chen and his
great grandsons Dong Da De (Alex Dong) and Dong Chen Wei (David Tung)
The family’s influence on Taiji is seen today in many countries around
the world.)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Tung Ying-chieh (Dong Yingjie in Pinyin, 董英杰 8th November 1898-1961) was
an influential teacher of T'ai Chi Ch'uan. He was born in China's Hebei
province. A senior student of Yang Ch'eng-fu (1883-1936), he originally
studied Wu/Hao style T'ai Chi Ch'uan as a young man. Tung also studied
with Ch'eng-fu's older brother Yang Shao-hou (1862-1930) and was the
founder of Dong Tai Chi. In Shao-hou's classes he was an older classmate
of the Wu style's Wu Kung-i (1900-1970) and Wu Kung-tsao (1902-1983),
and the men remained close colleagues in later years. Following the
trend of many famous T'ai Chi masters who moved south during the War
years, Tung moved to Hong Kong in 1939 and taught Yang Style there. The
Dong (Tung) style as it eventually developed included training features
researched by Tung Ying-chieh, both with Yang Ch'eng-fu and
independently.
He wrote a book called "T'ai Chi Ch'uan Explained" or "Principles of
T'ai Chi Ch'uan" (T'ai Chi Ch'uan Shih I 太極拳釋義) which has recently been
translated from Chinese into English. First published in 1948, it has
been reprinted (notably in Hong Kong in 1975) and updated continuously
since its first publication.
Tung Ying-chieh was followed by son Dong Hu Ling (董虎岭) and his
grandsons: the Tung family still teach T'ai Chi Ch'uan in Asia, Hawaii,
North America and Europe.
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