Dong Yingjie (Wade-Giles: Tung Ying-chieh, , 1897 - 1961) was a leading master of tai chi, and a top disciple of Yang Chengfu. Born in Renze (then known as Renxian), Xingtai, Hebei, China, his given name was Wenke ().Dong, Zeng Chen, p. 50; Yu, p. 118 Famous in his time for defeating a foreign boxer in a public challenge match, he dedicated his life to the martial arts, training intensively in multiple styles, serving as chief assistant instructor for Yang Chengfu, and going on to found his own thriving tai chi legacy.
Early life
He was born to a prosperous farming family, and as a child was very studious but frail. Avidly interested in martial arts even then, at age 12 he convinced his grandfather to send him away to learn from security professional and martial arts master Liu Yingzhou (), also known as Liu Laoying (). There he trained in San Huang Pao Chui and other Shaolin styles. Liu also taught him some tai chi.Yu, pp. 118-120; Dong, Zeng Cheng, p. 1, p. 50; Tung, Ying-chieh, p. 27 (biography by Li Ch'i-chia); Dong, Alex, chapter 1-2
After five years he returned home to marry and join the family business, but soon sought out Liu Laoying again to resume training. Liu recommended deeper study of tai chi, and through Liu's relationship with Yang Zhaolin (, 1884–1922), the eldest grandson of Yang Luchan, Dong studied Yang-style tai chi under Li Zengkui (). Dong was impressed with Li's pushing hands skills, but at that time Dong's expertise in external martial arts — on which he relied in those years to deal with bandits and other conflicts — remained superior to his understanding of tai chi.Yu, pp. 120-123, 155-156; Dong, Zeng Cheng, pp. 1-2, p. 50; Dong, Alex, chapter 3
Dong achieved a high level of skill in tai chi after Liu introduced him to Li Baoyu (, 1889–1961), who was known by the courtesy name Li Xiangyuan (). Li had mastered Wu (Hao)-style tai chi under Hao Weizhen, and was famous for defeating all challengers in and out of the ring, including some local gangsters. For three years, Dong lived with Li, worked for him in his business, and trained intensively in Wu (Hao) style and Li's advanced techniques. From that time onwards, Li became a lifelong coach, mentor, and friend.Yu, pp. 124-129; Tung, Kai Ying, p. 51; Dong, Zeng Cheng, pp. 1-2; Dong, Alex, chapt. 3-4, chapt. 8-13
Career
Mastery
In 1926, Dong moved to Beijing seeking instruction from Grandmaster Yang Chengfu in Yang-style tai chi. He quickly mastered Yang Chengfu's "large frame" techniques, and served as chief assistant instructor for much of the last 10 years of Yang's life.Yu, pp. 134-135; Dong, Zeng Cheng, pp. 1-2
While in Beijing he also trained under Yang's older brother Yang Shaohou in "small frame" Yang-style tai chi, and practiced push hands with Chen-style master Chen Fake.Yu, p. 176; Dong, Zeng chen, p. 2; Dong, Alex, p. 63 Also training with Yang Shaohou were Dong's future lifelong colleagues, the Wu-style masters Wu Gongyi and Wu Kung-tsao.Yip, 1998
A few years later he resumed training with Li Baoyu to master the Wu (Hao) style as well,Yu, 140-141; Dong, Alex, chapt. 8 and so the Dong family trace their tai chi lineage through both Yang and Wu (Hao).Tung Kai Ying, p. 49
Jianghu journeys
In 1928 Dong moved south with a group led by Yang Chengfu to establish tai chi schools in other cities.Yu, p.140; Dong, Zeng Chen, p. 50; Dong, Alex, p. 54 Later that year he proved his pushing hands prowess and confirmed the reputations of his teachers by defeating all nine challengers at the Hangzhou Guoshu Arena Competition ().Yu, p. 137; Qu, chapt. 9 He also demonstrated Yang-style forms at major Guoshu events for audiences that included martial arts celebrities and government officials, for example in Shanghai in 1928 Available in the Modern Newspapers Database (近代报纸数据库) via the China National Library and university libraries worldwide and at the West Lake Expo Auditorium (西湖博覽會大禮堂) in 1929. Available in the Modern Newspapers Database (近代报纸数据库) via the China National Library and university libraries worldwide
He was the principal contributor to Yang's 1931 book Methods of Applying Tai Chi Boxing (),Wu, Feb 1993, paragraph 4; Yu, pp. 138-139; Dong, Zeng Chen, p. 50; Yang, Chengfu (1934), Translators Introduction, paragraphs 6-11 and helped establish Yang-style tai chi schools and classes in Hangzhou,Qu, Chapt. 2, Sec. 2, and chapt. 9 Nanjing and other cities,Dong, Zeng Chen, p. 50, and Qu, Chapt. 4 including Suzhou where he lived and led classes in the mansion of a wealthy patron during his first years in the region,Yu, p. 140, and Dong, Alex, chapters 6-8 Shanghai where in 1934 he established and managed all business of the center as director as well as instructor, Available in the Modern Newspapers Database (近代报纸数据库) via the China National Library and university libraries worldwide Available in the Modern Newspapers Database (近代报纸数据库) via the China National Library and university libraries worldwide and Guangzhou where he assisted and then took over when Yang returned north in 1935.
In 1936 he volunteered to travel across China with a group of experts to train and inspire troops preparing to fight the Japanese invaders. Dong Yingjie's participation was valuable not only for his fighting skills. He was also an inspiration, having by that point risen to national fame after becoming known as "Yingjie", following his fight against another type of foreign aggression. Available in the Modern Newspapers Database (近代报纸数据库) via the China National Library and university libraries worldwide.
Yingjie
He earned the name Yingjie, which can be translated as "heroic figure", in his early thirties by defeating a British fighter in a brutal public match in Nanjing. Dong defended the honor of tai chi and all Chinese martial arts, and bolstered Chinese national pride after the foreigner had issued insulting racial taunts and had already defeated several other Chinese martial artists.Yu, p. 141-144; Dong, Alex, Introduction paragraph 8, and chapters 9-13
Li Baoyu coached Dong for that competition, after planning to take the challenger on himself but then dropping out because, as the story goes, a local gangster hired by the British deputy consul threw lime powder in Li's eyes which temporarily blinded him. After the fight, Dong threw his winner's jackpot of silver coins into the crowd, asking the audience to cover transportation home for other Chinese martial artists who had competed.Du Yimin, 1988
Nationalism had been stoked on both sides in no small part because his opponent was sponsored by the British deputy consul. As word of Dong's win and generosity spread across the country, he was hailed as a hero of the Chinese people. And so from that time on, Dong Wenke was known only as Dong Yingjie.
Ying-kit
In 1936 after Yang Chengfu died, Dong Yingjie was invited to teach in Hong Kong, where he founded the Tung Ying Kit Tai Chi Chuan Gymnasium — "kit" (Jyutping: git6) is the Cantonese pronunciation of "jie" (, Pinyin: jié) — and became the first to teach Yang-style tai chi in the colony. In 1939 he was also invited to teach in Macau, where he established another successful school. From 1941 to 1945 during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, he relocated to Macau which as a Portuguese colony was neutral territory, where he continued his anti-Japanese resistance activities while also developing a new tai chi fast form, leading tai chi classes, and taking up traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy.Yu, pp.149-154; Dong, Kai Ying, p. 52; Dong, Zeng Chen, p. 51
After the war he returned to Hong Kong, enlisting his children in growing both schools, and in 1948 published (The Meaning and Significance of Taijiquan Practice, also translated Tai Chi Boxing Explained) which illustrated and explained the Yang-style curriculum and introduced his Yingjie Fast Form ( — see the section on the Dong family forms below). Also known as the "Red Book" due to the cover of the Hong Kong edition, it has been reprinted many times, and in 1972 his eldest son Tung Hu Ling (Dong Huling; ) expanded the section on the Yingjie Fast Form.Tung, Ying-chieh (1948, 1972); Yu, pp. 154-156; Dong, Kai Ying, p. 52; Dong, Zeng Chen, p. 51
In the 1950s his network of schools and students expanded to Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia under the management of his son Tung Hu Ling, their success in Southeast Asia ensured after a few Muay Thai boxers famously challenged and failed to defeat their tai chi.Qu, chapt. 5; Yu, p. 162-165; Dong, Zeng Chen, p. 51 Dong Yingjie also led efforts to coordinate with leading Yang and Wu (, Pinyin: Wú) stylists for the promotion of tai chi, organizing a large gathering of practitioners in Hong Kong, and serving as a judge for a wildly popular public match in Macau between his longtime colleague, Wu-style tai chi master Wu Gongyi, and a master of Tibetan White Crane. At that 1954 fight, Dong was filmed demonstrating techniques with an Eagle Claw master, and performing his Yingjie Fast Form.Yu, pp. 156-161; Video: Wu vs. Chan 1954 (Tai Chi vs. White Crane) retrieved July 29, 2020; for more on the background and significance of the Macau event, see Yip, 2002
Final years
In his final years Dong Yingjie lost weight and strength, but it is clear in films of him performing tai chi that he retained his balance, grace, and martial skills longer than most. He continued his teaching and practice as long as he was able, as well as the calligraphy and painting he had mastered in Macau during World War II, and in his last days took the time to tell stories of his past to his family, especially his youngest child Jasmine, who was then 21. One night in 1961, in Hong Kong, he died peacefully in his sleep at home.Yu, p. 179
Legacy
Dong family
After Dong Yingjie's death in 1961, his daughter and youngest child Jasmine Mood-lay Tung (, Pinyin: Dǒng Mòlì, Jyutping: dung2 mut6 lei6, 1940–2009) continued teaching at the Tung Ying Kit Tai Chi Chuan Gymnasium in Hong Kong, taking over as head of the school in 1966. She also taught in the UK, founded a school in Australia, and served as instructor and advisor to the Taiji Society of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She was the first Hong Kong martial artist to become an International Wu Shu Federation referee, serving as referee and referee director for events in Hong Kong, mainland China, and Japan, including the 11th Asian Games in Beijing. She also served as president of the Hong Kong Wushu Federation and the Hong Kong Jingwu Athletic Association, and played a prominent role in promoting tai chi in Hong Kong and abroad.Yu, p. 179, p. 180-200; Li, p. 508; taijiren.cn: retrieved August 18, 2020
Dong Yingjie's son Dong Junling (, born Dong Junbiao , 1923–1983) worked closely with the family in Hong Kong for several years, where among other things he posed with his brother Tung Hu Ling (Dong Huling) for photographs of tai chi applications to be used in Tung Hu Ling's book, Methods of Applying Tai Chi Boxing (). But in the early 1950s he returned home to Ren County in Hebei for good, where he continued to teach tai chi to a select group of students for many years, including his nephew, Tung Hu Ling's son Dong Zengchen.Yu, p. 162, p. 201; Dong, Zeng Chen, p. 56, p. 76-81; Tung, Hu Ling (1956)
Dong Yingjie's eldest son Tung Hu Ling (Dong Huling), who had played a prominent role in opening and growing Dong family schools in Hong Kong, Macau, and Southeast Asia, continued to lead classes there for about five years after his father's death. But in 1966 he was invited to promote tai chi on a tour of North America which he completed in 1967, after which he moved to Honolulu, Hawaii to establish a new school and home base in the USA.Yu, pp. 168-169; Li, p. 507; Dong, Zeng Chen, p. 51; DeLeonardis, p. 19; Shirota, p. 16-18.