Tung Hu Ling

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In this Chinese name, the family name is Dong.
董虎嶺
Tung Hu-ling (Dong Huling)
Dong Huling.jpg
Born(1917-10-25)October 25, 1917
Ren County, Hebei, China
DiedNovember 29, 1992(1992-11-29) (aged 75)
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Other namesTung Hu Ling, Tung Fu Ling, Tung Huling
ResidenceHonolulu
StyleYang-style t'ai chi ch'uan
Wu (Hao)-style t'ai chi ch'uan
Dong-style t'ai chi ch'uan
Tung Hu Ling
Traditional Chinese董虎嶺
Simplified Chinese董虎岭

Tung Hu-ling (董虎嶺, Pinyin: Dǒng Hǔlǐng, 1917–1992) was a master of t'ai chi ch'uan, known for teaching Yang style and Tung style. Born in Ren County, Hebei, China, his father Tung Ying-chieh was a top disciple of Yang Ch'eng-fu and famous for his fighting skills. Also highly skilled and creative himself, Tung Hu-ling taught in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia, then emigrated to Hawaii, founding a school in Honolulu, teaching workshops around the world, and continuing the Tung family legacy.

Early life[]

Tung trained under his father Tung Ying-chieh, Yang-style Grandmaster Yang Ch'eng-fu, and several other well-known teachers, practicing the slow set for eight years, learning the sword after ten years, and the saber after fourteen, then moving on to advanced study. As an adult he taught t'ai chi ch'uan in Hebei, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and other cities in mainland China.[1]

Highly skilled by the age of twenty, during the Japanese occupation of China he was frequently challenged by Judo masters from Japan. He would politely decline but then accept once the challenge was repeated, and won every match while being careful not to use his full ability even when in a difficult position. This earned him much admiration and respect from his challengers as well as the Chinese martial arts community.[2]

Hong Kong, Macau, and Southeast Asia[]

In 1947 he moved to Hong Kong with two of his brothers, to help his father run the Tung Ying Kit Tai Chi Chuan Gymnasiums in Hong Kong and Macau. The words "Ying Kit" were based on the Cantonese pronunciation of his father's name, in which "chieh" (傑, Pinyin: jié) became "kit" (Jyutping: git6). Similarly, from that time on Tung Hu-ling's name was often written as "Tung Fu Ling", in which "Hu" (虎, Pinyin: Hǔ) became the Cantonese "Fu" (Jyutping: Fu2).[3]

He assisted his father in producing the 1948 book, 太極拳釋義 (Pinyin: Tàijíquán Shìyì, The Meaning and Significance of T'ai Chi Ch'uan Practice), posing for photographs of the Ying-chieh Fast Form (英傑快拳, Pinyin: Yīngjié Kuàiquán).[4]

Beginning in 1953, he established branches of the Tung Ying Kit school in Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia,[5] and in 1956 he published his own book, 太極拳使用法 (Pinyin: Tàijíquán Shǐyòngfǎ, Methods of Applying Taiji Boxing), in which his brother Tung Jun-ling (董俊嶺, Pinyin: Dǒng Jūnlǐng, 1923-1983) posed with him in photographs demonstrating the martial applications of Yang-style t'ai chi ch'uan.[6]

Creativity and Challenges[]

Tung family t'ai chi includes training in traditional Yang style, and advanced students may also train in a Wu (Hao) form and Tung style forms as well. Tung Hu Ling contributed to this curriculum in many ways, including the Yang-style saber (刀, Pinyin: dāo, also translated as "falchion" or "broadsword") form, which he said he learned from "an uncle" because his father knew only the straight sword (劍, Pinyin: jiàn) and spear (槍, Pinyin: qiāng).[7]

Tung Hu-ling further contributed advanced weapons forms. The first was a t'ai chi saber form originally taught by Yang Ch'eng-fu’s elder brother, Yang Shao-hou, a vigorous routine that includes long leaps, high kicks, reverse spins, and challenging circles. From that form he developed his own double saber form, and for a time he taught these forms using sticks rather than swords, as sticks were easier to carry and practice with under the laws of British Hong Kong. He and his family further developed the stick forms after moving abroad.[8]

He also developed a unique series of seven two-person push hands sets in Thailand, because many students there have a very martial orientation. In fact when Tung Hu Ling arrived to introduce t'ai chi in 1953, many were skeptical that the slow and gentle moves of t'ai chi could translate into a useful defense. During one of his first demonstrations in the country, two martial arts instructors suddenly decided to mount the stage and test him. The audience only saw that as the young men approached he turned left and right, and in the blink of an eye both were flying off the platform.[9]

The next year when his famous father arrived for a tour, the 56 year-old Tung Ying-chieh also easily fended off a challenger proficient in Muay Thai, Shaolin, Iron Palm, and other arts. And so to this day, Tung family t'ai chi is respected throughout Southeast Asia.[10]

North America[]

After his father's death in 1961, he continued leading classes at the Tung Ying Kit schools across the region, with his sister Jasmine Mood-lay Tung (董茉莉, Jyutping: dung2 mut6 lei6, Pinyin: Dǒng Mòlì, 1940-2009) also teaching in Hong Kong, and his son Tung Kai Ying (董繼英, Jyutping: dung2 gai3 ying1; Pinyin: Dǒng Jìyīng, 1941-) taking over in Southeast Asia in 1962. Then in 1966 he was invited to tour North America to promote t'ai chi in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Hawaii, a lengthy and productive trip that ended in 1967.[11]

During that tour he was interviewed by the editor of Black Belt magazine, resulting in an extensive cover story that introduced t'ai chi ch'uan to a wider American audience. The writer marveled at Tung's ability to neutralize an attack by a larger man, who was "stopped suddenly in his tracks, bounced back into the air, and sent crashing into a wall", while Tung "seemed hardly to have exerted himself".[12]

Over the next year he immigrated to Honolulu to establish a new school and home base in the USA. His son Tung Kai Ying joined him there in 1969 to help with the growing business, then in 1971 established his own school in Los Angeles. Tung Hu Ling continued to travel and teach, including visits to China where he helped train his younger son Dong Zeng Chen (董增辰, Pinyin: Dǒng Zēngchén, 1947-) and grandson Alex Dong (董大德, Pinyin: Dǒng Dàdé, 1971-), who joined him in Hawaii in 1983 and took over the school there as he retired. Dong Zeng Chen himself retired in 2021.[13]

Alex Dong established a school in New York in 2003, and Tung Kai Ying's son Tung Chen-Wei David (董振威, Pinyin: Dǒng Zhènwēi, 1977-) is a master instructor based at the LA location. The family continues to travel and teach in the US, Europe, and Asia.[14]

In Memory of a Modest Man[]

Tung Hu-ling passed away in Honolulu on November 29, 1992. A T'ai Chi magazine cover story paid tribute early the following year with articles on the man, his art, and his life, in which his disciple Wu Ta-yeh noted, "Despite Master Tung’s superb accomplishment, he was very modest and never talked about his own achievements. Because of this attitude of his, his students also did not publicize him or create an image for him. This is the reason why he has been little known in the United States as compared to other Taijiquan teachers. He never criticized other styles or other teachers. In fact, he never said, 'Wrong,' to his students, but just made the correction. This attitude perhaps reflects his mature training in Taijiquan."[15]

References[]

  1. ^ Wu & Ellis, p. 7, paragraphs 6-8
  2. ^ Tung, Hu-ling (1956), preface by Lin Boyan
  3. ^ Tung, Kai Ying, p. 52-53; Dong, Zeng Chen, pp. 50-51
  4. ^ Tung, Ying-chieh (1948)
  5. ^ Dong, Zeng Chen, p. 52; Yu, pp. 163-166 includes a photo of an October 12, 1953 article in a Thailand Chinese-language newspaper, announcing Tung Hu-ling's arrival.
  6. ^ Tung, Hu-ling (1956)
  7. ^ Wu & Ellis, p. 7, paragraph 7
  8. ^ Yang Shao-hou saber form: Wu, Ta-yeh, unpublished manuscript draft dated Sept. 1993, Chapter VII, paragraph 8; double saber form: Yu, DVD: 2005 21bowu.com (博武国际武术网) interview with Jasmine Tung; stick forms: Ellis, Chip, self-published essay, and interview with Alex Dong
  9. ^ Ellis, ibid; Yu, pp. 163-165
  10. ^ Yu, ibid
  11. ^ Dong, Zeng Chen, p. 52-53; DeLeonardis, p. 19
  12. ^ DeLeonardis, p. 19
  13. ^ Shirota, pp. 16-18; Yu, pp. 168-169; pp. 201-203; Dong, Zeng Chen, p. 58
  14. ^ Yu, pp. 204-205; Dong, Zeng Chen, p. 60; see also lists of affiliated schools at Tung Ying-chieh: External Links
  15. ^ Wu Ta-yeh, p. 6, (7) Postscript

Bibliography[]

DeLeonardis, Anthony, "The 'Grand Ultimate Fist' of Tai Chi Chuan", Black Belt Magazine, July 1967.

Dong, Zeng Chen (2016), Dong Style Tai Ji Quan, ISBN 978-1535460774.

Shirota, Jon, "Tai Chi Chuan -- Art of Passive Resistance", Black Belt Magazine, August 1972.

Tung, Hu-ling (1956), 太極拳使用法 (Methods of Applying Taiji Boxing), available in Chinese with English translation free at Brennan Translation, posted January 27, 2017, retrieved July 27, 2020.

Tung, Kai Ying (2012), Learning Tai Chi Chuan, ISBN 978-0-9849582-0-7.

Tung, Ying-chieh (1948), 太極拳釋義 (The Meaning and Significance of T'ai Chi Ch'uan Practice), C & C Joint Printing Co., (H.K.) Ltd., no ISBN, distributed worldwide by Alex Dong Tai Chi in Traditional Chinese and partial English translation editions; Taiwan edition published by Dah Jaan Publishing in Traditional Chinese, ISBN 978-986-346-242-2; mainland edition published by Beijing Science and Technology Publishing Co. Ltd. in Simplified Chinese (董英杰太极拳释义), ISBN 9787530486351.

Wu, Ta-yeh, "The T'ai Chi Ch'uan Of Tung Huling", T'ai Chi Magazine, February 1993.

Wu, Ta-yeh & Ellis, Chip, "Tung Huling Dies in Hawaii", T'ai Chi Magazine, February 1993.

Yu, Gongbao (余功保, 2013), 董家太极: 董英杰太极拳传承与精义 (Dong Family Taiji: Dong Yingjie Taijiquan Tradition and Essentials), 当代中国出版社 (Contemporary China Publishing House), ISBN 978-7-5154-0180-5. (Includes documentary on DVD, in Mandarin and some Cantonese, with no Chinese or foreign subtitles.)

External links[]

See also the comprehensive list maintained at this page:

  • Tung Ying-chieh biography: External Links

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