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Tung Hu Ling ( zh, t=董虎嶺, p= Dǒng Hǔlǐng ; 1917–1992) was a Chinese and later American master of
tai chi is a Chinese martial art. Initially developed for combat and self-defense, for most practitioners it has evolved into a sport and form of exercise. As an exercise, tai chi is performed as gentle, low-impact movement in which practitioners ...
, known for teaching Yang style and Tung style, and an early leader in the spread of tai chi worldwide. Born in Renze (then known as Renxian),
Xingtai Xingtai ( zh, s= , t=邢臺, p=Xíngtái , w=Hsing2-tʻai2), formerly known as Xingzhou and Shunde, is a prefecture-level city in southern Hebei province, People's Republic of China. It has a total area of and administers 4 districts, 2 coun ...
,
Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, his father Tung Ying-chieh was a top disciple of
Yang Chengfu Yang Chengfu (1883–1936) was one of the best known teachers of Yang-style tai chi Chinese martial art. He helped develop the art into its modern form. His students would go on to found successful martial arts schools of their own and helped s ...
and famous for his fighting skills. Also highly skilled and creative himself, Tung Hu Ling taught in mainland China,
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
,
Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
,
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
,
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
, and
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. He then emigrated to
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
, founding a school in
Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
, continued teaching workshops around the world, and carried on the Tung family legacy.


Early life

Tung trained under his father Tung Ying-chieh, Yang-style Grandmaster Yang Chengfu, 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 tai chi in Hebei,
Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
,
Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
, and other locations in mainland China. Highly skilled by the age of twenty, during the
Japanese occupation of China The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part of World War II, and often r ...
he was frequently challenged by
Judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...
masters from
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. 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.


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 Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
pronunciation of his father's name, in which "chieh" (傑,
Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...
: jié) became "kit" (
Jyutping The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong Cantonese Romanization Scheme, also known as Jyutping, is a romanisation system for Cantonese developed in 1993 by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK). The name ''Jyutping'' (itself the Jyutping ro ...
: git6). Similarly, from that time on Tung Hu Ling's name was often written as "Tung Fu Ling", in which "Hu" (虎,
Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...
: Hǔ) became the Cantonese "Fu" (
Jyutping The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong Cantonese Romanization Scheme, also known as Jyutping, is a romanisation system for Cantonese developed in 1993 by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK). The name ''Jyutping'' (itself the Jyutping ro ...
: Fu2). Beginning in 1953, he established branches of the Tung Ying Kit school in Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia, and in 1956 he published a book, 太極拳使用法 (''Methods of Applying Taiji Boxing''; Pinyin: Tàijíquán Shǐyòngfǎ), in which his brother Tung Chun-ling (董俊嶺,
Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...
: Dǒng Jūnlǐng; 1923-1983) posed with him in photographs demonstrating the martial applications of
Yang-style tai chi Yang-style tai chi ( zh, s=楊氏太极拳, p=Yángshì tàijíquán) is one of the five primary families of tai chi. Including its variations, it is the most popular and widely practised style of tai chi in the world today. It is second in term ...
.


Creativity and challenges

Tung family tai 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). Tung Hu Ling further contributed advanced weapons forms he created — modestly stating he based them on the teachings of Yang Chengfu's elder brother,
Yang Shaohou Yang Shaohou (; 1862–1930) was a Chinese martial arts master who, along with Yang Chengfu (楊澄甫; 1883–1936), represents the third generation of Yang-style tai chi. Grandmaster of his generation and known for his compact "small-frame" ...
— including vigorous routines for single and double saber with long leaps, high kicks, reverse spins, and challenging circles. For a time he taught those forms using sticks rather than swords, as sticks were easier to carry and practice with under the laws of
British Hong Kong Hong Kong was under British Empire, British rule from 1841 to 1997, except for a Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, brief period of Japanese occupation during World War II from 1941 to 1945. It was a crown colony of the United Kingdom from 1841 ...
. He and his family further developed the stick forms after moving abroad. 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 tai chi in 1953, many were skeptical that the slow and gentle moves of tai 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. 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 Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...
, Shaolin, Iron Palm, and other arts. And so to this day, Tung family tai chi is respected throughout Southeast Asia.


North America

After his father's death in 1961, he at first continued leading classes at the Tung Ying Kit schools, 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. But then in 1966 he was invited to promote tai chi on a trip to
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
,
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
,
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
and
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
. Lasting into 1967, the trip was sponsored by Wen-shan Huang and organized by
Marshall Ho'o Dr. Marshall Ho'o (May 6, 1910October 2, 1993) was an American practitioner of tai chi and traditional Chinese medicine, known for his pioneering efforts to introduce and promote those healing arts, for which he received numerous awards in recognit ...
and others, and included a term teaching at the National Tai Chi Chuan Institute in Los Angeles assisted by Ho'o, who had regularly traveled to San Francisco's Chinatown to seek out tai chi masters and remarked that Tung's visit was "the first time a tai chi master came to us". During that Los Angeles visit, Tung was interviewed by the editor of
Black Belt Magazine ''Black Belt'' is an American magazine covering martial arts and combat sports. The magazine is based in Hollywood, California, and is one of the oldest titles dedicated to martial arts in the United States. History and profile The magazine was ...
, resulting in an extensive cover story that introduced his tai chi 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". Over the next year, after trips to Europe, Thailand, and back to Hong Kong, Tung immigrated to the USA at the invitation of external-style martial arts masters and enthusiastic new disciples who implored him to become the first master of tai chi to reside in Hawaii. With their help he quickly established a new school and home base in Honolulu. His son Tung Kai Ying (, Jyutping: dung2 gai3 ying1; Pinyin: Dǒng Jìyīng, 1941-) joined him there in 1969 to help with the growing business, then in 1971 established his own school in Los Angeles. In 1972 Tung Hu Ling produced a new edition of his father's 1948 book, (''The Meaning and Significance of T'ai Chi Ch'uan Practice''; Pinyin: Tàijíquán Shìyì), adding detailed instructions and photos of himself performing the Ying-chieh Fast Form (英傑快拳, Pinyin: Yīngjié Kuàiquán). These were appended to the final chapter, which previously contained only that form's posture list and a short introduction. Tung Hu Ling continued to travel and teach, including visits to China where he helped train his younger son Dong Zeng Chen (, Pinyin: Dǒng Zēngchén, 1947-) and grandson Alex Dong (, Pinyin: Dǒng Dàdé, 1971-). They joined him in Hawaii in 1983 and took over the school there as he retired. Dong Zeng Chen himself retired in 2021. Alex Dong established a school in New York in 2003, and Tung Kai Ying's son Chen-Wei David Tung (, Pinyin: Dǒng Zhènwēi, 1977-) is a master instructor based in Los Angeles. The family continues to travel and teach in North and South America, Europe, and Asia.


Legacy

Tung Hu Ling died 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 tai chi 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."Wu Ta-yeh, p. 6, (7) Postscript


References


Bibliography

Hong Kong editions published by C & C Joint Printing Co., (H.K.) Ltd., no ISBN, distributed worldwide b
Alex Dong Tai Chi
in Traditional Chinese and partial English translation editions; Taiwan edition published b
Dah Jaan Publishing
in Traditional Chinese, ; mainland edition published b
Beijing Science and Technology Publishing Co. Ltd.
in Simplified Chinese (董英杰太极拳释义), . (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: * Dong Yingjie (Tung Ying-chieh) biography: External Links {{DEFAULTSORT:Tung, Hu Ling 1917 births 1992 deaths Chinese tai chi practitioners Martial artists from Hebei Chinese emigrants to the United States