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Pa Kua Chang Directory
Tung Hai-Ch'uan (1813 - 1882)
Pa Kua Chang (also written as Ba Gua Zhang, Baguazhang, Ba Gwa Zhang, and sometimes incorrectly as Pa Kua Chuan - chuan meaning fist, and is a different art)
Ba Gua Zhang translates to Eight Diagram Palm (Ba - the number 8, Gua - diagram or trigram, Zhang - palm), and is one of the three better known Chinese "Internal" Martial Arts. The other two are Tai Chi Ch'uan (Tai Ji Quan), which means Supreme Ultimate Fist, and Hsing-I Ch'uan (Xing Yi Quan), which means Shape Mind Fist. Ba Gua Zhang is the youngest of the three. A thorough and extensive research and investigation by a well known martial arts researcher and historian (Professor K'ang Ko-Wu) in Beijing was conducted. His findings and conclusion on the origins of Ba Gua Zhang, indicates that Ba Gua Zhang was created and developed after 1853 by Tung Hai-Ch'uan (pictured above). Tung Hai-Ch'uan (also written as Dong Hai-Ch'uan) started publicly teaching the art in 1870.
Ba Gua Zhang is an art that primarily uses the palm of the hand for striking (not the fist), but also uses (open) hands, elbows, shoulders, arms, hips, knees, legs, feet, and the head for striking and blocking with, and for locking, and throwing. Ba Gua Zhang's fundamental training exercise is the circle walking exercise. Ba Gua Zhang uses quick, evasive footwork that enables the practitioner to advantageously position himself or herself closely to the side or behind the opponent. This is an art of great mobility, and uses twisting, turning, coiling, spiraling, and circular movements, and enables the practitioner to deliver fast powerful strikes from any angle and direction, while constantly in motion. Because of Ba Gua Zhang's fighting characteristics, and quick, compact, and devastating efficiency, some describe it as a martial art to use for defeating martial artists.
More of Professor K'ang Ko-Wu's findings:
Professor K'ang Ko-Wu's findings were the subject of a three part article that appeared in the Pa Kua Chang Journal, a publication that was published bi-monthly from Nov/Dec 1990 to Jan/Feb 1997. The journal was published by High View Publications, which was created and run by Dan Miller, the publication's Editor. The three part series article appeared as follows: "The Origins of Pa Kua Chang Part 1" in issue Volume 3, Number 1, Nov/Dec 1992; "The Origins of Pa Kua Chang Part 2" in issue Volume 3, Number 2, Jan/Feb 1993; "The Origins of Pa Kua Chang Part 3" in issue Volume 3, Number 4, May/June 1993. The following is information from that three part serial article.
Stories abound about how the art of Pa Kua Chang was originated. The only clear lineage that exists is that of Tung Hai-Ch'uan and so many feel that Tung was the founder. Tung rarely spoke of his own background. His relationship with his students was very strict and thus none of them dared to ask. Whether or not Tung invented this art on his own or learned it from another is a common topic of debate in the Pa Kua Chang community. Although there are dozens of stories and anecdotes, the various theories of Pa Kua Chang's origins can be boiled down to the following four:
Tung Hai-Ch'uan developed Pa Kua Chang after learning Yin Yang Pa P'an Chang from Tung Meng-Lin. This version of Pa Kua's origin was published in the 1937 text Yin Yang Pa P'an Chang Fa written by Jen Chih-Ch'eng.
The Unofficial History of the Indigo Pavilion (published in 1818) talks about eight direction stepping, Li Kua and K'an Kua as Pa Kua that was popular prior to Tung Hai-Ch'uan (as early as 1813). From the writing in this text, some have deduced that this Pa Kua was the predecessor to the Pa Kua Chang taught by Tung.
Tung Hai-Ch'uan learned his art from Pi Ch'eng-Hsia on Chou Hua (Nine Flower) Mountain. A discussion of this theory would also include any of the various stories about Tung learning from an "unusual person in the mountain fastness." When the Pi Ch'eng-Hsia theory is examined in this article, we will include popular theories regarding other Taoists that Tung might have learned from.
Tung Hai-Ch'uan was the founder of Pa Kua Chang. The individuals who subscribe to this theory believe that Tung spent his youth learning other martial arts and invented Pa Kua Chang based on his early experience combined with a circle walking meditation practice he learned from a Taoist.
In addition to the theories mentioned above, some take Pa Kua Ch'uan (other boxing styles which have the name Pa Kua) that was not taught by Tung as Pa Kua Chang (for example, there is a Shaolin-like art in Henan called Fu Hsi Pa Kua and another in Shantung called Shaolin Pa Kua). Then there is also the other arm of Pa Kua (Tien Family Pa Kua), which the practitioners claim was hidden for over 400 years and such other versions of Pa Kua's origins.
The primary source of this information is taken from the work of Professor K'ang Ko-Wu of Beijing. This information was compiled while he intensely researched the origins of Pa Kua Chang, working on his master's degree for the two years 1980 and 1981. Professor K'ang wrote his thesis on the "Origins of Pa Kua Chang." Professor K'ang had since compiled more information by the time this article was written, that further substantiated his findings and conclusion.
Professor K'ang's research was extensive and involved close examination of over 650 documents from the Ch'ing Palace history books and over 230 papers written on martial arts. He also examined the situations of 413 teachers in 24 provinces and cities, personally investigating in 16 cities and counties and 9 provinces. K'ang interviewed over 256 people resulting in over 274 documents. Many of the people he interviewed were elderly boxers of the older generation who spoke openly about their martial art.
All the above theories were examined systematically and in great detail. In examining the first two theories listed above, it was determined and concluded that these two theories had no basis in fact. When theory number three was explored in some detail, no supporting evidence for this theory could be found. In exploring theory number four, K'ang spent weeks with members of Tung Hai-Ch'uan's family, visited every mountain top Tung was reported to have crossed, read every martial arts book in every library in Beijing and even dug up Tung Hai-Ch'uan's body and meticulously measured and weighed each and every bone. While conducting his research, K'ang was a motivating force in the effort to restore Tung Hai-Ch'uan's tomb and participated with 371 others in unearthing and moving of the tomb from its original resting place. This was done so that they could relocate the body, casket and tomb to its new and current site. The result of K'ang's life long study and research concerning Pa Kua Chang's origins boils down to this: Tung Hai-Ch'uan was the sole originator of the Pa Kua Chang system.
Professor K'ang is employed by the Chinese government to research Chinese martial arts on a full time basis, he is constantly uncovering new material and interviewing older generation martial arts practitioners all over China. Since his thesis was published over ten years prior to the time this article was written, and he has obviously run across much more information on Pa Kua Chang than was available to him when he was conducting his research, he has not found any solid evidence that would contradict the conclusion in his thesis. According to K'ang at the time this article was written, all of the evidence he has run across since his thesis was published supports his theory. His story goes like this:
Tung Hai-Ch'uan's ancestors were originally from Hun Tung County in Shanxi Province. Close to the end of the Ming Dynasty the clan started moving North, first ending up in Kou Sheng County, Hebei Province. From there the family split into two branches, one went to K'ai K'o village and the other went to Wen An (both in Hebei). Several generations later (around 1813), young Tung Hai-Ch'uan was born in Chu Chia Wu township, Wen An, Hebei. Around the same time, another Tung, known as Tung Hsien-Chou, was born in K'ai K'o village (he will become important later in the story).
In Chu Chia Wu township, there were two predominant families, the Tung's and the Li's. The Li family was literary, a few of them passed examinations and became government officials. The Tung family was poor, but that was all right with young Hai-Ch'uan because he was only interested in practicing martial arts, not studying for scholarly examinations. It is not known exactly which arts Tung studied when he was young, however, it was most likely some form of indigenous Northern Shaolin. Systems that were known to have been practiced in Wen An around that time were: Pa Fan Ch'uan, Hung Ch'uan, Hsing Men Ch'uan, and Chin Kang Ch'uan. It is said that Tung practiced hard and gained a reputation as a skilled martial artist.
For some unknown reason, the Li's had a rivalry with Tung Hai-Ch'uan. The Li family, being officials, had friends in high places and used their influence to persecute Tung. Eventually he grew tired of the Li's games and decided to leave Wen An in about 1853. At this point in Tung's life, the story becomes vague. He most likely went from Wen An to K'ai K'o to live with his relatives. Remember Tung Hsien-Chou? It turns out that he was also a martial arts enthusiast and had become very well known in and around his village for his skill at Pa Fan Ch'uan. He was so well known that bandits in the area avoided his village so they would not have to confront him. It is very possible that while in K'ai K'o, Tung Hai-Ch'uan studied Pa Fan Ch'uan with his relative Tung Hsien-Chou. Professor K'ang's investigation of Pa Fan Ch'uan revealed that many of the movements and techniques of this style can be found in Tung Hai-Ch'uan's Pa Kua Chang.
After leaving K'ai K'o, Tung continued South. Reports have him stopping in Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, and at the Ta Pa mountain area somewhere along the border of Shaanxi and Sichuan. Although K'ang was unable to determine exactly where Tung went and what he did during his travels, the one pertinent piece of information that K'ang was able to uncover was that somewhere along the way Tung became a member of the Chuan Chen (Complete Truth) sect of Taoism. This sect was part of the Lung Men (Dragon Gate) school of Taoism which was originated by Chou Chang-Ch'uan. Interestingly enough, Chou also invented a method of meditation whereby the practitioner would walk in a circle and, wouldn't you know, this method was practiced by the Chuan Chen sect. Delving further into this Taoist connection, K'ang was able to find a section in the Taoist Canon which reads:
A person's heart and mind are in chaos.
Concentration on one thing makes the mind pure.
If one aspires to reach the Tao, one should practice walking in a circle.
This bit of evidence inspired K'ang to try and find out more about the circle walk meditation method practiced by the Chuan Chen Taoists. What he discovered was that this practice, which the Taoists called Chuan T'ien Tsun (Rotating in Worship of Heaven) is very similar in principle to the circle walk practice of Pa Kua Chang. Researching Wang Chun-Pao's book, Taoist Method of Walking the Circle, K'ang found that while walking, the Taoists repeated one of two mantras. The first of these mantras was used in the morning practice and translates to mean "When Rotating in Worship of Heaven, the sound of thunder is everywhere and transforms everything." The second mantra was used in the evening practice and translates to mean "When Rotating in Worship of Heaven, the great void saves us from the hardship of existence." It was said that the practitioner should repeat the mantra with each movement in the circle walk practice so that "one replaces one's myriad thoughts with a single thought in order to calm and ease one's mind." The Taoists said that in walking the circle the body's movements should be unified and the practitioner strives for stillness in motion. This practice was described as a method of training the body while harnessing the spirit.
When instructing his students Tung was noted as saying, "Training martial arts ceaselessly is inferior to walking the circle. In Pa Kua Chang the circle walk practice is the font of all training." Pa Kua Chang instructors instruct their students to walk the circle with spirit, ch'i, intent, and power concentrated on a single goal. This is similar to the Taoist method whereby one clears the mind with a single thought. Although Pa Kua Chang's circle walk practice trains fighting footwork, it also shares the Taoist's goal of creating stillness in motion and developing the body internally.
The general requirements of the Taoist practice was to walk with the body natural and the movements comfortable. The practitioner strived to achieve a feeling of balance while moving slowly. The Taoist practitioners were to walk slowly and gently in such a manner that their Taoist robes were only slightly disturbed by the walking movement. The Taoists started the practice on the Eastern side of the circle with their body facing North. After three revolutions, they walked through the center of the circle to the other side following an "S" shaped pattern like that described by the Tai Chi diagram. They then reversed the direction and walked South to West. There was no set circle size. The size of the circle was determined by the practice area. As most Pa Kua Chang practitioners know, The Pa Kua Chang circle walking practice is very similar. The practitioner will usually start in the East and face North. In most systems the beginning practitioner will walk slowly, increasing speed gradually. The requirements of comfortable, natural movements while walking in a balanced, smooth manner with no bobbing and weaving are the same as in the Taoist method. While the Pa Kua Chang practitioner employs numerous methods in changing the direction of the circle walk, the Tai Chi diagram pattern is one of the many changing patterns which is practiced by most major schools of Pa Kua Chang today.
Convinced that Tung Hai-Ch'uan had learned the Taoist circle walk practice as a member of the Chuan Chen Taoist sect and had then integrated this practice with the martial arts he had learned in his youth to form Pa Kua Chang, K'ang Ko-Wu began to research the arts that Tung was known to have practiced to see if he could detect similarities. Since the Tung family was known for it's Pa Fan Ch'uan and thus K'ang was fairly certain that Tung Hai-Ch'uan had studied this art in his youth, K'ang investigated the forms and postures of this art with the elderly practitioners of today. Not only did he discover that Pa Fan Ch'uan techniques rely heavily on the use of palm striking, he also found that many of the postures and movements of Pa Fan Ch'uan are identical to Pa Kua Chang. Included in K'ang's thesis are photographs of Pa Fan Ch'uan practitioners postures compared to Pa Kua Chang postures found in Pa Kua Chang books by Kuo Ku-Min, Sun Lu-T'ang, Sun Hsi-K'un and Huang Po-Nien. He concluded that many of the Pa Kua Chang postures and movements are identical to those found in Pa Fan Ch'uan, Hsing Men, Hung Ch'uan, and Chin Kang Ch'uan.
Having found no solid evidence to prove otherwise, K'ang concluded that Tung Hai-Ch'uan was the originator of Pa Kua Chang. He states that after practicing the circle walk practice with the Taoists, Tung recognized the utility of this footwork and body movement in martial arts. K'ang believes that Tung Hai-Ch'uan's genius was coming up with a system of martial arts whereby the practitioner could deliver powerful strikes while remaining in constant motion. Due to Pa Kua Chang's combination of unique footwork and body mechanics, the Pa Kua Chang stylist never has to stop moving. The feet are in continuous motion even when applying a block or strike. K'ang said that Tung's addition of the Kou (hooking) and Pai (swinging) footwork in directional changes was also an important addition.
Through his intense research K'ang has also discovered that Tung did not originally call his art Pa Kua Chang. His art was originally called Chuan Chang (Rotating Palm) and then later called Pa Kua Chuan Chang and finally Pa Kua Chang. While conducting his research and writing his thesis K'ang relied heavily on the writings of Ts'eng Hsing-San. Tsung was a Manchurian scholar (Ts'eng Hsing-San was his Han name) who had studied Pa Kua Chang with both Tung Hai-Ch'uan and Yin Fu in the Palace of Su. When the Ch'ing government was overthrown in 1911, Ts'eng was out of work and thus had a lot of spare time. Since he had so much free time, Ts'eng began to write down all that he had learned from Tung Hai-Ch'uan and Yin Fu. Ts'eng's written work was never made public, however, K'ang Ko-Wu has Ts'eng' original manuscript. According to Ts'eng' written work, Tung Hai-Ch'uan did not relate his fighting art to the Pa Kua until late in his life. It is possible that he was looking for a way to explain the theory of his fighting style in such a manner that his descendants could research and improve the art after he was gone. K'ang says that in Ts'eng's writing he uses many references to the I-Ching in explaining the principles of the Pa Kua Chang fighting art. The first published work which related the fighting art of Pa Kua Chang to Pa Kua philosophy was the book published by Sun Lu-T'ang in 1916.
When K'ang's findings were published widely in 1984 many Pa Kua Chang practitioners in China who had held onto one of the other three major theories regarding Pa Kua Chang's origins were upset. Many responded with magazine articles of their own, however, reviewing these articles one will find that no one has presented any solid evidence to back up any of the other theories. The best one can say is that no one can really know for sure what Tung Hai-Ch'uan learned from the Taoists and what he came up with on his own. Any recorded information from second or third generation practitioners, those who were closest to Tung, simply states that Tung learned his art from a Taoist in the mountains. Evidentially this is the only clue Tung himself gave to the arts origins. After years of research Professor K'ang's best guess is that Tung only learned the Taoist meditative circle walking practice from members of the Chuan Chen sect and the rest he created on his own.
Is Tung Hai-Ch'uan the originator of the art we know of today as Pa Kua Chang? The evidence we are left with today leaves me to believe that he did indeed invent Pa Kua Chang. But it is still anyone's guess, and I suppose it will always be a topic of discussion among Pa Kua Chang enthusiasts.
The information on this page regarding Professor K'ang Ko-Wu's research and findings, came from a three part serial article that was written by Dan Miller and published in the Pa Kua Chang Journal between Nov/Dec 1992 and May/June 1993.
For the sake of saving space, time and not running on and on on this page, I decided not to try and include the details of how Professor K'ang Ko-Wu disproved or eliminated the other three major theories as to the origins of Pa Kua Chang. Professor K'ang's examination, investigation and exploration of the other three theories was equally as thorough and exhaustive as with theory number four.
Tung Hai-Ch'uan taught his art of Pa Kua Chang differently (beyond the basic characteristics) to each of his students based on their martial arts background (normally he would not teach it to them if they were not already an accomplished martial artist in some other art), physical abilities and physical makeup. For this reason, you can not say that there is a one and only original, Pa Kua Chang form that was passed down from Tung Hai-Ch'uan (there are forms that are original to his personal students). Because of the way he taught his art to his personal students, many of his students were able to adapt their martial arts knowledge, abilities and experiences to the Pa Kua Chang that Tung taught them, enhance it and personalize it as their own particular style of Pa Kua Chang, then teach either the Pa Kua Chang that was taught directly to them by Tung Hai-Ch'uan, teach their personalized style of Pa Kua Chang or both. Examples of this development of the many schools, styles or systems of Pa Kua Chang, are Yin Style Pa Kua Chang (developed by his student Yin Fu, who studied with Tung Hai-Ch'uan as long as 20 years, which was at least 14 years longer that any of his other students), Cheng Style Pa Kua Chang (developed by his student Cheng Ting-Hua), and other styles of Pa Kua Chang that were developed by one of Tung's direct students or a student of their's, and on down in that manner. The one thing that remains the same, that distinguishes the art of Pa Kua Chang (in all the many styles) from other forms of martial arts, is the basic Circle Walking training, exercise, footwork and Single Palm Change or Single Change Palm (in various forms).
There are a couple or so schools, styles or systems of Pa Kua Chang that claim to have a "secret" family history or lineage that has existed as long as 200 years before the time that historical evidence indicates that Tung Hai-Ch'uan created and first started teaching the martial art that eventually came to be known as Pa Kua Chang. Prior to the Chuan Chang that Tung Hai-Ch'uan created and taught, Professor K'and Ko-Wu (Kang Gewu) could find no legitimate historical evidence that any such claimed Pa Kua Chang existed nor did any martial art involving training and practicing martial movements and techniques while walking in a circle. It seems as though such claimed "secret" family Pa Kua Chang has a lineage or history that was magically created out of thin air by people trying to make themselves important and famous, claiming to be the only living lineage holder of a rare and "secret" Pa Kua Chang. Strangely their rare "secret" Pa Kua Chang looks much like bits and pieces of other well known and documented styles or schools of Pa Kua Chang.
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Pa Kua Chang (also written as Ba Gua Zhang, Baguazhang, Ba Gwa Zhang, and sometimes incorrectly as Pa Kua Chuan - chuan meaning fist, and is a different art)
Ba Gua Zhang translates to Eight Diagram Palm (Ba - the number 8, Gua - diagram or trigram, Zhang - palm), and is one of the three better known Chinese "Internal" Martial Arts. The other two are Tai Chi Ch'uan (Tai Ji Quan), which means Supreme Ultimate Fist, and Hsing-I Ch'uan (Xing Yi Quan), which means Shape Mind Fist. Ba Gua Zhang is the youngest of the three. A thorough and extensive research and investigation by a well known martial arts researcher and historian (Professor K'ang Ko-Wu) in Beijing was conducted. His findings and conclusion on the origins of Ba Gua Zhang, indicates that Ba Gua Zhang was created and developed after 1853 by Tung Hai-Ch'uan (pictured above). Tung Hai-Ch'uan (also written as Dong Hai-Ch'uan) started publicly teaching the art in 1870.
Ba Gua Zhang is an art that primarily uses the palm of the hand for striking (not the fist), but also uses (open) hands, elbows, shoulders, arms, hips, knees, legs, feet, and the head for striking and blocking with, and for locking, and throwing. Ba Gua Zhang's fundamental training exercise is the circle walking exercise. Ba Gua Zhang uses quick, evasive footwork that enables the practitioner to advantageously position himself or herself closely to the side or behind the opponent. This is an art of great mobility, and uses twisting, turning, coiling, spiraling, and circular movements, and enables the practitioner to deliver fast powerful strikes from any angle and direction, while constantly in motion. Because of Ba Gua Zhang's fighting characteristics, and quick, compact, and devastating efficiency, some describe it as a martial art to use for defeating martial artists.
More of Professor K'ang Ko-Wu's findings:
Professor K'ang Ko-Wu's findings were the subject of a three part article that appeared in the Pa Kua Chang Journal, a publication that was published bi-monthly from Nov/Dec 1990 to Jan/Feb 1997. The journal was published by High View Publications, which was created and run by Dan Miller, the publication's Editor. The three part series article appeared as follows: "The Origins of Pa Kua Chang Part 1" in issue Volume 3, Number 1, Nov/Dec 1992; "The Origins of Pa Kua Chang Part 2" in issue Volume 3, Number 2, Jan/Feb 1993; "The Origins of Pa Kua Chang Part 3" in issue Volume 3, Number 4, May/June 1993. The following is information from that three part serial article.
Stories abound about how the art of Pa Kua Chang was originated. The only clear lineage that exists is that of Tung Hai-Ch'uan and so many feel that Tung was the founder. Tung rarely spoke of his own background. His relationship with his students was very strict and thus none of them dared to ask. Whether or not Tung invented this art on his own or learned it from another is a common topic of debate in the Pa Kua Chang community. Although there are dozens of stories and anecdotes, the various theories of Pa Kua Chang's origins can be boiled down to the following four:
Tung Hai-Ch'uan developed Pa Kua Chang after learning Yin Yang Pa P'an Chang from Tung Meng-Lin. This version of Pa Kua's origin was published in the 1937 text Yin Yang Pa P'an Chang Fa written by Jen Chih-Ch'eng.
The Unofficial History of the Indigo Pavilion (published in 1818) talks about eight direction stepping, Li Kua and K'an Kua as Pa Kua that was popular prior to Tung Hai-Ch'uan (as early as 1813). From the writing in this text, some have deduced that this Pa Kua was the predecessor to the Pa Kua Chang taught by Tung.
Tung Hai-Ch'uan learned his art from Pi Ch'eng-Hsia on Chou Hua (Nine Flower) Mountain. A discussion of this theory would also include any of the various stories about Tung learning from an "unusual person in the mountain fastness." When the Pi Ch'eng-Hsia theory is examined in this article, we will include popular theories regarding other Taoists that Tung might have learned from.
Tung Hai-Ch'uan was the founder of Pa Kua Chang. The individuals who subscribe to this theory believe that Tung spent his youth learning other martial arts and invented Pa Kua Chang based on his early experience combined with a circle walking meditation practice he learned from a Taoist.
In addition to the theories mentioned above, some take Pa Kua Ch'uan (other boxing styles which have the name Pa Kua) that was not taught by Tung as Pa Kua Chang (for example, there is a Shaolin-like art in Henan called Fu Hsi Pa Kua and another in Shantung called Shaolin Pa Kua). Then there is also the other arm of Pa Kua (Tien Family Pa Kua), which the practitioners claim was hidden for over 400 years and such other versions of Pa Kua's origins.
The primary source of this information is taken from the work of Professor K'ang Ko-Wu of Beijing. This information was compiled while he intensely researched the origins of Pa Kua Chang, working on his master's degree for the two years 1980 and 1981. Professor K'ang wrote his thesis on the "Origins of Pa Kua Chang." Professor K'ang had since compiled more information by the time this article was written, that further substantiated his findings and conclusion.
Professor K'ang's research was extensive and involved close examination of over 650 documents from the Ch'ing Palace history books and over 230 papers written on martial arts. He also examined the situations of 413 teachers in 24 provinces and cities, personally investigating in 16 cities and counties and 9 provinces. K'ang interviewed over 256 people resulting in over 274 documents. Many of the people he interviewed were elderly boxers of the older generation who spoke openly about their martial art.
All the above theories were examined systematically and in great detail. In examining the first two theories listed above, it was determined and concluded that these two theories had no basis in fact. When theory number three was explored in some detail, no supporting evidence for this theory could be found. In exploring theory number four, K'ang spent weeks with members of Tung Hai-Ch'uan's family, visited every mountain top Tung was reported to have crossed, read every martial arts book in every library in Beijing and even dug up Tung Hai-Ch'uan's body and meticulously measured and weighed each and every bone. While conducting his research, K'ang was a motivating force in the effort to restore Tung Hai-Ch'uan's tomb and participated with 371 others in unearthing and moving of the tomb from its original resting place. This was done so that they could relocate the body, casket and tomb to its new and current site. The result of K'ang's life long study and research concerning Pa Kua Chang's origins boils down to this: Tung Hai-Ch'uan was the sole originator of the Pa Kua Chang system.
Professor K'ang is employed by the Chinese government to research Chinese martial arts on a full time basis, he is constantly uncovering new material and interviewing older generation martial arts practitioners all over China. Since his thesis was published over ten years prior to the time this article was written, and he has obviously run across much more information on Pa Kua Chang than was available to him when he was conducting his research, he has not found any solid evidence that would contradict the conclusion in his thesis. According to K'ang at the time this article was written, all of the evidence he has run across since his thesis was published supports his theory. His story goes like this:
Tung Hai-Ch'uan's ancestors were originally from Hun Tung County in Shanxi Province. Close to the end of the Ming Dynasty the clan started moving North, first ending up in Kou Sheng County, Hebei Province. From there the family split into two branches, one went to K'ai K'o village and the other went to Wen An (both in Hebei). Several generations later (around 1813), young Tung Hai-Ch'uan was born in Chu Chia Wu township, Wen An, Hebei. Around the same time, another Tung, known as Tung Hsien-Chou, was born in K'ai K'o village (he will become important later in the story).
In Chu Chia Wu township, there were two predominant families, the Tung's and the Li's. The Li family was literary, a few of them passed examinations and became government officials. The Tung family was poor, but that was all right with young Hai-Ch'uan because he was only interested in practicing martial arts, not studying for scholarly examinations. It is not known exactly which arts Tung studied when he was young, however, it was most likely some form of indigenous Northern Shaolin. Systems that were known to have been practiced in Wen An around that time were: Pa Fan Ch'uan, Hung Ch'uan, Hsing Men Ch'uan, and Chin Kang Ch'uan. It is said that Tung practiced hard and gained a reputation as a skilled martial artist.
For some unknown reason, the Li's had a rivalry with Tung Hai-Ch'uan. The Li family, being officials, had friends in high places and used their influence to persecute Tung. Eventually he grew tired of the Li's games and decided to leave Wen An in about 1853. At this point in Tung's life, the story becomes vague. He most likely went from Wen An to K'ai K'o to live with his relatives. Remember Tung Hsien-Chou? It turns out that he was also a martial arts enthusiast and had become very well known in and around his village for his skill at Pa Fan Ch'uan. He was so well known that bandits in the area avoided his village so they would not have to confront him. It is very possible that while in K'ai K'o, Tung Hai-Ch'uan studied Pa Fan Ch'uan with his relative Tung Hsien-Chou. Professor K'ang's investigation of Pa Fan Ch'uan revealed that many of the movements and techniques of this style can be found in Tung Hai-Ch'uan's Pa Kua Chang.
After leaving K'ai K'o, Tung continued South. Reports have him stopping in Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, and at the Ta Pa mountain area somewhere along the border of Shaanxi and Sichuan. Although K'ang was unable to determine exactly where Tung went and what he did during his travels, the one pertinent piece of information that K'ang was able to uncover was that somewhere along the way Tung became a member of the Chuan Chen (Complete Truth) sect of Taoism. This sect was part of the Lung Men (Dragon Gate) school of Taoism which was originated by Chou Chang-Ch'uan. Interestingly enough, Chou also invented a method of meditation whereby the practitioner would walk in a circle and, wouldn't you know, this method was practiced by the Chuan Chen sect. Delving further into this Taoist connection, K'ang was able to find a section in the Taoist Canon which reads:
A person's heart and mind are in chaos.
Concentration on one thing makes the mind pure.
If one aspires to reach the Tao, one should practice walking in a circle.
This bit of evidence inspired K'ang to try and find out more about the circle walk meditation method practiced by the Chuan Chen Taoists. What he discovered was that this practice, which the Taoists called Chuan T'ien Tsun (Rotating in Worship of Heaven) is very similar in principle to the circle walk practice of Pa Kua Chang. Researching Wang Chun-Pao's book, Taoist Method of Walking the Circle, K'ang found that while walking, the Taoists repeated one of two mantras. The first of these mantras was used in the morning practice and translates to mean "When Rotating in Worship of Heaven, the sound of thunder is everywhere and transforms everything." The second mantra was used in the evening practice and translates to mean "When Rotating in Worship of Heaven, the great void saves us from the hardship of existence." It was said that the practitioner should repeat the mantra with each movement in the circle walk practice so that "one replaces one's myriad thoughts with a single thought in order to calm and ease one's mind." The Taoists said that in walking the circle the body's movements should be unified and the practitioner strives for stillness in motion. This practice was described as a method of training the body while harnessing the spirit.
When instructing his students Tung was noted as saying, "Training martial arts ceaselessly is inferior to walking the circle. In Pa Kua Chang the circle walk practice is the font of all training." Pa Kua Chang instructors instruct their students to walk the circle with spirit, ch'i, intent, and power concentrated on a single goal. This is similar to the Taoist method whereby one clears the mind with a single thought. Although Pa Kua Chang's circle walk practice trains fighting footwork, it also shares the Taoist's goal of creating stillness in motion and developing the body internally.
The general requirements of the Taoist practice was to walk with the body natural and the movements comfortable. The practitioner strived to achieve a feeling of balance while moving slowly. The Taoist practitioners were to walk slowly and gently in such a manner that their Taoist robes were only slightly disturbed by the walking movement. The Taoists started the practice on the Eastern side of the circle with their body facing North. After three revolutions, they walked through the center of the circle to the other side following an "S" shaped pattern like that described by the Tai Chi diagram. They then reversed the direction and walked South to West. There was no set circle size. The size of the circle was determined by the practice area. As most Pa Kua Chang practitioners know, The Pa Kua Chang circle walking practice is very similar. The practitioner will usually start in the East and face North. In most systems the beginning practitioner will walk slowly, increasing speed gradually. The requirements of comfortable, natural movements while walking in a balanced, smooth manner with no bobbing and weaving are the same as in the Taoist method. While the Pa Kua Chang practitioner employs numerous methods in changing the direction of the circle walk, the Tai Chi diagram pattern is one of the many changing patterns which is practiced by most major schools of Pa Kua Chang today.
Convinced that Tung Hai-Ch'uan had learned the Taoist circle walk practice as a member of the Chuan Chen Taoist sect and had then integrated this practice with the martial arts he had learned in his youth to form Pa Kua Chang, K'ang Ko-Wu began to research the arts that Tung was known to have practiced to see if he could detect similarities. Since the Tung family was known for it's Pa Fan Ch'uan and thus K'ang was fairly certain that Tung Hai-Ch'uan had studied this art in his youth, K'ang investigated the forms and postures of this art with the elderly practitioners of today. Not only did he discover that Pa Fan Ch'uan techniques rely heavily on the use of palm striking, he also found that many of the postures and movements of Pa Fan Ch'uan are identical to Pa Kua Chang. Included in K'ang's thesis are photographs of Pa Fan Ch'uan practitioners postures compared to Pa Kua Chang postures found in Pa Kua Chang books by Kuo Ku-Min, Sun Lu-T'ang, Sun Hsi-K'un and Huang Po-Nien. He concluded that many of the Pa Kua Chang postures and movements are identical to those found in Pa Fan Ch'uan, Hsing Men, Hung Ch'uan, and Chin Kang Ch'uan.
Having found no solid evidence to prove otherwise, K'ang concluded that Tung Hai-Ch'uan was the originator of Pa Kua Chang. He states that after practicing the circle walk practice with the Taoists, Tung recognized the utility of this footwork and body movement in martial arts. K'ang believes that Tung Hai-Ch'uan's genius was coming up with a system of martial arts whereby the practitioner could deliver powerful strikes while remaining in constant motion. Due to Pa Kua Chang's combination of unique footwork and body mechanics, the Pa Kua Chang stylist never has to stop moving. The feet are in continuous motion even when applying a block or strike. K'ang said that Tung's addition of the Kou (hooking) and Pai (swinging) footwork in directional changes was also an important addition.
Through his intense research K'ang has also discovered that Tung did not originally call his art Pa Kua Chang. His art was originally called Chuan Chang (Rotating Palm) and then later called Pa Kua Chuan Chang and finally Pa Kua Chang. While conducting his research and writing his thesis K'ang relied heavily on the writings of Ts'eng Hsing-San. Tsung was a Manchurian scholar (Ts'eng Hsing-San was his Han name) who had studied Pa Kua Chang with both Tung Hai-Ch'uan and Yin Fu in the Palace of Su. When the Ch'ing government was overthrown in 1911, Ts'eng was out of work and thus had a lot of spare time. Since he had so much free time, Ts'eng began to write down all that he had learned from Tung Hai-Ch'uan and Yin Fu. Ts'eng's written work was never made public, however, K'ang Ko-Wu has Ts'eng' original manuscript. According to Ts'eng' written work, Tung Hai-Ch'uan did not relate his fighting art to the Pa Kua until late in his life. It is possible that he was looking for a way to explain the theory of his fighting style in such a manner that his descendants could research and improve the art after he was gone. K'ang says that in Ts'eng's writing he uses many references to the I-Ching in explaining the principles of the Pa Kua Chang fighting art. The first published work which related the fighting art of Pa Kua Chang to Pa Kua philosophy was the book published by Sun Lu-T'ang in 1916.
When K'ang's findings were published widely in 1984 many Pa Kua Chang practitioners in China who had held onto one of the other three major theories regarding Pa Kua Chang's origins were upset. Many responded with magazine articles of their own, however, reviewing these articles one will find that no one has presented any solid evidence to back up any of the other theories. The best one can say is that no one can really know for sure what Tung Hai-Ch'uan learned from the Taoists and what he came up with on his own. Any recorded information from second or third generation practitioners, those who were closest to Tung, simply states that Tung learned his art from a Taoist in the mountains. Evidentially this is the only clue Tung himself gave to the arts origins. After years of research Professor K'ang's best guess is that Tung only learned the Taoist meditative circle walking practice from members of the Chuan Chen sect and the rest he created on his own.
Is Tung Hai-Ch'uan the originator of the art we know of today as Pa Kua Chang? The evidence we are left with today leaves me to believe that he did indeed invent Pa Kua Chang. But it is still anyone's guess, and I suppose it will always be a topic of discussion among Pa Kua Chang enthusiasts.
The information on this page regarding Professor K'ang Ko-Wu's research and findings, came from a three part serial article that was written by Dan Miller and published in the Pa Kua Chang Journal between Nov/Dec 1992 and May/June 1993.
For the sake of saving space, time and not running on and on on this page, I decided not to try and include the details of how Professor K'ang Ko-Wu disproved or eliminated the other three major theories as to the origins of Pa Kua Chang. Professor K'ang's examination, investigation and exploration of the other three theories was equally as thorough and exhaustive as with theory number four.
Tung Hai-Ch'uan taught his art of Pa Kua Chang differently (beyond the basic characteristics) to each of his students based on their martial arts background (normally he would not teach it to them if they were not already an accomplished martial artist in some other art), physical abilities and physical makeup. For this reason, you can not say that there is a one and only original, Pa Kua Chang form that was passed down from Tung Hai-Ch'uan (there are forms that are original to his personal students). Because of the way he taught his art to his personal students, many of his students were able to adapt their martial arts knowledge, abilities and experiences to the Pa Kua Chang that Tung taught them, enhance it and personalize it as their own particular style of Pa Kua Chang, then teach either the Pa Kua Chang that was taught directly to them by Tung Hai-Ch'uan, teach their personalized style of Pa Kua Chang or both. Examples of this development of the many schools, styles or systems of Pa Kua Chang, are Yin Style Pa Kua Chang (developed by his student Yin Fu, who studied with Tung Hai-Ch'uan as long as 20 years, which was at least 14 years longer that any of his other students), Cheng Style Pa Kua Chang (developed by his student Cheng Ting-Hua), and other styles of Pa Kua Chang that were developed by one of Tung's direct students or a student of their's, and on down in that manner. The one thing that remains the same, that distinguishes the art of Pa Kua Chang (in all the many styles) from other forms of martial arts, is the basic Circle Walking training, exercise, footwork and Single Palm Change or Single Change Palm (in various forms).
There are a couple or so schools, styles or systems of Pa Kua Chang that claim to have a "secret" family history or lineage that has existed as long as 200 years before the time that historical evidence indicates that Tung Hai-Ch'uan created and first started teaching the martial art that eventually came to be known as Pa Kua Chang. Prior to the Chuan Chang that Tung Hai-Ch'uan created and taught, Professor K'and Ko-Wu (Kang Gewu) could find no legitimate historical evidence that any such claimed Pa Kua Chang existed nor did any martial art involving training and practicing martial movements and techniques while walking in a circle. It seems as though such claimed "secret" family Pa Kua Chang has a lineage or history that was magically created out of thin air by people trying to make themselves important and famous, claiming to be the only living lineage holder of a rare and "secret" Pa Kua Chang. Strangely their rare "secret" Pa Kua Chang looks much like bits and pieces of other well known and documented styles or schools of Pa Kua Chang.
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