I posted this at the end of another thread, but I don't think anybody noticed it. I'm still very curious about the answer to this question, however, so I'll post it again : So, did Yang Luchan and Dong Hai-chuan ever actually meet each other? I read somewhere that they once met and exchanged arts to some extent, but that's all I've ever heard. They were both very famous martial artists in Beijing around the same time, so it seems natural that they would have met or even sparred, but I've never heard a detailed account of any such meeting. Since Yang Luchan was "Yang the Invincible" does this mean that most contemporaries of the two would have considered Yang to be able to beat Dong? Did they possibly never actually fight just to mutually save face/avoid injury? Any of you historians out there have any more detailed info. on this?
I'm no historian, but in his book on T.T. Liang, Ray Hayward recounts Liang's telling of the story of the match between Yang and Dong. The upshot is that Yang claimed that Dong couldn't beat him, but that it would be unwise for him (Yang) to beat Dong due to Dong's connections in the palace. In order to save face and avoid making an enemy, Yang allowed the match to end in a draw. Of course, I imagine the Bagwazhang folks have a different version. That seems to be how martial arts "history" goes .
Both Yang and Dong worked in the palace as far as i am aware. I think Yang actually taught the royal family Tai Chi Chuan but i am not sure .... There are no authenticated accounts of the two meeting or having a match. But as far as i know Master Gong Bao Tien, a student of Yin Fu and an imperial bodyguard said that the tai chi seen in the palace was of a higher level than the bagua ... BUT ... the bagua and the Tai Chi practiced outside the palace was of a far far lower standard. So much so that when he left the palace and met some of his ba gua friends outside the palace he did not recognise their art. The ba gua outside the palace was generally considered to be of a higher standard than the Tai Chi outside. just from conversations passed down ... Cheers Chris
