He of the Iron Palms in Jingdong

Baguazhang originated in Beijing. In the late Qing dynasty, it was created by Dong Haichuan (circa 1799–1882), from Dongjiawu in Wen'an County, Hebei Province. It spread from Prince Su's residence in Beijing and was regarded as a superior form of martial arts practiced within the imperial court. It soon became widely known in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, then spread across the country, making a major impact on the martial arts world and earning the love and admiration of martial arts enthusiasts.

Many martial artists were impressed by Grandmaster Dong's noble martial virtue and extraordinary skills, and gladly became his disciples. Most students already had martial arts training, and many were renowned figures in their local martial arts communities. By the end of the nineteenth century, he had more than fifty disciples (as recorded on his tombstone). Grandmaster Dong taught each student according to their abilities, without adhering to a single method, which led Baguazhang to develop a range of distinct styles. Students practiced different forms of the art according to their preferences, abilities, and the opportunities they had to study with a particular teacher. To distinguish the styles and their lineages, later generations named each style after a representative practitioner's surname. This gave rise to different branches, all of which nonetheless trace back to the same founder. There is no doubt that these branches played an active role in spreading and developing Baguazhang.

Its two main branches are as follows.

Yin-style Baguazhang: Its representative was Yin Fu (1840–1908), courtesy name De'an and style name Shoupeng, a native of Yi County, Hebei Province. He lived in Beijing, at Jishikou Toutiao outside Chaoyang Gate. Master Yin practiced Shaolin Tantui and Luohanquan from childhood. After studying under Master Dong, he incorporated those skills into Baguazhang, giving it a fighting style characterized by cold, snapping, crisp, swift, and forceful movements. Its palm shape resembles that of Shaolin boxing: the thumb curls inward while the other four fingers are held together and slightly cupped, like a cow's tongue. Its techniques mainly include pushing, supporting, carrying, guiding, piercing, lifting, chopping, smashing, slicing, crashing, sweeping, and thrusting. When circling, practitioners move swiftly, using footwork similar to that of Shaolin boxing.

Cheng-style Baguazhang: Its representative was Cheng Tinghua (1844–1900), courtesy name Yingfang, from Chengjia Village in Shen County, Hebei Province. In Beijing, he made a living selling eyeglasses at Huashi Toutiao outside Chongwen Gate, and was known as "Cheng the Optician." He loved martial arts from childhood and practiced wrestling, developing a strong lower body and a balance of hardness and softness. After studying under Grandmaster Dong, he often escorted him out of Prince Su's residence and hosted him in his eyeglass shop, where he trained and learned from his master day and night. This led him to develop a distinctive style called the "Swimming Body Eight Trigrams Continuous Palm." Its palm shape is called the Dragon Claw Palm. Its footwork moves as if wading through water, with each footfall seeming to tread on mud, hence the common name "Mud-Treading Steps." When performed, this style twists, turns, and threads through the air like a swimming dragon, flowing like clouds and water without a break. It moves like a fierce tiger and is still as a mountain, hard without rigidity and soft without yielding. It advances and retreats with agile movements, twisting, coiling, drilling, and turning, while using pushing, supporting, carrying, guiding, shifting, hooking, intercepting, and blocking. Its circles contain circles, layer upon layer without end.

From the Xianfeng era of the late Qing dynasty to the present, more than 150 years have passed. The great practitioners of Baguazhang have performed many stirring deeds worthy of song and tears, and can rightly be called national heroes. When the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing, Master Cheng Tinghua fought back against the invaders and sacrificed his life for his country.

This is the little-known story of Cheng Youlong (courtesy name Haiting), the eldest son of Cheng Tinghua, and his outstanding disciple He Guang (courtesy name Yucun), among others...