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John talks with Chris Bates about one of Taiwan’s greatest ever martial artists, Hong Yixiang 洪懿祥 (1925–1993). He was Taiwan’s foremost master of the Chinese internal martial arts (which consist of baguazhang 八卦掌, xingyiquan 形意拳 and taijiquan 太極拳.) The Hong family learnt these fighting forms from exiled Mainlanders who fled the communists in the late 1940s. These skills were put to good use in dealing with local gangsters in the turbulent post-WWII years in Taipei.
Chris, who trained with Hong and his sons, translated his biography “Blurred Boundaries,” written by son Hong Ze-han, into English. Like the book, this Formosa Files episode is not just a conversation about kung fu, but a rich cultural dive down little-known alleys.
(Chris previously spoke with John about his own martial arts odyssey in Taiwan: “Bonus Episode: Way of the Warrior - Martial Arts Master Chris Bates,” May 25, 2023. )
Cover shows Hong Yixiang 洪懿祥 (1925–1993) on the left (image via Facebook), and on the right the cover of Blurred Boundaries written by Hong Yixiang's son Hong Ze-han, and translated into English by Chris Bates.
Below: Hong Yixiang or Hung I-Hsiang (left) demonstrates with a student in the 1970s. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Hong was Taiwan’s foremost master of the Chinese internal martial arts:
Below: Zhang Zhaodong, also known as Zhang Zhankui, performing Baguazhang. Via Wikimedia Commons.
Below: Master Yang Fansheng (1949–2014) demonstrating the technique 'Ying Zhua' (Eagle Grasp) from the Si Ba Chui form. The style being demonstrated is Dai-style xinyi liuhequan, the precursor to modern xingyi. Shot at the International Xinyi-Dao Federation headquarters, in Shanxi Province, China (2004). The student being demonstrated upon is late master Yang's disciple, Sudan Jeffers. Via Wiki.
Below: Yang Chengfu (c. 1931) in Single Whip posture of Yang-style tai chi solo form.
(Chris previously spoke with John about his own martial arts odyssey in Taiwan: “Bonus Episode: Way of the Warrior - Martial Arts Master Chris Bates,” May 25, 2023. )
NEW BOOK: Blurred Boundaries: A Martial Arts Legacy and the Shaping of Taiwan
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Check our very first episode, the story of a very white man who showed up in London in 1703... and claimed to be from Formosa. Or try a foodie episode from Season 3. Or, for those who want some harder-core history, hear the tale of the Lockheed U-2 pilot Wang Hsi-chueh 王錫爵, who became famous for defecting to the PRC by hijacking China Airlines Flight 334 on May 3, 1986.
