In martial arts TV dramas, we often see some eunuchs with high martial arts. They hold the secret book in their hands, flying in the sky and omnipotent, taking the first level of people within five steps, like probing for things. For example, in the movie "Smiling Proud of the Jianghu", the grand eunuch of the East Factory, Gu Jinfu. For example, Cao Zhengchun, the eunuch in the East Factory in the martial arts TV series "The First in the World". They are all extremely powerful characters, and they are the great villains with high martial arts.
So, in real life, are there really eunuchs with extraordinary skills and strong martial arts?
In fact, most of the eunuchs in martial arts dramas are invented by the author. It is true that the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty East Factory were fierce and fierce, but it was pure joke to say that they were strong in martial arts.
However, there are really eunuchs in history who know kung fu, who not only know martial arts, but also a generation of masters. Who is he? He is dong haichuan, the protagonist of today's article.
First, let's talk about Dong Haichuan's life.
Dong Haichuan was born in Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty in the third year of the Qing Dynasty, and his hometown was in Zhujiawu Village, Wen'an County, Hebei Province. In the late Qing Dynasty, the countryside around Hebei had a martial arts practice. Dong Haichuan's father, Dong Shouye, has been practicing martial arts for many years and is also a master in the local area. Dong Haichuan's original name was Dong Mingkui. There are three boys in the Dong family, the eldest is called Dong Dekui, the second is called Dong Mingkui, and the third is called Wu Kui. Dong Haichuan later traveled around the world and gave himself a name, Haichuan. The word "haichuan" means "hai na bai chuan, and there is tolerance is great". Dong Haichuan grew up with a strong body, tall, long arms, and was born very burly at a young age. Dong Haichuan did not read books since he was a child, but just liked martial arts. He practiced martial arts with his cousins in the village and enjoyed it. Dong Haichuan's father saw that his son was unwilling to study and take the road, so he had to sigh and let him go!
Dong Haichuan is addicted to martial arts, and spends all day with his neighbors, and as his martial arts grow, he is no longer satisfied with "practicing" in the township. He often went to other counties to find people to ask for advice, learn from each other, and improve each other. After several years of study and training, Dong Haichuan's martial arts attainments have been very high, coupled with his righteousness, often fighting for the weak, and gradually, he has become a celebrity in the eight townships.
After getting older, Dong Haichuan traveled all over the world to seek famous teachers. During the Daoguang years, Dong Haichuan traveled to the Bashu region to explore the mysteries of martial arts between the famous mountains and rivers. These travel experiences have made his martial arts attainments continue to improve. It laid a solid foundation for him to create a martial arts school on a daily basis.
Secondly, let's talk about the strange story of Dong Haichuan entering the palace as a eunuch.
Dong Haichuan entered the palace as a eunuch during the Xianfeng period. Why would a good martial arts wizard suddenly become a eunuch?
When a person enters the palace as a eunuch, he is either poor and desperate to enter the palace, or when he was a child, his family sent them to the palace for money and survival. When Dong Haichuan purified himself, he was already an adult, and there was no poverty. So why did he go into the palace?
One theory is that Dong Haichuan committed an accident during his travels and was hunted down and killed. Later, he became a monk to avoid the wind. He also killed the imperial court officials because of his unevenness, and was wanted by the government, so he was helpless, so he was a eunuch. This statement is widely circulated, because it is most in line with the public's imagination of chivalry. However, this is not the case.
The real situation is that during his travels, Dong Haichuan participated in the Taiping Rebellion and assassinated in order to enter the palace, so he became a eunuch. According to the famous gossip master Li Ziming in his book "The Mystery of Dong Haichuan's Life", after Dong Haichuan completed his martial arts, he threw himself into the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and planned to enter Beijing to assassinate the emperor. After he was purified, he asked his friend Baoju, who was on duty in the Qing court's internal affairs office, and only then did he successfully enter the palace and become a eunuch. However, after entering the palace, the assassination did not go smoothly. Once, because he did not pay attention to revealing the secret of his martial arts, he was suspected by the people in the palace, and he was sent out of the palace and sent to the Su King's Mansion as an errand boy.
During his time on duty at the Su King's Mansion, by chance, he met Yang Luchan, a Taiji master who was a guest at the Su King's Mansion. At that time, Yang Luchan was practicing martial arts with a boxer in the Su King's Mansion. Yang Luchan mastered the kung fu and pushed the boxer onto the guardrail of the garden between his hands. Dong Haichuan happened to pass by, and he flashed to pull the boxer up. Yang Lu saw that Dong Haichuan had a steady pace and a quick hand, and knew that the other party's kung fu was not shallow, so the two began a competition. The two played each other for multiple rounds, and there was no difference between victory and defeat. After this matter came out of the Su Palace, it became a beautiful talk.
Third, Dong Haichuan is in the Bagua palm
Dong Haichuan founded the Bagua Palm based on what he had learned in his lifetime. Bagua palm, also known as wandering Bagua palm and Bagua serial palm, is a traditional Chinese boxing technique based on palm transformation and walking and walking. When you watch Wong Kar-wai's movie "A Generation of Grandmasters", there is a display of bagua palms, flowing clouds and flowing water, and the moves are very beautiful, but they are also very powerful. Dong Haichuan took in many apprentices and taught Bagua Palm. As a result, the Bagua palm became a sect and gradually spread its branches.
At the end of the eighth year of Qing Guangxu (1882), Dong Haichuan died, and the legendary life of a generation of masters came to an end. After his death, his disciples buried him next to the village of Xiaoniufang outside Dongzhimen, Beijing. In 1980, Dong Haichuan's tomb was moved to The West Wan'an Cemetery in Beijing as a cultural relic.