Founder & First Inheritors

The Dai Xinyi boxing style has evolved to its present form through the various leading masters of this style, starting from its founder, Dai Longbang, to the masters of today. However, the core principles of Dai Family Xingyiquan have remained unchanged. The internal exercises have been transmitted in the same manner and have been incorporated into all movements and taolus of the style. Over time, additional taolus have been added, and practitioners have gained a clearer understanding of the applications. We will introduce the leading Masters of the Dai Family up to its Fifth generation. Please note that Li Luoneng, a student of Dai Wenxiong, is not included as he is better known as the Founder of Xingyiquan (Form Mind Boxing). Also, Dai Kui, the 4th Generation Inheritor, is the last leading style Master to be a member of the Dai Family.

Dai Longbang

During his period, the Dai family in Qixian had "half a city inside and half a mountain outside", and therefore Qixian was known as "Half Dai Family city". They were the top aristocratic tycoons in Qixian. In the history of Qixian County, the Dai family was famous for their integration of government and commerce, as well as their dual roles in civil and military affairs, and the prominent officials of the city. Dai Longbang, adhering to the motto of "serving the country faithfully, cultivating and inheriting the family", once aspired to serve the country and devoted himself to the struggle against the reining Qing Dynasty and the restoration of the Ming Dynasty. Writing a hidden head couplet at home, saying "Sweep away evil habits and forge martial souls from generation to generation, enlighten new regulations and forge literary talent from generation to generation," means to study literature and martial arts to counter the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty, and be loyal to the country. 
Later, Dai Longbang met his mentor Cao Jiwu during his business in Chizhou, Anhui, and learned Xinyi Fist from the Cao family. After learning it for ten years, his skills became successful. Later, upon being ordered by his master to return to his home, he passed through Luoyang,

Founder of Dai Family Xinyiquan

Henan Province to pay his respects to another student of his Master Cao: Ma Xueli and it is during this period of time that he was invited to write a heartfelt Liuhe Fist Manual which was passed down in the fifteenth year of the Qianlong reign (1750).Dai Longbang passed on his skills to his eldest son Wenliang (also known as Da Lu), his second son Wenxiong (also known as Er Lu), his wife and his nephew Guo Weihan. Due to Dai Longbang's outstanding contributions to Xinyi Martial Arts, his hometown Qixian has now built the "Dai Longbang Memorial Hall".

Dai Wenxiong 戴隆邦

Dai Wenxiong, also known as Ye Meng, is the second in line, also known as Er Lu. He was born in Xiaohan Village, Qi County, Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province, and was the second son of Dai Longbang. He was born in the 42nd year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1777) and passed away in the 12th year of the Tongzhi reign (1873). Dai Wenxiong has been practicing martial arts with his father since childhood and studied also Confucianism. Due to family tradition, he became famous locally for his elegant style and outstanding martial arts skills when he was young.Later, his father opened a shop inSheqi County, Henan Province, mainly engaged in the tourism industry and also engaged in the escort industry. In the eleventh year of the Jiaqing reign (1806), Wen Xiong inherited his father's legacy and independently supported the situation of "Ten stores" at the age of 29.
Dai Wenxiong was humble, diligent, and eager to learn. Even after becoming famous, he still did not give up on exploring martial arts. According to legend, Dai Wenxiong was able to treat anyone he could meet by teaching him a principle or combat technique. The Dai family habitually refers to it as a scholar type or martial art type teacher. Dai Wenxiong once warned future generations, "What I 

2nd Generation Inheritor Dai Family Xinyiquan

have learned in my family comes from a hundred schools, but now I am fortunate enough to rely on the guidance of a master. I am not yet happy enough, how can I neglect the unprivileged? Who can realize that 'a trickle of water gathered from rivers and dust accumulated in soil can build progressively building higher than mountains.' Anyone who with wisdom or anyone with martial skills is welcome to pass his knowledge to me, they are all my teachers. “ 
Dai Wenxiong had a deep family knowledge, was also diligent and eager to learn, so his skills became increasingly refined, and developing his martial skills in all directions, achieving an unrivaled level, winning the surname "Divine Fist Erlu".
Dai Wenxiong as a renowned Bodyguard had never lost his mark, and he rarely encountered enemies when traveling north and south of the Yangtze River. In the business world, he was known as the "Escort of Erlu travels around the world". In Chinese Martial arts annals, it is customary to refer Dai Wenxiong along with Wen Shuizhou in Shanxi, and Wang Zhengqing in Pingyao, Shanxi too as the "Three Heroes of North China".

The origins of Xingyiquan: In the 16th year of the Daoguang reign (1836), a person named Li Luoneng from Hebei came to Xiaohan Village in Qixian County, Shanxi to seek entertainment from Dai Wenxiong. Li Luoneng grew vegetables and engaged in agriculture in Qixian while also studying under the leadership of Dai Wenxiong. Due to his superior skills in planting vegetables and farming, the locals respectfully refer to him as the "old farmer". Li Luoneng studied martial arts in Qixian for ten years. After completing his martial arts studies, he also accompanied his mentor Dai Wenxiong as a bodyguard, and eventually became a master of martial arts, known as the "Northern Divine Fist" and created the famous internal Xingyiquan(Form Mind Boxing). The main descendants of Li Luoneng include Che Yonghong, Song Shirong, Song Shide, He Yongheng, Guo Yunshen, Liu Qilan, Liu Xiaolan, and many others. Most of them were well known martial arts masters. During the Xianfeng period, Dai Wenxiong was ordered to lead his disciples Li Luoneng, Jia Dajun, Wen Laoliu, and others to participate in the war. For his repeatedly outstanding achievements, the court awarded him a yellow coat as a token of recognition. Wen Xiong passed on his skills to his son Dai Wuchang, Dai Liangdong, Hebei’s Li Luoneng, Shanxi’s Jia Dajun, Wen Laoliu, Zhu Xi, Sun Shulun, Shandong Tietou Monk Ma Peide, and many others.

Dai Liangdong 戴良栋

Dai Liangdong, a native of Qixian County, was the uncle of Dai Wenxiong and also his disciple. He was born in the tenth year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty (1830) and passed away in the third year of the Xuantong reign (1911). He once served as the county magistrate and was known as the "Iron Catcher", and many remarkable stories related on his skills were passed down. He passed on his art to his son Dai Kui, his nephew Dai Hongxiong and many others. Dai Liangdong was born in Qixian, Shanxi in 1834. Originally, he was not the direct descendant of Mr. Dai Longbang, the heir of the Dai family's Xinyi Quan. The reason why he was able to inherit the Dai family's Xinyi Quan can be said to be very accidental.
Because Mr. Dai Erlu's son had no offspring, he had to choose someone else to pass on the Dai family's Xinyi Quan. Following the rule of the Dai family of "not passing on to people outside the family," Mr. Dai Erlu chose his highly talented cousin, Mr. Dai Liangdong, as the successor of Xinyi Quan.
Since then, Mr. Dai Liangdong officially became a disciple of Mr. Dai Erlu and began to practice the Dai family's Xinyi Quan. After many years of diligent study and practice, he

3rd Generation Inheritor Dai Family Xinyiquan

developed exceptional skills in Xinyi Quan.
Furthermore, looking at Mr. Dai Liangdong's real combat cases, it is indeed numerous. As early as the prosperous period of Guangsheng Escort Agency, he was already a well-known martial artist. It is well known that during that special historical period, any martial artist who could work for the escort agency must have some real skills.
Especially in Guangsheng Escort Agency, which was known as the "number one escort agency in Central China" and ranked among the "top ten escort agencies" in history, the escort martial artists must have excellent skills.

Dai Kui 戴魁

Mr. Dai Kui was born in 1874 (the 13th year of the Qing Dynasty's Tongzhi reign) in Qixian, Shanxi. His father was Mr. Dai Liangdong, a renowned master of the Dai family's Xinyi Quan. Dai Kui began practicing the family's Xinyi Quan under his father's guidance from a young age, and through years of diligent practice, he became a renowned master of Xinyi Quan.
It is worth mentioning that in the 1920s, due to not having a son, Mr. Dai Kui broke the conservative tradition of the Dai family, which only passed down the art to males and only within the Dai family, and began teaching the secret Xinyi Quan to people outside the family. For example, Yue Yunzhong, Gao Shengzhen, Shi Xiongba, Guo Yingtian, Liu Huanyin, Ren Dahua, Wang Buchang, Wang Yinghai, Ma Erniu, Duan Xifu, and Tian Jiuzhuan were all disciples of Mr. Dai Kui.
Next, let's look at Mr. Dai Kui's practical combat cases. Throughout his life, Mr. Dai Kui experienced numerous practical combat cases. In 1926, there was a highly skilled martial artist in Inner Mongolia. At that time, the Shanxi Qiao, Qu, and Dashengkui merchant caravans passing through Inner Mongolia were alway being robbed.

4th Generation Inheritor Dai Family Xinyiquan

Upon hearing this, Mr. Dai Kui single-handedly ventured into the grasslands and eliminated all the evildoers in Inner Mongolia. This act not only protected the Shanxi merchants' caravans but also earned him a reputation as a famous martial artist.
In addition, in the autumn of 1938, when Mr. Dai Kui was already near his seventies, he encountered two Japanese soldiers who stopped him when he passed by the east gate of Qixian. They raised their guns and tried to stop him from passing. Unexpectedly, Mr. Dai Kui shouted and quickly grabbed the gunstocks of the two Japanese soldiers, then forcefully pushed them, causing the soldiers to fall into a trench over ten feet deep. By the time the two Japanese soldiers recovered and tried to shoot, Mr. Dai Kui had already leaped over the earthen wall and disappeared into a tent.
Upon hearing about Mr. Dai Kui's heroic act, the local independent battalion commander Wu Kelu quickly became close friends with him. Since then, Mr. Dai Kui began teaching guerrilla fighters Xinyi Quan, along with his disciples Yue Guining and Gao Shengzhen. Under Mr. Dai's instruction, the guerrilla fighters became heroic warriors who killed enemies alone and disarmed them face-to-face.
Unfortunately, Mr. Dai Kui passed away in 1951. Throughout his life, he not only broke the conservative tradition of the Dai family and promoted the development of Xinyi Quan but also performed numerous heroic acts with his exceptional martial arts skills. It is evident that Mr. Dai Kui's practical combat skills in Xinyi Quan were indeed remarkable.

Wang Yinghai 王映海

Wang Yinghai is a renowned martial artist and the fifth generation inheritor of the Dai Family Xinyiquan Boxing (DFXYQ). Born in 1926 in Shanxi Qixian Dongguan Town, he is widely respected for his research and teachings in Xingyiquan. He studied under the guidance of Master Dai Kui, known as "The Mindfulness Warrior," who practiced martial arts for nearly seventy years. At the age of fifteen, Wang started learning DFXYQ from Dai Kui, who was a farmer and illiterate, but possessed great knowledge in the art. Dai Kui used his memory and analytical skills to organize the techniques and developed a complete system. In 1984, the Qixian County Shanxi Province Wushu Association was established, and Master Wang was recommended to be the vice-president of the association. His skills and reputation grew rapidly in the 1980s, attracting many talented martial artists from China and abroad. He conducted workshops and seminars to share his knowledge.
His martial arts skills were highly praised and considered one of the most scientific, fierce, and ultimate forms of martial arts.
The founder, Dai Longbang, created the art based on ancestral boxing, further knowledge from various martial

5th Generation Inheritor Dai Family Xinyiquan

arts masters and from his own research. He established strict rules, forbidding the transmission of this art outside of the Dai family. However, Dai Kui, a prominent martial artist, broke the tradition and shared DFXYQ with others, leading its spread. DFXYQ was closely related to the culture of Shanxi merchants, and Dai Kui's martial arts skills gained recognition due to his employment as a bodyguard in a money changer. During his youth, Wang faced financial difficulties and had to drop out of school at the age of eleven. He dedicated all his energy to learning DFXYQ from Dai Kui.

Yue Yunzhong 岳蕴忠

In 1908, Yue Yunzhong was born into a wealthy family in Jialing Town, Qixian County, Shanxi Province and died in 1992 at the age of 84.
The Yue family had been lacking in male heirs for several generations, and Yue Yunzhong was the only one in his generation, so the elders of the Yue family treated him as a precious treasure, fearing that he would have any mishaps. In addition, the Yue family was also a wealthy landlord in the town, so Yue Yunzhong had a carefree life from a young age.
Although he was the son of a landlord, Yue Yunzhong was not a foolish person. He had extraordinary talent and could memorize books at a glance. Even the teachers in the private school valued him highly, saying that they had been teaching for decades and had rarely seen such a intelligent student.
When Yue Yunzhong was studying, it was already the early years of the Republic of China. At that time, the new school system had been promoted, and many wealthy families would send their children to the city to study. They would then send them overseas for further education and return to become officials. However, the elders of the Yue family did not agree to let Yue Yunzhong study too much.

5th Generation Inheritor Dai Family Xinyiquan

One reason was that they did not want him to become an official through studying. Although being an official was a prestigious thing, from the late Qing Dynasty to the early Republic of China, society was unstable with warlords fighting each other... In addition, there were many risks and intrigues in the officialdom. If one was not careful, they could bring disaster upon themselves, not only losing their official position but also losing their life. Instead of causing anxiety for the whole family, it was better to let Yue Yunzhong guard the family fortune and continue to live as a landlord. After all, the family owned hundreds of acres of fertile land, more than six hundred fat sheep, and a two-story wooden loft that could be used to raise pigeons. Of course, if Yue Yunzhong didn't want to do anything, he could also rent the land to tenant farmers and live off the rent for the rest of his life.
In short, after studying in a private school for seven years, the elders of the Yue family made it clear that they would not let him continue his studies. Although he was reluctant to leave the school, Yue Yunzhong was not a new youth, so he obeyed the arrangements of the elders. Fortunately, the elders were still democratic and asked Yue Yunzhong what he wanted to do next. When they learned that he wanted to give up literature and pursue martial arts, the elders immediately inquired and invited a famous martial arts master to teach him Xingyi Quan and Gongli Quan.
From then on, Yue Yunzhong developed a great interest in martial arts. He practiced day and night, and he loved to study martial arts. Two years later, he not only laid a solid foundation, but also became proficient in Xingyi Quan and Gongli Quan. At that time, there was a famous martial artist in Qixian County named Dai Kui, who was the fourth-generation successor of the Dai family's Xinyiquan.

Dai family's Xinyiquan is the oldest branch of Xinyiquan, and it is said to have been created by Yue Fei. This martial art transformed spear techniques into fist techniques, characterized by fierceness, speed, and endless variations. After Yue Fei was killed, this martial art also disappeared.
However, by the time of Dai Kui, the Dai family had already fallen due to legal disputes, and in the era of the Republic of China, martial arts were in an opening period, with many famous schools and masters opening schools to teach and make a living. Dai Kui was also a famous martial artist who shook the Huaxi region, so many people asked him to teach martial arts.
Yue Yunzhong also heard about the power of Dai family's Xinyiquan and had a strong desire to learn it, so he made a request to the elders. As a result, Dai Kui was invited to the house, and Yue Yunzhong became his disciple, learning Dai family's Xinyiquan.
After learning the Dai Family's mind boxing for a period of time, Yue Yunzhong realized the subtlety of this boxing technique and regarded it more and more as the main purpose of his life. So that every day he never leaves his mouth with songs and tactics, and his boxing equipment never leaves his hands. He often practiced hundreds of times over and over in order to perfect a move. Sooner or later, he will have to re-practice the skills he has learned several times.

Yue Yunzhong often said “if you learn kung Fu well, you won't suffer when you encounter an enemy. If you can't eat at a loss, you can't work hard, and you can deceive yourself in your kung fu. When encountering an enemy, others will fall down first if they don't fight." It is precisely with a spirit of perseverance that Yue Yunzhong has worked a lot in practice.
In addition, Dai Kui has lived in Yue Yunzhong's house for a long time, not only entertaining him delicious and delicious every day, but also supplying him with opium cigarettes. It turned out that Dai Kui was already in his twilight years at this time. When his family was well-off in his early years, he could take a few sips of opium cigarettes. Now that he is older, he can't do without opium cigarettes.
In order to satisfy Dai Kui's opium addiction, almost all of the Yue family's money was exchanged for opium cigarettes. Later, Yue's family facing financial difficulties, had to sold more than 600 sheeps following later with even dozens of acres of land, but it was still not enough. At that time Yue Yunzhong offered to sell their two-story wooden attic.
Seeing that in order for Yue Yunzhong to learn martial arts, the elders of the Yue family had almost exhausted their family resources, so they decided to try Yue Yunzhong's martial arts first before agreeing selling. So they asked him to go to the dam to work on the river the next day, and during the interval when he was working on the river, he asked five strong guys who had practiced martial arts to test his martial arts.
Unexpectedly, Yue Yunzhong beat all five boys to the ground by dividing them by two. The village chief was amazed again and again, and ten more green bricks were stacked on the ground, requiring Yue Yunzhong to crack nine pieces with one foot. Yue Yunzhong yelled and stepped on it abruptly, but the top brick cracked in response, all the way to the bottom brick. When everyone saw it, they all clapped their hands and applauded. After the elders of the Yue family heard about it, they sold the wooden attic and handed the money to Yue Yunzhong.
After more than ten years of hard study, Yue Yunzhong finally learned the true essence of Dai Family Xinyiquan boxing.
Since then, Yue Yunzhong made many friends from martial arts world, often learning martial arts from others and discussing the essentials of martial arts. In continuous learning and communication, his boxing skills became more refined and his skills more superb.
During his duals with other martial artists, Yue Yunzhong rarely lost, so he quickly became famous in the martial arts, and for a while attracted martial arts masters from various martial arts circles to come to compare their skills. Yue Yunzhong has always been peaceful and low-key. He knows that the disputes between schools have always been fierce, so he didn't not want to hold grudges with others. Every time he competes, he points to the end of confrontation so as not to embarrass the opponent.
There was a boxer surnamed Wang in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, who has won the third place in the provincial ring competition, so he was quite famous in the local area. Someone told Master Zhang that Yue Yunzhong of Qixian County was not convinced of his martial arts and wanted to compete with him.
"The master didn't distinguish between the blue and the red, so he rushed to Yue Yunzhong angrily to make an appointment to fight. After Yue Yunzhong learned of the original story, he thought that it was better to solve the enemy than to end it, so he went to Taiyuan alone to meet the master and wanted to fight with him.
He never thought that when he entered Master Chen's martial arts hall, he was surrounded by dozens of Master Chen's apprentices, and those apprentices were all holding weapons. Yue Yunzhong laughed and said to Master Zhang: “Master Zhang has prepared a such ceremony for me. It's really flattering.”
This made Master Chen also feel that he was making a mountain out of a molehill, but since he was here, he had to fight. So he drew back the apprentices and fought with Yue Yunzhong himself.
What Master Chen didn't expect was that he just made a move and was beaten a foot away by Yue Yunzhong. Seeing that he was about to fall to the ground, Yue Yunzhong stepped forward again, supported his back, and even excuse himself being so rude. Master Chen seeing the power of Dai Family boxing, and seeing Yue Yunzhong's martial arts ethics, so he couldn't help but admire him, then the two shook hands and since then they have become inseparable friends.