Féng Dào Dé (馮道德) is said to have been one of the legendary Five Elders, survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Temple by the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) in China.
During the Ming Dynasty, one Emperor moved the imperial capital from Beijing to Nanjing to avoid the northern tribes' attacks. He also built Shaolin Buddhist Monastery in the city of Quanzhou in Fujian province as an imperial temple. Eventually, the ruling Ming empire, led by the Han people, gave way to the Qing empire, led by the Manchurians. In 1647 the Qing military attacked the southern Shaolin Temple as it was seen as a training ground for revolutionaries. Only five of the senior monks managed to escape.
The masters who escaped the destruction of Southern Shaolin were named Zhì Shàn
Chán Shī (至善禪師), Wǔ Méi Dà Shī (五梅大師), Bái Méi Dào Rén (白眉道人), Féng Dào Dé (馮道德), and Miáo Xiǎn (苗顯). . One of the monks set up another temple at nearby Nine Lotus Mountain in Fujian. During their time in seclusion, these senior monks further refined their knowledge of medicine, meditation, and martial arts. Unfortunately, they were once again attacked by the Qing and had to flee. After the escape, Feng Dao De left to study medicine and spirituality in Sichuan province's remote area, next to Tibet.
In the late 1600s, the lives of Feng Dao De and Du Tian Yin (杜天陰) would cross paths bringing together two vast bodies of knowledge of healing and martial arts from ancient China. Du Tian Yin was a Taoist monk living in Sichuan. He was well-educated in folk medicine and philosophy that extended back to ancient Chinese culture's very roots. He is also said to have served the Emperor's court as a physician.
Du Tian Yin gave Feng Dao De refuge in his home from capture and execution and risked his life and his family's life in doing so. In exchange for his life and freedom, Feng Dao De passed his knowledge to Du Tian Yin as the 1st generation Du family inherited Grandmaster of the White Tiger Kung Fu system of martial arts. Because of Du Tian Yin's significant influence as a very high-ranking official, he arranged Feng Dao De's admittance into one of the Mountain temples in the Sichuan Province of China, where he took on a new identity. In doing so,
Du Tin Yin risked his life to help protect Feng Dao De. Feng Dao De gained a vast wealth of knowledge about ancient Daoist internal arts, healing, and self-preservation from Du Tian Yin. As a Daoist monk, Feng Dao De traveled for many years throughout remote China, mastering and collecting fighting and healing skills from numerous tribes and villages. This unification of Taoism, Buddhism, and folk culture created the first generation of white tiger kung fu/qigong practitioners.
It is from this history that the practice of Red Dragon Qigong (Hóng Lóng Qì Gōng - 紅龍氣功) and White Tiger Spirit Medicine Meditation (Bái Hǔ Shén Yī Gong - 白虎神醫) originate. These rare internal practices were kept a secret within the Du family for many centuries. Red Dragon Qigong was taught to me by Sifu Garry Hearfield, who was trained and certified to teach by the inherited Grandmaster of the White Tiger system Du Wei Feng (杜韋馮). Du Wei Feng (Mandarin) is also known as Doo Wai Fong (Cantonese).