In mid-June 2016, some scant news circulated across the social networks about the passing of Grandmaster Duan Zhi Liang. His date of passing was given as July 12, 2016, allegedly at the age of 107, although some other sources age him at 98. Grandmaster Duan was much beloved by American followers of Qigong, Tai Chi and Baguazhang. He was also well-known for his expertise in Traditional Chinese Medicine, claiming a family legacy of imperial doctors. Duan was the cover master for our SEPTEMBER+OCOTOBER 2002 issue. Unfortunately, that cover story, written by one of Duan’s more prominent patrons Francesco Garri Garripoli, only mentions Duan briefly. The article, The Quest for Longevity: A Taoist Perspective, is more about Qigong. Duan is only referenced by Garripoli in the following passage: “During my travels through China studying Qigong, I had the great opportunity to study with many senior masters such as Duan Zhi Liang and Luo You Ming, who were well into their 90s. These great teachers had agile bodies and lucid minds. They all shared a common sense of humor, enjoying a good laugh or playing practical jokes on me. They also shared the consistent, daily practice of Qigong.” In retrospect, it’s a shame that there is so little documentation on Duan within our archive, and more so, little on the web. Strangely, when Gigi Oh did a Chinese web search for this obituary, she found no mentions of Grandmaster Duan.
Be that what it may, Duan visited the Kung Fu Tai Chi offices for the cover shoot back in 2002, escorted by Garripoli. As anyone who met him will confirm, Duan was a colorful character. He was allegedly in his nineties then, and very agile, as well as very charming and funny. “He was an old strong man,” remembers Gigi. “He can do a lot of postures. The young people cannot do it. He was very flexible. There is an old Chinese saying, ‘If you increase your tendon one inch, your life is increased ten years (jin chang yi cun, shou yan shi nian 筋长一寸寿长十年).’”
During the photoshoot, Duan posed for a peculiar fighting application where he went to the ground between Garripoli’s legs to kick him in the head (see page 28–29 of the SEPTEMBER+OCOTOBER 2002 issue). While Duan was lying on his back with his head off the ground, Gigi thought it looked very uncomfortable for a man of his reputed age, and scurried to offer him a pillow. He laughed at the gesture. He was quick to laugh and exuded tremendous joie de vivre.
I remember he had this very odd way of greeting people. He would clasp your hand with both of his hands, bring them to his cheeks and hold it, and then bring it to his chest over his heart. It seemed like some sort of qi absorption interchange. He was really into Santa Claus and loved to hum Christmas carols. He also smoked a traditional Chinese pipe with a unique blend of herbs, one of which he claimed to be frankincense. His Kung Fu techniques were very unconventional and surprising, particularly for a man of his advanced age, whatever that might have been.
