In 1956, Hong was able to visit Beijing once again to train with Chen Fake. In Jinan, Hong had diligently practiced and delved into the meaning of Chen-style Taijiquan, accumulating numerous questions. Now, with his teacher, it was a time for review and clarification. After thoroughly reviewing every move, application, and counter in the Yilu and Erlu, Hong raised a fundamental question regarding the discrepancy between the skills (gōng, 功) taught by Chen Fake and the movements in the form (fǎ, 法) did not match exactly. He inquired whether he could modify his form to align the gōng (功) and fǎ (法) as demonstrated in the form Chen had taught him. Over the following months, Chen and Hong worked together daily, meticulously examining each move in the Yilu. When they had completed the entire Yilu, Chen Fake proclaimed, "This set of Taijiquan does not have one technique which is useless. Everything was carefully designed for a purpose" ("这套拳没有一个 动作是空的, 都是有用的”). They made some basic modifications to the Erlu, but Hong was summoned back to Jinan for a wedding, cutting their visit short. It was an intensive six months of refining Hong's interpretation and understanding of Chen-style. At the end, Chen Fake informed Hong that his skills had reached a satisfactory level and that he should now teach taijiquan (陈发科: “你的功夫已经达到了我所期望的水平，回去后，你可以教拳了。”) Hong heeded his teacher's advice. Hong followed his teacher's guidance, and upon his return to Jinan, he earnestly began teaching Chen-style Taijiquan. Just a year later, in 1957, Chen Fake passed away, making Hong one of the last remaining links to the traditional Chinese martial arts as practiced in the previous century.
