Wing Chun History
There are no written documents regarding the origin of Wing Chun so the following history is one version based on intensive research and well educated guesses by masters and grandmasters of the system.
Around 300 years ago during the reign of Emperor K'anghsi (1662-1722), the fourth Emperor of the Ching Dynasty, Manchurians had occupied China with an insurmountable force. As soldiers on both sides were equally skilled in Kung Fu, the Emperor gathered together the most skilled warrior monks and nuns in order to devise a style to be the antitheses to all other styles of Kung Fu.
There is a legend that states the Buddhist Abbess Ng Mui went into the wild to observe animals and mimic their moves to devise this new system, at that time known as Plum Blossom style, however we believe that the different "animals" she observed were the different styles of Kung Fu that were present at the time: Snake, Crane, Dragon, Tiger, Leopard etc. Plum Blossom style was an amalgamation of many forms of kung fu, with fundamental principals of physics, geometry, physiology and Taoism applied to it.
Kung fu was becoming very strong in Siu Lam Monastery (Shaolin Monastery) of Mt. Sung in Honan and this aroused the fear of the Manchu government, which sent troops to attack the Monastery but they were unsuccessful. Chan Man Wai, that year's First Place Graduate of the Civil Service Examination, sought favor with the government and suggested a plan. Plotting with Siu Lam monk Ma Ning Yee and others they set fire to the Monastery from within while soldiers attacked it. Siu Lam, where masters were devising the Plum Blossom style, was burnt to the ground and the monks scattered. Abbess Ng Mui along with Abbot Chi Shin, Abbot Pak Mei, Master Fung To Tak and Master Miu Hin escaped and fled their separate ways.
Ng Mui took refuge in a White Crane Temple on Mt. Tai Leung, there she came to know Yim Yee and his daughter Yim Wing Chun, from whom she bought her bean curd. Yim Wing Chun's beauty had attracted the attention of a local merchant's son who was bullying her into marriage. Ng Mui had taken a liking to the young girl and decided to help her by teaching her kung fu. Yim Wing Chun trained night and day until she mastered the system. She then challenged the bully to a fight and bested him. Before setting off to travel around the country Ng Mui told Wing Chun to honor the kung fu traditions, to develop her kung fu after her marriage, and to help the people working to overthrow the Manchu government and restore the Ming Dynasty. This is how Plum Blossom Kung Fu was handed down from Abbess Ng Mui.
After their marriage Wing Chun passed Plum Blossom on to her husband, Leung Bok Chau, who renamed it after her. He passed his kung fu techniques on to Leung Lan Kwai, who in turn passed it on to Wong Wah Bo, a member of an opera troupe on board a junk known as the Red Junk. It so happened that the Abbott Chi Shin, one of the monks to have fled the fires of Siu Lam Monastery, had disguised himself as a cook working on the Red Junk, had taught the "Six-and-a-Half Point Long Pole" techniques to Leung Yee Tei. Being close to Wong Wah Bo, the two shared their knowledge of kung fu, correlating and improving their techniques and thus were the "Six-and-a-Half Point Long Pole" techniques incorporated into the Wing Chun system.
Leung Yee Tei passed the kung fu on to Leung Jan, a well known herbal doctor of Fat Shan. Leung Jan grasped the innermost secrets of Wing Chun and attained the highest level of proficiency. Many kung fu masters came to challenge him but all were defeated and thus Leung Jan's name became known far and wide. He passed his kung fu on to Chan Wah Shan, who took Yip Man as his student. In this way was Wing Chun passed down to us, and we are eternally grateful to our kung fu ancestors and teachers.
