The Secret History of Wing Chun:

The Truth Revealed

(also appeared as "Wing Chun Controversy: Is this the truth about Wing Chun's
History")
By Benny Meng and Alfredo Delbrocco
"The first casualty when war comes is truth."
-- Hiram Johnson

Preface
Although the world itself has not gotten smaller, life in the Information
Technology Age (via the media of email and Internet) has made contact and
communication with people around the globe easier. Consequently, it is now
harder for information and research to be constrained or concealed, or for only
one perspective to be put forward. Most importantly, it means that certain
myths will not be perpetuated. Information pointing to the historical origins of
Wing Chun kung fu is one of them.
Put simply, the harsh truth is this: the myth of the Buddhist nun, Ng Mui
and her disciple Yim Wing Chun, the supposed founders of the Wing Chun
system, is just that - a myth. As the internet has brought information more
readily to us, it has come to light that the story of Ng Mui and Yim Wing Chun
was merely a way to conceal the truth about the system's origins and the
identities of the political rebels who truly developed it.
After almost 400 years, mounting evidence is pointing to the truth of Wing
Chun's creation and evolution. The question is: is the kung fu world ready for it?
There is no doubt that the information about to be disclosed will ruffle
feathers to say the least. This is mainly because many Wing Chun instructors
throughout the world are naively, and through no fault of their own, imparting a
romanticized, fantastical history of the Wing Chun system. They are telling and
retelling a story that is little more than a fairytale.
A view of the traditional legends with an eye on history reads as an even
more fascinating point of view. And no less deserving of the term `legendary'...

Secrets in the Shadows of Shaolin

As near as history can testify, Wing Chun was developed around 400
years ago in a time of civil unrest. Between 1644 to 1911, the Manchurians
ruled China, where 10% of the population (the Manchus) ruled over 90% of the
population (the Hons). To maintain control over the Hons, the Manchus ruled
with an iron fist. Aggression and oppression were the cornerstones of the
Dynasty and the Hons were banned from using weapons or training in the
martial arts. Thus, in order to overthrow their oppressors, rebel activity was
instigated by martial arts masters in hiding.
Rebel activity developed rapidly in the Buddhist monasteries, which were
largely left alone by the Manchus out of respect for the Buddhist culture and
religion. These Shaolin/Siu Lam sanctuaries were ideal places for renegades to
conceal themselves - they simply shaved their heads and donned the monastic
robes of the disciples of the temple. During the day, the rebels would earn their
keep by doing chores around the temple. At night, they would gather to
formulate their plans to overthrow the Manchus.
There are some that maintain that Shaolin/Siu Lam sanctuaries possessed
no political leanings. They further emphasize that the Buddhist teachings of
these monasteries would have prevented their support for rebels and secret
societies. Such a position is emotional at best with no grounding in historical
fact. Religious leaders throughout history, in both the Western as well as the
Eastern world, have influenced politics and government since the beginning of
time. Churches have forever harbored political victims sought by authorities
believed to be oppressive. In the case China, serious precedent for such
behavior on the part of the monasteries had already been set 400 years earlier.
As verified by Ving Tsun Museum research, Jyu Yuhn Jeung, the man who led the
Chinese revolt against the Mongol and established the Ming Dynasty was
himself a Buddhist monk.
Upon meeting, the revolutionaries identified themselves to each other
with a secret hand-signal that would come to be the formal greeting or courtesy
of Wing Chun. In fact, the traditional greeting or courtesy common to many of
today's kung fu styles has two meanings. The first meaning recognizes the
style's Shaolin origins - the left hand symbolizing the union of the Green Dragon
(the left hand) and the White Tiger (the right hand), the fighting animals of the
Shaolin monks.
In the Hung Fa Yi (Red Flower Righteous) Lineage of Wing Chun, however,
the hands are reversed: the left hand forms a fist and the right hand is open
palm. It still retains its significance to Shaolin but it also refers to the secret
society. In this context, the fist represents Yat (the Sun) and the palm represents
Yuet (the Moon). Combined, these two characters mean "Bright" which reads
and sounds like "Ming." This is the name of the previous Dynasty - the one
overthrown by the Manchurians who formed the "Ching" Dynasty in its place.
Hence, during the time of rebellion, when a Wing Chun practitioner or secret
society member saluted with a fist and open palm pushed toward you, they
were saying "Return the Ming, overturn the Ching." Obviously, this was not a
sentiment shared by the Manchus.
Late in the 1600's, the Manchurians became concerned about the Siu Lam
Temples' rebellious activities and their continual development of the fighting
arts. Therefore, they sent spies (many of them Manchu military leaders) to
infiltrate the rebels and learn the traditional Southern fist systems as taught
secretly in the Temples. The rebel kung-fu masters, realizing this, clandestinely
developed a new system that was two-fold in purpose: firstly, it had to be
learned quickly and efficiently, and secondly, it had to be devastatingly
effective against the existing fighting systems that the Manchus were learning
and teaching to their soldiers. Thus, Wing Chun was born.
Their spy rings compromised, the Manchus decided to eliminate the threat
of spreading rebel activity by simply exterminating the Siu Lam monks.
Eventually, the Southern Siu Lam Temple was burned and destroyed.
Extensive research conducted by the Ving Tsun Museum points to a
generation of inheritors following the Southern temple's burning. Among them
was a gentleman named Cheung Ng (referred to as Tan Sao Ng in other texts).
Of this generation of inheritors, Cheung Ng is one to date that has proven to
have historically existed. After establishing the Beautiful Flower Society
Association (the precursor to the Red Opera and the public name for the Red
Flower Society) and providing Wing Chun training to the secret societies,
Cheung Ng went into hiding, disappearing from the public eye to escape Qing
Dynasty persecution.
He was hidden by distant relatives, a Fuk Gin business family named
Chahn. The Chahn Sih Sai Ga (Chan family) were well established and wealthy.
Through indirect action they were willing to help Cheung Ng. Staying with the
family for over a decade, Cheung Ng taught the family the art of Hung Fa Yi
Wing Chun. It was preserved by the family for four generations before it was
taught to outsiders. The direct members of the Chahn family were never directly
involved with the secret societies themselves, resulting in a low profile in Praise
Spring Boxing history. The last generation of the Chahn family to learn the art
was a distant nephew, a high level secret society leader, Huhng Gan Biu. In
Qing archives as well as historical research into Chinese secret societies, a
person by the name of Chahn Biu was recorded as the leader of the Heaven and
Earth Society. He was caught and executed by the Qing authorities. Due to
similar names appearing in difference sources at around the same timeframe,
there is much debate as to whether the Opera's Biu and the Heaven and Earth
Society's Biu were the same person. According to members of the Hung Fa Yi
Wing Chun clan, Huhng Gan Biu was the 4th generation leader of the Hung Fa Yi
Wing Chun clan and his Wing Chun descendants have preserved the system
through to the 8th generation Master Garrett Gee and his 9th generation
students in today's modern era.
It was at the fourth generation that history and truth parted ways and the
myth of Wing Chun's origins was created.
The Myth of Ng Mui and The Truth About Yim Wing Chun To protect the
identities of the creators and the perpetuators of the Wing Chun system, a
smokescreen was thrown up in the form of a story - the story of Ng Mui and Yim
Wing Chun.
The legend was told that among the survivors of the Shaolin/Siu Lam
massacres was a Buddhist nun named Ng Mui. Ng Mui was believed to have
been the sole custodian of a streamlined, highly practical and effective martial
arts developed within the temples. In turn, Ng Mui is said to have passed her
knowledge onto her chosen disciple, a young girl named Yim Wing Chun. As Yim
Wing Chun taught the system to others, it became known as Wing Chun. The
story spread and today many versions of it exist around the world.
However, there are three important considerations to make when
regarding the story of Ng Mui. Firstly, outside of the legend, there is no other
evidence that Ng Mui - in her capacity as a kung-fu grandmaster or founder of a
kung-fu system actually existed - no records, no historical documents - nothing.
Secondly, it would have been forbidden for a nun to live in, let alone train
within, a celibate monastic environment like the Siu Lam /Shaolin Temples.
Thirdly, and perhaps the most important, after escaping from a life and death
situation as a revolutionary, it does not make sense that Ng Mui would teach an
advanced level fighting system to a local girl with romantic problems and no
connection to the revolution. At that time in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty
had devised a special form of punishment for traitors and rebels. After being
made to confess his or her crimes, the guilty party was executed. Afterwards,
Qing officials would hunt down members of the guilty party's family down to
nine generations and execute them as traitors as well. Teaching Yim Wing Chun
a martial arts would directly put her life at risk.
With regards to the Yim Wing Chun element of the legend, consider once
more the relevance of secret rebel societies. `Yim' can be translated to mean
`prohibit' or `secret.' The term `Wing Chun' referred to a geographic location -
the Siu Lam Wing Chun Tong (Always Spring Hall), where the rebels perhaps
practiced martial arts and orchestrated their seditious activities. The use of the
term Spring symbolized the rebirth of the Ming Dynasty and Always referred to
the reestablished dynasty lasting forever. After the destruction of the Southern
Shaolin temple and its Wing Chun Tong, the survivors changed the character of
Wing from Always to Praise. The term Praise referred to the fact that the
revolutionaries had to spread the word about the revolution after the
destruction of their base. Thus, `Yim Wing Chun' was actually a codename,
meaning (protect) the secret art of the Wing Chun Hall.
If we now know that the destruction of the Siu Lam/Shaolin Temples
occurred but that the story of Ng Mui was a diversion, the question remains:
who were the real custodians of the Wing Chun system?

Enter the Hung Suen

We do know that many (not the legendary five) monks and rebel leaders
escaped the Manchurian massacres and that, to aid the secrecy of the system,
historical material was passed directly from teacher to student. Thus, the elders
told of two Siu Lam monks/rebels who survived the temple raids and were able
to keep their Wing Chun system alive. One of these was a monk, a 22nd
generation Siu Lam Grandmaster, Yat Chum Dai Si from the Northern Shaolin
temple. The other was a rebel training under him in the Southern Temple,
named Cheung Ng. Fleeing the Manchurian persecutors, Cheung Ng founded
the Kihng Fa Wui Gun (Beautiful Flower Society), the roots of the (in)famous
Hung Suen (Red Boat) Opera Troupe.
Historically, we know that rebel activity flourished in the Red Boat Opera
Troupe. The Red Boats allowed talented stage performers, accomplished in
kung-fu and gymnastics, to form their own secret societies to overthrow the
Manchu Dynasty. The Troupes provided the ideal sanctuary for fleeing rebels as
the performers wore elaborate costumes and stage make-up, providing
excellent but natural/plausible disguises for them. Additionally, the performers
adopted and were known by their `stage-names', further cloaking their secret
identities.
When Cheung Ng founded the Opera Troupe he became known as Tan Sao
Ng - not only a stage-name but also a sly nod to his skillful deployment of the
Wing Chun deflection/striking technique, Tan Sao.
An important fact to note is that so suspicious of the Manchus and their
spies were these secret societies, that the true identities of the leaders,
members and real nature of their activities were known only to an inner-circle
within the society. Thus, genuine knowledge of kung-fu was passed only from a
master to select, trusted disciples, thus protecting the purity and origins of the
system.
In conclusion
With the development of many different lineages of Wing Chun over the
centuries (over 10 are known to date), Wing Chun could simply be seen as a
generic name for a style with so many lineages - no different to `karate' being a
generic term to describe the various Japanese arts - varying and similar.
However, this article has focussed on shedding light on the origins of Wing
Chun. Indeed, to chart the development of the various lineages would require
an entire book more complete than anything currently written. A complete
historical and political analysis of Wing Chun's origins and development is
currently being compiled in book form by the Ving Tsun Museum and should be
available through major publication sources within the next twelve months.
A hypothesis that Cheung Ng was indeed the inheritor of the art from
Southern Temple and the guiding force behind its employment as a complete
combat training system for rebels certainly has more historical weight behind it
than the legend of a young girl. It represents a much more plausible explanation
of Wing Chun's roots considering the completeness of the art in terms of total
combat effectiveness. It also gels with the historical background of the times
preceding the Red Boat Opera travels. However, as with all historical study, one
hypothesis can give great impetus to further in depth study giving rise to even
more revelations. In short, more study grounded in the proper structure and
atmosphere of true historical research will get us even closer to reality. Hats off
to the Ving Tsun Museum staff and researchers for moving our search into the
realm of scientific investigation and giving us another starting point for serious
research!
Myths are often created to simplify something or to disguise the true
nature of the subject to make it more palatable to the mind. Consequently,
sometimes people want to believe the myths despite scientific or historical
evidence to the contrary. A fiction can be more comforting than the truth; a
fairytale easier to grasp than a treatise. The legend of Ng Mui and Yim Wing
Chun is a great story. It just isn't true.
In light of being told one story for centuries, it will be difficult for some to
accept the truth in minutes, hours or even months. But studying the martial arts
(and Wing Chun in particular) is a continual quest for truth - personal truth,
social truth, spiritual truth and - yes - historical truth.

I trust you have enjoyed your enlightenment on the true origins of Wing Chun.