Wing Chun - History

History

The earliest known mentions of Wing Chun date to the period of Red Boat Opera.

The common legend as told by Yip Man involves the young woman Yim Wing-chun, (Wing Chun literally means 'forever springtime' or 'praising spring',) at the time after the destruction of the Southern Shaolin Temple and its associated temples by the Qing government:

After Wing-Chun rebuffs the local warlord's marriage offer, she says she'll reconsider his proposal if he can beat her in a martial art match. She soon crosses paths with a Buddhist nun--Ng Mui, who was one of the Shaolin Sect survivors, and asks the nun to teach her boxing. The legend goes that Ng Mui taught Yim Wing-Chun a new system of martial art that had been inspired by Ng Mui's observations of a confrontation between a Snake and a Crane; this then-still nameless style enabled Yim Wing Chun to beat the warlord in a one-on-one fight. Yim Wing-Chun there-after marries Leung Bac-Chou and teaches him the style, which is later named after her.

Since the system was developed during the Shaolin and Ming resistance to the Qing Dynasty, many legends about the creator of Wing Chun were spread to confuse enemies, including the story of Yim Wing Chun. This perhaps explains why no one has been able to accurately determine the creator or creators of Wing Chun.