tem. This system was capable of defeat-
ing the existing martial arts practiced by
the Manzhou and Shaolin defectors
and, owing to its simplicity, could be
learned in a relatively short period of
time.
At this time, Ng lived on Daliang
Mountain (Tai Leung Mountain) and
regularly traveled to a village at its foot,
where she befriended a local shop-
keeper, Yan Si (Yim Yee), and his daugh-
ter, Yan Yongchun. On one of her trips
to the village, the nun learned that the
pair was being bullied by a local war-
lord who had announced his intention
of marrying Yongchun, with or without
her consent or her father’s permission.
Wu Mei offered Yongchun sanctu-
ary on Daliang and instruction in her
new method of fighting. After, by the
standards of the day, a remarkably short
period of time (given as from one to three years), Yongchun returned home,
challenged her unwelcome suitor, and defeated him soundly.
Yongchun later married Liang Botao (Leung Bok Chau), who was
himself a martial artist. After seeing her fight, he came to respect her so
much that he learned her system, which he named yongchun in her honor.
Despite the secrecy surrounding the art, it was taught to select students
through subsequent generations. During this period, the exchange of fight-
ing knowledge between teachers of yongchun and students who had previ-
ous martial arts experience led to the addition of weapon techniques to the
empty-hand skills created by Wu Mei. There was a particularly close con-
nection between yongchun practitioners and the traveling Chinese opera
performers known as the “Red Junk (Malay; ship) People” after the red
junks that served as both transportation and living quarters for the troupes.
These troupes reportedly served as havens for Ming loyalists involved in
the resistance against the Qing rulers and offered refuge to all manner of
martial artists.
At any rate, Liang Erdi (Leung Yee Tai), a crew member of one of the
Red Junks, became an heir to the yongchun system, which he passed along
to Liang Zan (Leung Jan), who resided in the coastal city of Fuzhou. With
Liang Zan and his students, the transition from legend to documented his-
tory begins.782 Yongchun/Wing Chun
Undated photo of
the legendary
Grandmaster Yip
Man. (Library of
Congress)