Noting that the earliest solid evidence of yongchun places it in the
coastal regions of southeastern China, alternative early histories of the sys-
tem consider the ecology of that area, the cultural adaptations required for
this environment, and the historical record. In general, these rationalist ar-
guments maintain that the system developed from the fighting styles that
were practiced in coastal Fujian province. Rather than originating in the
Shaolin heritage of a single martial artist, as the Wu Mei legend maintains,
martial arts knowledge that passed along through the coastal provinces of
southeast China led to the development of the precursor of the contempo-
rary art. Thus the creation, transmission, and refinement of practical fight-
ing techniques by successive generations of anonymous individuals eventu-
ally produced yongchun. The argument that the mechanics of yongchun
and other martial arts systems found in the south were ecologically deter-
mined goes as follows. The balanced stances and sliding footwork patterns
and the low, focused kicks of the system are particularly suited to stability
on treacherous terrain—the marshlands between the rivers and tributaries
of southeastern China, the mud of a riverbank, the swaying deck of a boat.
Also, the infighting preferred by the yongchun stylist lends itself to close
quarters and tight spaces, just the situation one might encounter on a junk.
Therefore, we see in the rationalist histories of yongchun a sense of geo-
graphic determinism, an argument that ecology, coupled with the needs of
self-defense, have here produced an appropriate response. Although widely
accepted, this argument is not universally accepted, by any means.
A less orthodox, but intriguing, rationalist theory espoused by Karl
Godwin attributes the origin of yongchun to the introduction of Western
bare-knuckled boxing to the southeastern coastal region of China during
the nineteenth century. This argument draws evidence from the technical
and structural similarities between European and American boxing of the
latter half of the nineteenth century and yongchun, as well as from the his-
torical records of European commerce in the area. Godwin further suggests
that Western boxing was modified by the introduction of (push-hands)
from taijiquan(tai chi ch’uan, the most widely practiced internal boxing
system) to create yongchun’s distinctive chi shou(sticky hands) techniques.
During the late nineteenth century a traceable record emerges sur-
rounding the education and martial arts career of Grand Master Yip Man
(Cantonese; Mandarin Ye Wen; 1893–1972). This record begins with
Yip’s master, Liang Zan (Leung Jan). Liang Zan, a traditional physician
and pharmacist who was heir to a yongchun system, established a medical
practice in the coastal city of Fuzhou. He taught his sons, Liang Chun
(Leung Chun or Leung Tsun) and Liang Bi (Leung Bik), and a few other
students in his pharmacy after closing. Next to the pharmacy was a money
changer’s stall run by Chen Huashun (Chan Wah Shun; Wah the Money-
Yongchun/Wing Chun 783