Chi Sim

The Venerable Chi Sin Sim Si is a legendary Chinese martial artist, said to have been one of the Five Elders, survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Temple by the Qing Dynasty (16441912). He is linked to many southern Chinese martial arts including the five major family styles of Hung, Lau and Choy gar, Lee gar and Mok gar, Ng Ga Kuen/Ng Gar King and Wing Chun.

History

Chi Sin is said to have originally been a resident monk of the Original Northern Song Shan Shaolin Temple in Henan. He was a survivor of the destruction of a Southern Shaolin Temple situated in Fujian.

Others say that Chi Sin and the other Five Elders escaped the burning of the temple at Quanzhou 泉州 in Fujian. They went their separate ways and Chi Sin built the second southern temple at Jiulian Shan 九連山 (Nine Lotus Mountain), also in Fujian. Chi Sin was a revolutionary who planned to overthrow the Qing Government. However two of the Five Elders, Bak Mei and Fung Dou Dak joined forces with the Qing army and destroyed the second southern Shaolin Temple with a huge army outnumbering the monks 10 to 1. Chi Sin, the Abbot of the temple, was killed by Pak Mei in a duel during the attack.

Chi Sin features prominently in "Legends of Southern Shaolin” 南少林傳奇 written by Chiew Sek (Cantonese) and published in 1993. All of the legendary figures of Southern Shaolin and more widely, southern Chinese martial arts ('Nanquan/Nam Kuen') 南拳 are in some way associated with the legendary figure of Chi Sin such as Fong Sai-Yuk 方世玉, Ng Mui, Luk Ah Choi陸阿采, Lei Jou Fan 李祖寬, Wu Wai Kin 胡惠乾 and Hung Hei Gun 洪熙官 to name a few. Chi Sin has been portrayed in many Chinese martial arts movies.

See also

* Southern Shaolin Monastery
* Bak Mei
* Fong Sai-Yuk
* Ng Mui

Notes

References

Bibliography

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Chi
Qing dynasty Buddhist monks
17th-century Buddhist monks
Chinese duellists
Chinese Wing Chun practitioners

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