Leung Yee-tai was a

Wing Chun Wing Chun (Chinese: 詠春 or 咏春, lit. "singing spring"), sometimes spelled Ving Tsun, is a concept-based fighting art, form of Southern Chinese kung fu and close-quarters system of self-defense. In Mandarin, it is pronounced "Yong Chun. ...

master of the late

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

Background

Leung Yee-tai had become associated with

Tiandihui The Tiandihui, the Heaven and Earth Society, also called Hongmen (the Vast Family), is a Chinese fraternal organization and historically a secretive folk religious sect in the vein of the Ming loyalist White Lotus Sect, the Tiandihui's ...

and anti-

resistance. He was a strong boatman who steered a riverboat by pushing a long pole against the river bottom. A Shaolin monk Chi Sin (至善禪師) saw that he was a natural successor to the Southern Shaolin pole fighting skill called ''six and a half point long pole''. He taught

Wong Wah-bo Wong Wah-bo was a martial artist and an opera singer of the late Qing Dynasty. Wong Wah-bo is a notable figure in development of martial art Wing Chun, which is known for its poorly documented history, and is recognized as being part of various co ...

his pole fighting skill in exchange for the Wing Chun fist-fighting skill. Though he was a student of Wong in Wing Chun, he was actually Wong's

sifu Shifu () in Mandarin, or sifu in Cantonese, or sai hu in Hokkien, is a title for, and the role of, a skillful person or a master. The character 師/师 means "skilled person" or "teacher," while 傅 means "tutor" and 父 means "father." Though ...

in the pole fighting skill. Wong modified the pole fighting skills using Wing Chun principles. The modified pole skill had since part of

skills set. He met

Leung Jan Leung Jan (born Leung Tak-wing; 1826–1901) was a Chinese martial artist and Wing Chun practitioner from Heshan, Guangdong. He was known in Foshan as ''Mr. Jan of Foshan'' and ''King of Wing Chun Kuen''. Leung Jan is one of the earliest well- ...

of Foshan, a young herbal doctor, when he was sick. He then trained Leung Jan when he was already an old man at over sixty years of age. He went on to introduce Jan to Wong. Because both of Wong and Jan were from Gulao (古勞) Village, Wong imparted his full system of Wing Chun skills to him.

Lineage

In popular culture

Leung Yee-tai was portrayed by

Kong Ngai Kong Ngai (born Tang Siu Ji; October 1936 – 13 March 2013) was a Hong Kong actor with TVB and ATV. Early years Born in China in 1936 as Tang Siu Ji, Kong's affluent family fled to Macau during World War II and later migrated to Hong Kong. ...

in the 1981

TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and ...

television drama series ''Kung Fu Master of Fat Shan''. He was portrayed by Lam Ching-ying in the 1981

Sammo Hung Sammo Hung Kam-bo ( zh, t=洪金寶, j=Hung4 Gam1-bou2; born 7 January 1952) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and director, known for his work in martial arts films, Hong Kong action cinema, and as a fight choreographer for ...

film '' The Prodigal Son''. In the 2005

television drama series ''

Real Kung Fu ''Real Kung Fu'' is a Hong Kong television series first broadcast on TVB in October 2005. The series is shown to celebrate TVB's 38th anniversary. It aired every weeknight at 10:05 to 11:05 pm (Hong Kong Time Hong Kong Time (abbreviation: HK ...

'', he was portrayed by

Bryan Leung Bryan Leung Kar-yan (Chinese: , born 20 January 1948) is a Hong Kong film and television actor and film director who has played roles in numerous acclaimed martial arts films. He is affectionately known as "Beardy" due to his trademark facial ...

References

First and Pole
at www.leungting.com Chinese Wing Chun practitioners {{PRChina-martialart-bio-stub