Yim Wing-chun () is a Chinese legendary character, often cited in

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 Nanquan (martial art), Southern Chinese kung fu and close-quarters system of self-defense. In Mandarin, it is ...

legends as the first master of the

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

bearing her name. Wing-chun, though a person's name in

Chinese language Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the wor ...

, translates literally to "spring chant", or may be substituted with the character for "eternal spring".Ritchie, R. (''c.'' 2007)
What's in a name?
Retrieved on 9 May 2010.

Background

Different accounts of Yim's legend exist, but the central sequence of events remains largely the same, beginning with the origin of her teacher. During the

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-speak ...

, a Shaolin

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

nun and abbess,

Ng Mui Ng Mui (Chinese: t , p ''Wú Méi''; Cantonese: ''Ng5 Mui4'') is said to have been one of the legendary Five Elders—survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Temple by the Qing Dynasty. According to legend she is said ...

(五枚師太), reportedly fled the destruction of the Shaolin temple at the hands of the government; the temple was believed to be harbouring revolutionaries.Chu, R., Ritchie, R., & Wu, Y. (1998): ''Complete Wing Chun: The definitive guide to Wing Chun's history and traditions''. Boston, MA: Tuttle Publishing. () According to one legend, after being inspired by witnessing a crane and a snake fighting, Ng Mui incorporated their movements into her style of Chinese kung fu to form a new, yet-unnamed martial art system. Ng Mui later took on a disciple, Yim Wing-chun, and passed the art on to her. Yim Wing-chun was well known for her beauty and sold

tofu Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super firm ...

for a living.Ing, K. (2008): ''Wing Chun warrior: The true tales of Wing Chun Kung Fu Master Duncan Leung, Bruce Lee's fighting companion''. Hong Kong: Blacksmith Books. () A local bully tried to force her to marry him, but she used the art to defeat him. Some accounts claim that Ng Mui taught Yim the art specifically for the purpose of defending herself against the man's unwanted advances.Stanford Wing Chun: History and principles of Wing Chun Kung Fu
(''c.'' 2001). Retrieved on 9 May 2010. Yim later married Leung Bok-chau, a salt merchant, who named the art "Wing Chun Kuen" (Wing Chun Fist) after her. Lee (1972) attributes significant development of the art to Yim Wing-chun, crediting her with the invention of the ''

Chi Sao 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. ...

'' (sticking hands) exercise.Lee, J. Y. (1972): ''Wing Chun Kung-Fu: Chinese art of self-defense'' (p. 13). Santa Clarita, CA: Ohara Publications. () From there, the art passed through several men's hands before coming to

Ip Man Ip Man, also known as Yip Man, ( / 叶问; 1 October 1893 – 2 December 1972) was a Hong Kong-based Cantonese martial artist and a grandmaster of the martial art Wing Chun when he was 20. He had several students who later became martial art ...

Lineage

In popular culture

''Stranger from Shaolin'' (1977) uses the character of Yim Wing-chun in an

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

genre starring Cecilia Wong Hang-Sau. The movie ''

'' (1994) loosely portrays Yim Wing-chun's life within the

genre, with

Michelle Yeoh Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng, ( ; born 6 August 1962) is a Malaysian actress. Credited as Michelle Khan in her early Hong Kong films, she rose to fame in the 1990s after starring in a series of Hong Kong action films where she performed her own ...

portraying the central character and

Donnie Yen Donnie Yen Chi-tan (; born 27 July 1963) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and action director. Yen is one of Hong Kong's top action stars. Yen is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts (MMA) into the mainstream Asian cinema by cho ...

(now famous as Ip Man in four films) playing Leung Pok-to, Yim Wing-chun's childhood friend and fiancé. Erica Choi portrays Yim Wing-chun in the 1994 Hong Kong martial arts television series ''

The Kung Fu Master ''The Kung Fu Master'' is a 2020 Indian Malayalam-language martial arts film written and directed by Abrid Shine and produced by Shibu Thekkumpuram under the banner of Fullon Studio Frames. The film stars Neeta Pillai, Sanoop Dinesh and Jiji S ...

''. In the 2010 film ''Kung Fu Wing Chun'', Yim Wing-chun was portrayed by

Bai Jing Bai Jing () (4 June 1983 – 28 February 2012) was a Chinese actress. She was best known for her role in the 2010 film '' Kung Fu Wing Chun'' in which she played the Chinese folk heroine Yim Wing-chun. Background Bai Jing graduated from Centr ...

and Leung Bok-chau was portrayed by Yu Shaoqun. Meng and Rudnicki (2006) have written a critical analysis of the legend surrounding Yim Wing-chun.Meng, B., & Rudnicki, S. (2006)
Misconceptions of Wing Chun
(13 October 2006). Retrieved on 28 December 2013 (

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yim, Wing-chun Chinese Wing Chun practitioners Martial arts school founders Qing dynasty people Female generals Women warriors Women in war in China