Yim Wing Chun

Yim Wing Chun is a Chinese legendary character, often cited in Wing Chun legends as the first master of the martial art bearing her name. Wing Chun, though a person's name in Chinese language, translates literally to "spring chant" or "forever spring", or may be substituted with the character for "eternal springtime".

Different accounts of Yim Wing Chun's story exist, but the central sequence of events remains largely the same, beginning with the origin of her teacher. During the Qing Dynasty, a Shaolin Buddhist nun and abbess, Ng Mui, reportedly fled the destruction of the Siu Lam temple at the hands of the government; the temple was believed to be harbouring revolutionaries. 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.

Publication Information

Legendary : Yim Wing Chun
Chinese : 嚴詠春
Born : China
Died : China
Gender : Female
Style : Wing Chun
Teacher(s) : Ng Mui
Years active : fl. c. 1700
Spouse : Leung Bok-chau
Notable students : Leung Bok-chau

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 for a living. 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.

Yim Wing Chun 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 (sticking hands) exercise. From there, the art passed through several men's hands before coming to Yip Man.

The movie Wing Chun (1994) loosely portrays Yim Wing Chun's life within the action film genre, with Michelle Yeoh portraying the central character. A more recent movie, Kung Fu Wing Chun (2010), Yim Wing Chun was portrayed by Bai Jing 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.

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