Yim Wing-chun
| Yim Wing Chun | |
|---|---|
| Born | China |
| Died | China |
| Style | Wing Chun |
| Teacher(s) | Ng Mui |
| Years active | fl. c. 1700 |
| Spouse | Leung Bok-Chau |
Yim Wing Chun (simplified Chinese: 严咏春; traditional Chinese: 嚴詠春; Cantonese Yale: Yim4 Wing6Cheun1; pinyin: Yán Yǒngchūn) 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 may be substituted with the character for "eternal spring".
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 (五枚師太), 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.
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.
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