Ng Mui & Yim Wing Chun

Qing dynasty

During the Qing dynasty, Ng Mui, a Buddhist Nun and one of the legendary five elders who survived the destruction of the Shaolin temple, retreated into the mountains with the monks to refine her understanding of martial arts.

While alone in the wilderness, she observed a snake and a crane fighting. Observing the crane's nature of precision over brute force and its efficiency defending itself against a snake, she developed a system built on structure, timing and intelligent economy of motion rather than size or strength.

Some time later, Ng Mui came across a girl called Yim Wing Chun. Yim was being forced to marry a local warlord against her will. Ng Mui convinced Yim to learn her new system to defend herself and free herself from her unwanted marriage. Yim proposed a deal to the warlord that if she could defeat him in combat, she would be free again. After defeating the warlord, Yim was free to marry a man of her choosing, whom she taught the new system to. The System, now named Wing Chun after Yim by Ng Mui, was passed down and further developed.

The Red boat opera eara

1700s - early 1800s