Wong Fei-hung


Wong Fei-hung was a Chinese martial artist, physician, and folk hero, who practiced in 19th century Guangzhou. Though he was considered an expert in the Hung Ga style of Chinese martial arts, his real public fame was as a physician who practiced and taught acupuncture, Dit Da and other forms of traditional Chinese medicine in the Po Chi Lam, a medical clinic in Canton, Guangdong Province. Two museums dedicated to him were built in his birthplace in Foshan, Guangdong.
Wong has been the subject of numerous martial arts films and television series, most notably the Once Upon a Time in China film series by Tsui Hark. He has been portrayed by several stars of Hong Kong and Chinese cinema, including Gordon Liu, Jackie Chan, Kwan Tak-hing, Jet Li, Vincent Zhao, and Sammo Hung. The Wong Fei-hung film series holds the Guinness World Record for the longest running film series and most films in a movie series.

Alternative names

Wong's original given name was Sek-cheung or Xixiang before it was changed to Fei-hung. His courtesy name was Dat-wan or Dayun.

Life

Wong was born in Luzhou Hamlet, Lingxi Village, Xiqiao Country, Foshan, Nanhai County, which is a present day part of Foshan City, Guangdong Province, during the reign of the Daoguang Emperor in the Qing dynasty. His ancestral home was in Luzhou Hamlet, Lingxi Village, Xiqiao Country, Foshan, Nanhai County, Canton Prefecture, Guangdong Province, which is now part of Xiqiao Town, Nanhai District, Foshan City.
At the age of five, Wong started learning Hung Ga from his father, Wong Kei-ying. He often accompanied his father on trips from Foshan to Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong Province, where his father peddled medicine and performed martial arts in the streets. When he was 13, he encountered Lam Fuk-sing, an apprentice of "Iron Bridge Three" Leung Kwan, in Douchi Street in Foshan Town. Lam taught him how to use the sling and the essential moves of the martial art Iron Wire Fist. Later, he learned the shadowless kick from Sung Fai-tong. Wong Fei-hung was very personable like his father, and made many friends in the martial arts and medical worlds, like the 10 Tigers of Guangdong. With these friendships and chance meetings, he was exposed to vast amounts of knowledge that were openly shared with him. He was able to enhance his father's teachings to formulate a style that included much of what is seen in Southern Chinese Styles today.
In 1863, Wong started a martial arts school in Shuijiao in Saikwan, which is the present-day location of Liwan District, Guangzhou City. His students were mainly metal labourers and street vendors. In 1886, Wong opened his family's medical clinic, Po Chi Lam, in Ren'an, which is the present-day part of Xiaobei Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou City.
In 1912, the Republic of China was established following the collapse of the Qing dynasty. During the chaotic early years of the Republican era, many businessmen who operated places of entertainment in Guangzhou decided to hire guards to protect their businesses on-site in case trouble broke out. As Wong was trained in martial arts, he was hired by various businesses to be one of such guards.
In 1919, when the Chin Woo Athletic Association opened a branch in Canton, Wong was invited to perform at the opening ceremony. In the same year, Wong Hon-sam, one of Wong's sons, who was working as a bodyguard in Wuzhou, Guangxi, was murdered by a rival known as "Devil Eye" Leung, who was apparently jealous that Wong Hon-sam was better than him in martial arts. Wong was so affected by this incident that he stopped teaching his other sons martial arts.
Between August and October 1924, Wong's medical clinic, Po Chi Lam, was destroyed when the Nationalist government was suppressing the uprising by the Guangzhou Merchant Volunteers Corps. Wong felt so dejected and saddened by the loss of Po Chi Lam that he fell into depression and became ill. He died from illness on 17 April 1925 in Chengxi Fangbian Hospital, which is the present day location of the Guangzhou First People's Hospital at Panfu Road in Guangzhou's Yuexiu District. He was buried at the foot of Baiyun Mountain.
Wong's fourth wife, Mok Kwai-lan, and his sons, along with his students Lam Sai-wing and Dang Sai-king, moved to Hong Kong and opened martial arts schools there.
Wong's grave location is currently unknown. It is believed that his grave, along with others within the cemetery were long expunged for future developments.

Fighting style

Wong was a master of Hung Ga. He systematised the predominant style of Hung Ga and choreographed its version of the Tiger Crane Paired Form Fist, which incorporates his Ten Special Fist techniques. Wong is famous for using the Shadowless Kick. He named the techniques of his skills when he performed them.
Wong was adept at using weapons, such as the staff and southern tiger fork. One tale, possibly fictional, recounts how Wong defeated a group of 30 gangsters on the docks of Guangzhou with a staff.
Among Wong's students, the more notable ones include Lam Sai-wing, Leung Foon, Dang Fong, and Ling Wan-kai.
Wong is sometimes incorrectly identified as one of the "Ten Tigers of Canton". His father, Wong Kei-ying, was one of the ten but Wong himself was not. Wong is also sometimes referred to as the "Tiger after the Ten Tigers".
According to a folklore, So Chan also taught Wong Fei-hung in drunken boxing.

Family

After his first wife died of illness in 1871, Wong was widowed for 25 years. In 1896, he married his second wife and had two sons and two daughters with her. Some time after she died of illness, Wong remarried again in 1902. His third wife bore him two sons before falling victim to a deadly illness. His fourth and final wife stayed with him from 1915 up till his death. The personal names of his first three wives are unknown. He had four known children.
;Spouses
  • Wong's first wife was surnamed "Lo" or "Law". She married Wong in 1871 and died of illness three months after their marriage.
  • Wong's second wife was surnamed "Ma". She married Wong in 1896 and died of illness. She bore Wong two sons and two daughters.
  • Wong's third wife was surnamed "Sam" or "Sum". She married Wong in 1902 and died of illness. She bore Wong two sons.
  • Wong's fourth wife, Mok Kwai-lan, married Wong in 1915. She outlived him and died in Hong Kong on 11 March 1982. As Wong believed that his first three wives died because of a curse on him, he never took another formal spouse; Mok was actually his concubine in name.
;Sons
  • Wong Hon-syu, born to Wong's third wife.
  • Wong Hon-hei, also born to Wong's third wife.
  • Wong Hon-lam, born to Wong's second wife.
  • Wong Hon-sam, also born to Wong's second wife.
;Daughters
At present, there is no information on Wong's two daughters.
;Descendants
Wong had at least three grandsons and six granddaughters. His descendants currently live in Australia, Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Legacy

In 1996, the Wong Fei-hung Lion Dance Martial Arts Museum was built in his hometown in Foshan.
A Wong Fei-hung Memorial Hall was built in 2000 and was officially opened in January 2001 in his honour in Foshan, Chancheng District. The exhibits cover his entire life, including his martial arts and medical careers. The hall contains a reconstruction of Po Chi Lam.

Alleged photos

The first alleged photo was said to have been provided by his fourth spouse Mok Kwai-lan to Leung Ting of the Real Kung Fu magazine in 1976. Decades later, it was first exhibited at the Wong Fei-hung Memorial Hall in 2000 and was controversially seen and even promoted by martial artists as a photo of Wong Fei-hung. This was dismissed in 2009 by New Martial Hero's article that the man in the photo was of that of his fourth son, Wong Hon-hei.
In 2005, another alleged photo of Wong Fei-hung once taken by one of his students Kwong Kei-tim was discovered by the museum staff in Hong Kong. The man in the photo bears a close resemblance to his son, whose photo was the first to be often mistaken for his own father's back then. His fourth spouse Mok Kwai-lan once stated that her husband was quite superstitious and believed that having photos taken of oneself would shorten one's lifespan, so Wong only had one picture of himself taken in his lifetime, namely the one taken by his student Kwong.

In popular culture

Film and television

Over 100 films and television series featuring Wong have been produced since 1949, mostly in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong actor Kwan Tak-hing starred as Wong in over 70 films between the 1940s and 1980s and earned himself the nickname "Master Wong". Other prominent actors who portrayed Wong on screen include Jet Li in the Once Upon a Time in China film series and Vincent Zhao in the television series Wong Fei Hung Series.
  • List of notable Wong Fei-hung films:
  • * Challenge of the Masters, starring Gordon Liu.
  • * Drunken Master, starring Jackie Chan. Yuen Siu-tien co-starred as Beggar So.
  • * Magnificent Butcher, starring Kwan Tak-hing. Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao and Wei Pak co-starred as Wong's students Wing, Foon and Chik.
  • * Martial Club, starring Gordon Liu.
  • * Once Upon a Time in China, starring Jet Li. This is the first part of a series of six films on Wong Fei-hung. Vincent Zhao took over the role of Wong Fei-hung from Jet Li in two of the movies.
  • * Great Hero from China, starring Chin Kar-lok.
  • * Iron Monkey, starring Yu Rongguang as Iron Monkey and Donnie Yen as Wong Kei-ying. Angie Tsang appeared as a young Wong Fei-hung.
  • * Last Hero in China, starring Jet Li.
  • * Drunken Master II, starring Jackie Chan. Ti Lung co-starred as Wong Kei-ying.
  • * Around the World in 80 Days, Sammo Hung appeared briefly as Wong Fei-hung.
  • * Rise of the Legend, starring Eddie Peng.
  • Television series:
  • * Wong Fei Hung Series is a Hong Kong television series on five stories about Wong Fei-hung. The series was produced by Tsui Hark and starred Vincent Zhao as Wong Fei-hung. This television series is sometimes regarded as a television series counterpart to the Once Upon a Time in China films.
  • * The Young Wong Fei Hung is a Chinese television series featuring Ashton Chen as young Wong Fei-hung.
  • * Wong Fei Hung – Master of Kung Fu is a Hong Kong television series starring Bosco Wong.
  • * Grace Under Fire, a Hong Kong television series about Wong Fei-hung's concubine, Mok Kwai-lan.