Kung fu bkgnd
Pien San (Side Body)
Wing Chun originates from the village where Dr.Leung Jan retired after leaving
Foshan. Gulao was his home (a small village in Heshan province).Traditionally
in Chinese culture the leading Kung Fu master of thevillage would teach the
village youngsters in order that they would beable to protect their village
from bandits and raiders who wereprevalent at this time and would prey on the
weaker villages. Like allstyles of Kung Fu this teaching had two purposes, one
was to provide apractical fighting system that would allow the youngsters to
defendthemselves and their loved ones. The second was to promote health inmind
and body to allow the youngsters to live long lives. In additionwith the
ability to deal out deadly techniques, there must be someresponsibility so the
Master much teach the youngsters to be mature,responsible people.
In 1854, Liu
Duchuan (Lao Doo-Chuen), brother of Guangdong Three Harmonies Society member
and Shanghai Xiaodaohui (Siu Do Wui, Small Knife Society) leader, Liu Lichuan
(Lao Lee-Chuen), was sent back to Guangdong (which had been charged with paying
80.6% of the Opium War reparations) to help organize an uprising in support of
the Taiping. In June, He Liu (Ho Lok), a smuggler and society member whose
brother had been murdered in a prefectural purge, began to raise a band of men
in search of vengeance. Helped by Liu Yingcai (Lao Ying-Choi), he prepared to
attack the Dongguan county seat.
They moved on
Stone Dragon town. Thirty thousand members and six hundred boats worked towards
the goal of "taking down the Dragon, lifting the tiger, stopping the goat,
bowing the Buddha, and reaching the Western paradise." In this code,
dragon signified the Stone Dragon, tiger the Tiger Gate, goat the Goat City
(Guangzhou), Buddha the Buddha Mountain (Foshan), and Western Paradise the
province of Guangxi.
He Liu's
uprising began a chain reaction through the region, and on June 11, 1854, Chen
Kai (Chan Hoi) and Liu Duchuan lead 7000 Three Harmonies Society members to
revolt in Foshan. On June 12th, members of the Precious Jade Flower Union,
under the direction of Li Wenmao, took to the streets in full costume, waving
red banners. Known practitioners of yongchunquan (wing chun kuen) at the time
who could have participated in this uprising included:
A few hundred
at first, within a few days, tens of thousands of common people joined as well,
showing their allegiance with red turbans. And the Hongjin (Hung Gam, Red Turban)
Rebellion was born.
The rebels
burned the Qing offices, and on July 4, took control of the town and ushered in
the Daning (Dai Ning, Great Peace). Their troops came to be known as the Hong
Bing (Hung Bing, Vast Army), with Chen Kai as the Chen Nan Wang (Chan Nam Wong,
Subdue the South King) and Li Wenmao as his second.
Hill bandits
soon began to move on the Guangdong capitol, Guangzhou. On July 14, Kan Xian,
who had previous started a revolt in Huayan, assaulted the north gate. He Liu
marched to join them, and from Panyu, Red Turbans camped on the Manchu parade
grounds outside the east gate. Bannermen and local militia defended the city.
On August 19 and 24, Chen Kai and Li Wenmao tried to crush the militia forces
between Foshan and Guangzhou but failed. Soon thereafter, rebel infighting
began to take its toll. By September 5, He Liu pulled out, by September 7, the
siege began to falter, and by November 5, it broke.
The take over
of Foshan lasted until January, 1855 when, following mistreatment at the hands
of some of the rebels, the locals became solidly pro-government. On January 18,
Bannermen and local braves succeeded in routing the rebels and taking back the
city. Then Governor-General Ye Mingchen's purge began.
Li Wenmao
retreated to Guangxi. His forces captured several cities, including Liuchow,
where he established the Da Sheng (Great Achievement) Kingdom. Li's regime
enjoyed popular support, but in 1858 he was wounded in a failed attempt to
seize Guiling. He died soon thereafter. Chen Kai died in 1861.
Following the
destruction of the Precious Jade Flower Union, while some of the surviving
members hid in Foshan and surrounding towns and villages, they first taught
their martial arts to non-Red Junk members.