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"The History and Philosophy of Wing Chun Kung Fu Thesis for Level Ten Grading Andrew Nerlich student of Sifu Rick Spain, WWCKFA. History In the Beginning... The deep nature of our own species, and those that preceded us in evolution, includes competition, violence, and killing. Prehistoric men no doubt fought one another for dominance, food, mating rights, and survival. The dawn of a structured or scientific approach to fighting no doubt occurred with the first primitive man to pick up a stick with which to strike an enemy or prey. Conflict and warfare form pivotal events in human history. Arguably, many ancient rituals, sports and ceremonies are reenactments of battles in one form or another. The Olympic Games held by the ancient Greeks were regarded as a religious festival, during which war was suspended. The Epic of Gilgamesh, written down in about the eighteenth century B.C. in Mesopotamia, one of the earliest centres of civilisation, shows that most weapons of war had been invented by then, the major exception being explosives, which were to be invented by the Chinese almost 2800 years later. Gilgamesh, a hero of Uruk in Babylonia, fought with axe, sword, bow and arrow, and spear. His contemporaries used battering rams against enemy cities, and rode to battle in chariots. The concept of a martial art or science of combat no doubt developed along with civilisation. Organised warfare required trained and disciplined soldiers, and generals and instructors to command and train them. The earliest accepted evidence of a martial art exists in two small Babylonian works of art dating back to between 2000 and 3000 B.C., each showing two men in postures of combat. Whilst there is almost no other evidence to support the hypothesis that martial arts originated in Babylonia and Mesopotamia, and were carried eastward to India and China, there is evidence that trade took place between the Harappa culture of Northern India and the Mesopotamians as early as 2500 B.C. Also, there is evidence that a particular design of bronze axe was in use over a vast area including parts of Europe and China around 1300 B.C. There is also evidence that the performances of acrobats from India and the eastern Mediterranean regions were enjoyed by the Chinese. The martial arts and performing arts have had a long tradition of association in the East, mirroring the similarity between the movements of acrobats and martial artists. While the case for the origin of martial arts in Mesopotamia is speculative, there is no doubt that they first appeared in the East in a primitive form, and it was in India and China that their development into the intricate and sophisticated systems of recent times took place. Martial Arts in China The development of martial arts in China is inextricably linked with the development of Chinese medicine, and of the major religious and philosophical systems which underpin all aspects of life in historical China. The martial and healing arts have always had a close relationship, of necessity when the wounds resulting from combat required healing, and in the use of medical knowledge to develop more effective targeting and striking techniques. Martial arts through the ages were practiced as much for health and longevity as they were for aggression and defence, and indeed the Shaolin arts were based on movements originally developed for health reasons. Nearly five thousand years ago, the three legendary emperors laid the ground work for a nationalised system of Chinese medicine for the populace. Emperor Fu Hsi first proposed such a system; Emperor Shun Nung developed a classification of herbs for use in healing; and Huang-Ti, the Yellow Emperor, sent healers out to care for the people. The "Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine" a book on the principles of Chinese medicine, attributed to Huang-Ti but more likely written by others much later, is still regarded as a standard text by many contemporary schools of acupuncture and Oriental healing. Around this time, mention is made of a form of ritualised wrestling called Go-Ti, in which two men wore horns on their heads and attempted to gore each other. The sport became popular, and spread throughout the land, and was passed down through generations. Go-Ti is performed today, with less blood spilled, traditionally at festivals in Honan and Manchuria. It is theorised also that Go-Ti was exported to Japan during the Tang Dynasty (610-907 AD), and evolved into the modern sport of Sumo; this would be the earliest documented export of Chinese martial arts. The originators of the great Chinese philosophies all lived around the same time. Lao Tzu, the developer of Taoism, was born in Honan around 604 BC. Confucius was born around 550 BC, and the Buddha around 506 BC. Legend has it that Lao Tzu worked in the imperial palace during the Chou Dynasty as custodian of the imperial archives. Like many of his compatriots, he became disillusioned by the existing political tyranny, and at age 160 (according to legend) he left the kingdom on a wagon drawn by a black ox. When he reached Han-Ku pass, the gatekeeper, Yin-Hsi, asked him to leave a record of his teachings. The result was a short but enormously profound and influential document of 5,280 Chinese words called the Tao Te Ching (The Way and the Power). It taught a philosophy of living harmoniously with the ways of nature, returning to one's essence and of acting only in accordance with the Way. (The philosophical basis of the teachings of Lao Tzu, and those of Confucius and the Buddha, will be discussed more fully in a later section.) Confucius was born to a noble family in the state of Lu in what is now Shantung. His father died when Confucius was three, and the family fell on hard times. Though self-educated, he devoted himself to teaching and a quest to eliminate illiteracy; however, his major purpose in education was to teach and develop a way of harmonious living and interaction with one's fellows, through rules and standards of propriety and behaviour. At age 51, he became Minister for Justice in Lu, but his attempts to spread his doctrines were met with indifference or distain by his superiors, resulting in his starting a thirteen year ministry attempting to disseminate his political, social, and philosophical beliefs. At age 68, unsuccessful, he began to write the classic documents such as the Spring and Autumn annals, the I Ching (book of Changes) and the Analects, which were to have a huge impact on Chinese culture. Some historians dispute the authorship of these documents (i.e. maybe Confucius didn't write all or any of them), but their fundamental role in Chinese culture is indisputable. The Buddha, also called Guatama or Siddhartha, was an Indian Prince, born approximately 506 BC As a youth, he lived a rich and pampered life in the splendour of palaces and courtyards, surrounded by the luxuries of the time, unaware of the often desperate and miserable circumstances in which the vast majority of his subjects dwelt. One day he ventured into the city, and was confronted with the disease, starvation, suffering and death which filled his kingdom. The streets were filled with starving beggars and littered with the bodies of the dead or dying. Shocked to the bone by what he saw, he spent days alone (five days beneath the Bodhi tree), attempting to come to terms with this shattering revelation. He found himself unable to accept his experiences as reality, and from there came he formed the basis of his teachings, that human existence is an illusion, and nothing is real. He left the palace and travelled widely, teaching. His teachings and doctrine proposed a disregard for self and materialism, instead emphasising subsequent lives and the eventual deliverance from the eternal cycle of life and suffering which is human existence. While the seeds of higher philosophies were being sown, warfare itself continued. Before 500 BC, China did not exist as a nation. The territory now known as the People's Republic of China was made up of a large number of minor, independent states, generally operating under feudal rule. War was seen as an occupation of the nobility, with skirmishes being fought between local warlords, perhaps with small armies of peasants. The lords would be driven to the battlefield in chariots, to fire arrows on the peasant armies of their rivals. Occasionally warlords would resort to single combat before their armies to decide a particular issue. War was a highly ritualised activity, prohibited in certain seasons or circumstances, such as after the demise of a particular leader. Soldiers might languish for days or weeks while oracles were consulted or a favourable omen awaited prior to an attack. Gradually the smaller states were assimilated by larger ones, and larger cities were formed, with populations as large as 750,000. Trade flourished between these centres, with tools and weapons of high quality iron among the items exchanged. Around the time of the Warring States period (490-221 BC), a low-grade steel was perfected, allowing the rulers to equip their soldiers with weapons made in foundries and stored in arsenals. The expansion of the bureaucracy of government at this time allowed for feasible equipping, feeding, training and deployment of much larger armies. This changed warfare from an occupation of the ruling class to a professional activity undertaken by professional soldiers and officers. New specialist skills, such as engineering, signals, and mapmaking became viable occupations for these career soldiers. Sun Tzu was the most famous of these; a brilliant tactician and strategist, whose work The Art of War, which was written around 350 BC, is said to have influenced Mao Tse-Tung, and remains a standard text for military officers, as well as being widely read by ambitious people in other walks of life. But combat was not solely the province of the rulers and the military. The Chinese countryside was rife with gangs of bandits and outlaws. Merchants enticed by the large profits possible from interstate trade would have employed bodyguards to protect themselves and their wares. The small scale close combat encountered by such bodyguards would have suited a career martial artist perfectly. The itinerant life of such bodyguards would have brought them into contact with others in the same profession from all over the country, allowing for a constant interchange of martial ideas and techniques. During the Han Dynasty(206 BC - 220 AD), Pan Kuo (32-92 AD) write the Han Su I Wen Chih, or Han Book of the Arts. this work contained chapters on governmental aspects of occupation (during war), battlefield strategy, principles in nature, and a chapter on fighting skills, including hand, foot, and weapon techniques. Meanwhile, the doctrines of Taoism spread and flourished, with the Taoist monks practising various types of exercise, breathing, and meditation. During the closing years of the Han Dynasty, Dr Hua To, a famous surgeon, made a major contribution to the development of martial arts, introducing a series of exercises based on the movements of animals, to promote blood circulation, freedom from sickness, and the prevention of the symptoms of old age.. In his book, Shou Pu, Hua To described a system of exercises he called the Frolic of the Five Animals, based on movements of the tiger, deer, bear, monkey and bird. Bodhidharma and the Shaolin Temple The first Shaolin Temple was built in approximately 495 A.D., in Honan Province near Mount Sung. It was built by Emperor Hsaio Wen, for the purpose of housing Buddhist monks who were charged with the task of translating the Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Chinese, in accordance with the wishes of the Emperor, who sought to make the scriptures available to the people in their native tongue, as a means of achieving Nirvana for himself. Around 520 AD, an Indian Buddhist monk named Bodhidharma journeyed from India to China. He was the son of an Indian King, and an excellent warrior in superb physical condition. He visited Emperor Wen, but disagreed with him that Nirvana could be achieved by good deeds (the translations of the scriptures) performed by others in the Emperor's name, as noble as such a project might be. Bodhidharma's method instead involved meditative practices, seeking enlightenment through direct experience. After leaving the emperor, Bodhidharma then went to the Shaolin temple. The head abbot, Fang Chang, at first viewed him as a foreign meddler and upstart, and refused him entrance. Bodhidharma instead took up residence in a nearby cave, where he reportedly sat facing a wall for nine years, "listening to the ants scream". Legend has it that the intensity of his gaze bored a hole in the cave's wall. The monks were soundly impressed with his religious discipline and commitment, and he was welcomed into their ranks in the Shaolin Temple. One painting of Bodhidharma dating from the thirteenth century has one of the monks cutting off his own hand as a symbolic gesture of sympathy for Bodhidharma's spiritual commitment during his stay in the cave. The monks at the temple were most interested in his teachings, but due to their sedentary lives and poor diet and physical condition, were often unable to stay awake during his lectures. To improve their health and assist their meditation, Bodhidharma devised three sets of exercises, emphasising correct breathing and bending and stretching of the body. The monks, who were in constant physical danger from outlaws and robbers, but who were forbidden by their religious code to carry weapons, modified many of the exercises to form systems of weaponless selfdefence, becoming the systems of Kung-fu and other Asian martial Arts we practise today. Further legend has it that Bodhidharma once fell asleep while meditating, and became so enraged that he ripped off his eyelids, casting them to the ground. From them immediately sprang tea shrubs, whose leaves were used by the monks to keep them awake. As with many episodes in the history of Kung Fu, there are doubts among historians regarding the truth of the stories about Bodhidharma, and indeed, whether he actually existed. Detailed accounts of his exploits only started to appear in the eleventh century, although there were Buddhist historians of prodigious written output around the Temple much earlier than this, such as Hsuan-Tsang in the seventh century, who make no mention of him. However, the story of Bodhidharma is seminal to the history of Buddhism, the Shaolin Temple, and Kung Fu. At the height of its prosperity, around 700 BC, the temple had a complement of around 1500 monks, including 500 fighting monks, together with the land and buildings to support. The Emperor T'ai Tsung of the Tang dynasty first endowed the temple with the right to train a fighting force of monk/soldiers. In danger at one time, he asked for help from the temple and thirteen monks went to his aid. The grateful emperor attempted to persuade the thirteen to take up positions in his court, but the monks declined, stating that their martial arts' primary purposes were to promote the monks' health and to protect the Temple and its surrounding society. As there was now peace, they were no longer required, but that if the need arose again they would make themselves available. The emperor then permitted them to increase the size of their fighting force to 500. Over the next thousand years, the martial arts expanded and evolved, interest in them based to a large degree on the heroic exploits of the Shaolin monks. The military and merchant classes also added to the spread and evolution of the art. Other temples were built, and often became havens for anti-dynastic and revolutionary activity of various sorts, as China's rule remained in the hands of competing groups and dynasties. Temples were subjected to numerous sackings and burnings, with monks fleeing to other areas, and building or rebuilding temples, spreading their knowledge as they went. This state of affairs continued up to the fall of the Ming Dynasty in the seventeenth century A.D. Wing Chun (Note: It is almost impossible to determine a definitive history of Wing Chun Kung Fu. The circumstances leading to the marriage of Yim Wing Chun and Leung Bok Cho have been described in several different ways by different members of the WWCKFA, including lectures by Sifu Rick Spain, the writings of Grandmaster William Cheung and writings purported to be those of Grandmaster Yip Man. I discuss alternative versions of events to those set down here in Appendix A. The enigmatic Ng Mui is used by a number of styles of Kung Fu besides Wing Chun to explain their origin, and she may be as much a legendary as a real figure. She figured extensively in the lore and performances of the Red Junk Opera Company, through which Wong Wa Bo, Leung Bok Cho and Jee Sin play a pivotal role in the art's development. It is perhaps prudent to remember that, as operatic artists, they were skilled in dramatic storytelling, and that many of the best stories have their basis in fact. It may also be prudent to remember that the cultural basis of humanity's greatest endeavours is based on grand myths, fables and legends - often, based on real individuals and events - rather than on the smaller details of objective fact. I write this assuming that the truth of history lies as much in each historian's interpretation as in the objective events.) The Manchus invaded China in 1644, ending the Ming dynasty, and beginning the Ching (Qing) dynasty. The occupation force, as a minority of the population, introduced a number of repressive measures to control the indigenous Han population. These included forbidding the Hans to carry weapons, restricting their opportunities within the civil service, and the practice of binding the feet of women, rendering them totally dependent on their husbands and menfolk, who were thus also restricted in their actions and ability to undertake revolutionary activities. The Shaolin Temple, which as a Buddhist institution was revered and regarded with religious awe by the invaders, became both a sanctuary for Ming rebels and a centre for revolutionary planning and training. Ming soldiers and sympathisers donned monk's robes and shaved their heads, but trained for war within the temple grounds and plotted the overthrow of the Manchus. The combat systems then taught in the temple were based on animal movements and required the progressive mastery of tens and hundreds of long, intricate forms, taking fifteen to twenty years. The Shaolin grandmasters recognised that this approach was unsuitable for the rapid development of a fighting force. They began to develop a new system of Kung Fu based on human biomechanics rather than the movements of animals, distilling the enormous and disparate variety of techniques, some only marginally useful, of the animal systems into an essential core of techniques which would turn an average trainee into a skilled fighter in five years rather than twenty-five. As the Manchus had outlawed the carrying of weapons by the populace, the butterfly swords, which were easy to conceal in knee-length boots, were chosen as the system's only weapons. The system was called Wing Chun, named after the Springtime (Wing Chun) training hall in the temple. Some accounts have it that the system was named after Yim Wing Chun, but it seems she may also have been given that name, after that of the training hall, by Ng Mui, the alternative meaning of the name being "Hope for the Future"). The Manchus heard of the revolutionary role of the Temple, and surrounded it, while a traitorous monk set fires within. The monks fought bravely, but were heavily outnumbered. Only five escaped - Bak Mei, Fung Do Dak, Mui Min, Jee Sin and the nun Ng Mui. The five went their separate ways. Ng Mui took refuge in the distant White Crane Temple in Yunnan. Periodically, she would journey to a nearby vill..."

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