An interview with Grandmaster Wayne Yung

Master Wayne Yung is based in Hong Kong and he is a current leader and chief instructor of Snake Crane Wing Chun. I deliberately don’t use title “grandmaster” ,”gatekeeper “ or other bombastic titles used today to show highest rank in Chinese Martial Arts, because he doesn’t like any of it , actually master Yung do care much about titles, he is simply a Sifu, teacher . In my humble opinion he is one of the most knowledgeable Wing Chun sifus today , one of the rare few who have complete understanding of the

art .

Sifu Wayne Yung had learnt different Chinese martial arts, TaeKwon Do and Judo in his teenage years. In 1976 and 1977, he won the Hong Kong South China Athletic Association Open Hong Kong Tournaments . Then he taught Judo and became a Judo referee until 1993 when he retired from Judo. In 1978, he baiseed to Snake Crane Wing Chun Mun(SCWCM) GM Law Chiu Wing and he still practicing it today. His lineage was kept secret until 2009 , In 2014, SCWC is listed in one of the three HK wck lineages in the Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage.It is Sifu Wayne whop brought Snake Crane Wing Chun to public and he still doing a great job in spreading his art. Sifu Yung graduated from Civil Engineering, majored in Structure and Applied Mechanics in 1983 and gained his Master degree in Computer Science

in England in 1986.

VZ: You were an accomplished martial artist prior to Wing Chun training , yet you left everything behind and started to practice Snake Crane Wing Chun. What is the reason for that , not many people are ready to give up all their accomplishments and start for the beginning?

WY: In my teens, I was , like many others, influenced by Bruce Lee, I loved marital arts a lot. However, I didn’t know what martial arts I actually want to practice. It was a time of search and discover. I learnt Judo, Hung kuen, Northen styles, tai chi, to see which one is most suitable for me. Eventually, in 1978, I got started with Snake Crane Wing Chun . Because SCWC was keep in secret, and I loved to fight , Judo was a perfect solution for hot blooded kid I was. I won numerous competitions , I enjoyed

Judo fights , it helped me to satisfy my desire for fighting , on the other hand I did it in honorable way , by participating in official competitions , not fighting on the street .Later , as I understand more about SCWC, I completely devoted my self to it . I gave up all other arts, and finally left Judo as well.

VZ: You said , you fought in honorable way, in official sports competition, not on the street. What do you mean by that.

 WY: Exactly what I said. When you fight in a competition you have no bad emotions toward your opponent , it is a simple comparison of the skill and determination. If you win , you win with honor , respecting your art , your teacher and your opponent.

Fighting on the street is for two reasons , either you fight to survive or you are the attacker, which is the worst thing someone can do . I know some people were seeking opportunity to fight on the street and they are proud on what they did , but not me . I had my share of fights , Hong Kong is not the safest place on Earth , especially in the days of my youth but I never talk about it, that is not example I want to set to my children and to my disciples who I also consider my children . I survive , thanks to SCWC, that experience I incorporated in my teaching , but talking , or even worse ,bragging , that is not me , not my art , I am trying to set a positive example to the martial arts community .

VZ: How did you find your Snake Crane Wing Chun teacher , having in mind that your teacher haven’t taught openly and he didn’t have a school , in fact Snake Crane Wing Chun was closed to public until 2009?

WY: in 1978, just before I finished my secondary school, a worker’s wife who lived in my school, knowing I am crazy about martial arts and always got hurt because I have been practicing too much , gave me my sifu’s business card and advised me to visit  him and learn bone setting. Soon after I went to visit my sifu and we talked about my martial arts experience and practice . I remember the way Sifu looked at me , and then he started reading my palm , after a while he said it would be the best if I  follow him and learn SCWC.  He told me the rules of  SCWC and asked me to think about his offer.  After a month consideration, I eventually went to my sifu in September 1978.  Two months later, in November 1978, we did the discipleship ceremony in his flat.   

VZ: How many students you teacher had over the years ? 

WY: Not many, according to my knowledge, in the late 60’s , there were Chan Wing Jin and Li Yuen, 70’s, there were Mr. Yuen Chi Choy, Chan Kwok Keung and 80’s there was Sammy Ho, in 90s Mr. Yeung Chi Cheong and David Yuen Man Kong. In this century, there were Mr. Mok Wei Keung and Mr. Lam Kwok Ming , totally 16 disciples .  General speaking, every 10 years, he would accept one or two person as disciples.  He didn’t teach openly and that’s why he only accepted people as disciples, not students.  

VZ: You said , your teacher only accepted disciples , not students, what was the reason for that? 

WY: My teacher is very traditional , he strictly followed the rules of the style. One of the governing rules was to keep style away for public. In old times , before public kung fu schools emerged at end of 19th and beginning of 20th century , martial arts teachers had only disciples , not students is modern sense of the word, disciples not only practiced directly under teacher’s supervision , but they lived with their teacher , they were considered as a part of the family, in fact hierarchy and structure of traditional school is just mirrored hierarchy of traditional Chinese family. All the titles are family related , even today we still use these titles like kung fu brother, kung fu uncle, ect. 

One more interesting thing , following the rule of practice form the Ching Dynasty period , when conspiracy was essential , my teacher taught all his disciples separately , until recently most of us didn’t even know about one another . In the past we rarely met each other , and even then , only couple of us at the time , never all at the same place at the same time .  

VZ: What else can you tell us about your teacher? 

WY: Not much actually , my teacher kept his private life , private, he never talked about himself. But I can tell what kind of person he is . At the day of my acceptance for his disciple , being still a student , I didn’t have money for the’ red envelope”, my teacher opened his wallet ,put some money in it and gave it to me so I can fulfil complete the ritual and give the envelope to him. 

VZ: Can you describe how traditional Bai See ceremony looked like in old days? 

WY: Yes, my sifu choose a specific date which is believed to be good day for the discipleship ceremony according the traditional Chinese event calendar (通聖) .  He invited one of our senior Sihings to come as witness.  That day, sifu brought out all the ancestors tablets, actually his grandfather’s and other ancestor’s wooden tablets on the table, there was also a picture of a written Chinese character ‘budda 佛’.  On the table were 3 types of dishes cooked from domestic animals a chicken, a duck and pork .  When everything was set up ,Sifu asked us to write the red envelop and yellow envelop.  The red envelop is for baisee to sifu, and sifu will keep it and add our name to the successor chart.  The yellow envelop is for the ancestors only to let them know that, today, we are going to baisee to sifu and formally get into the SCWC Mun (family).  A red pocket is also prepared for sifu.  

The ceremony started by Sihing recited the mun’s rules and ask us to follow.  After he finished, Sihing chopped the chicken head and help to burn the yellow envelop to the ancestors.  Then we kneeled down and offered a cup of tea with the the red envelop with the lai see to sifu. Sifu will accept the red envelop and lai see and drink the tea, which means that he accept us as his disciples.  After completion of the ceremony with Sihing as witness, the ducks, chicken and pig will be eaten for dinner. 

VZ: Today ,you simplified Bai See ceremony , why? 

WY: Ritual is important form tradition’s point of view , but not the way most people think. Ritual have a purpose to mark the moment of bonding , moment when person becomes a member of Snake Crane Wing Chun family (Mun) , that is a true meaning of Bai See ceremony, without that , not matter what kind of ritual you performing , it is meaningless. I have changed and simplified things to make it acceptable for people of different cultural and religious background . This way I still follow SCWC tradition and also avoid conflict with other traditions . Today SCWC Mun has disciples from all over the world and they all performed Bai See. Tradition is kept alive , which is very important for SCWC ,but now we are open to everyone. 

VZ: Why and how did you decide to “open the door” of your style for public ?   

WY:  In 2008, my sifu talked to me about his age and the fact he has no son to succeed the art.  His 3 daughters found no interest in learning SCWC.  In order to preserve the from disappearing in my sifu;s generation, I urged him to open the arts to public.  SCWC was kept in secret because well know political issues connected to Tai Ping Heavenly Kingdom period and fire of red boats and Find Jade Halll . Qing dynasty collapsed over a century, republic of China moved to Taiwan in 1949,the communist party rule China today. In 1967, the cultural revolution destroyed a lot of the Chinese traditional kung fu and practitioners were prosecuted and many were killed. But all these things are long gone ,today, SCWC no more has any political issues, and should be open to the public.  Finally, my sifu decided to allow open teaching and let the art continue by the appropriate persons. Then he made a public announcement in the newspaper for 3 days that any SCWC matters are not related to him anymore, because he got retired.  In 2009, 8 Jan, he assigned me as the president of SCWC Mun and passed the marshall flag to me to lead the mun people to go to the world.  

VZ: How do you see the future of SCWC? 

WY: I think the future of SCWC will be bright , many good WCK practitioners show interest in my art and many schools are opened recently . We have brunch schools all over the world and many people are interested to come, learn and bring SCWC to their countries . 

Sifu Vladimir Zlatic

 (Huang Ning)  

Cult like behavior in kung fu

Man created civilization to free himself from the disastrous influence of natural elements . For tens of thousands of years mankind strived toward better , safer life , working hard along way reaching the point we have today . But modern civilization imprisoned the man , mankind became a slave of its long effort to improve the society .

Modern economic foundation of society simply dictates the pace of life in which the human being is transformed into a small piece of huge consumer’s machinery that unscrupulously consumes the available human and natural resources in order to conserve the existing order. Modern man thus becomes a slave because he has no choice but to submit himself to it in order to  provide, as much as possible , normal material existence and normal living standard  for himself and his  loved ones. In other words, each individual becomes voluntary  slave of the   slavish mentality\way of life  which is dictated by global geopolitical and economic interests.

 Indolence, selfishness and  greed are just some of the many symptoms of modern society degradation , which  trivializes humanity, and slowly inverts traditional values and social institutions. In modern society there is no place for empathy , morality ,ethics , in other words , there is no place for traditional values and institutions . Modern living environment is as harsh as it was 10 000 years ago .

 However, the question remains what is a real man inside this civilized prison in which he closed  himself ? Many people are still that , people , decent human beings who need to be more than what they are offered to be . Many feel emotional void which was in past times filled with traditional religion , morality , ethics ,family , belonging to a larger social group. Traditional way of life  , as harsh as it was , fit to fulfill all emotional, spiritual and social needs of a common man , giving him identity and purpose . Modern way of life ripped that apart and left modern man without all these things mentioned above.

Trying to fill the void, but separated from tradition , with ruined traditional instruments and institutions , many  turn to whatever they get and , unfortunately become a victim of their own desire to be better people , to fulfill their basic social, spiritual and emotional needs. Many become  victims of various cults , spiritual leaders , life coaches ect , not being aware that these organizations and people are just a part of consumer’s society and way of life and they are basically pay , like they pay for everything else in their life ,for something they should have already, automatically just by the fact they were born and a members of a society , something they should have inherited from their ancestors.

Many turn to Chinese kung fu . From purely fighting art only 100 years ago , kung fu today became “all I one “ package for fulfilling basic needs of a modern man . Kung fu offers a sense of belonging , members of some kung fu school \ style often call them self brothers , sisters , uncles ect.  That sense of belonging is often supported with distinctive clothing, heraldic , vocabulary . To a practitioner is also offered a sense of pride introduced through “history” and some famous ancestor with often supernatural abilities. A  number of rituals are also included to reinforce sense of pride and belonging . Some in these rituals find a spiritual note  .  There are also elements in various degrees of personality cult , followed with altars and unquestionable worship .This way practitioner identify himself and also get a sense of purpose ( inherit , preserve and spread something important (kung fu style))  As we can see , practitioner can find everything he needs to fulfill his basic needs , he replaces his own history with a history of the style he practices , replaces his own ancestors with kung fu ancestors , build his identity and purpose upon kung fu practice and belonging to a particular style\history \ancestor . Practitioner also fulfills his spiritual needs through various rituals and also religious needs through ancestors worshiping.  Of course this is quite expensive and these quasi religion , quasi family , quasi spirituality costs significant amount of money . Now, it is obvious that many of things described here are almost identical with attributes of religious cults, which is not a coincidence .  Behavior of people involved in kung fu often is identical with people involved in religious cults. There is a total lack of critical thinking , everything that comes from the teacher is unquestionable truth and it is not subject of analysis. The only truth ( original style, teachings , ancestors ) is within a particular style , all others are wrong . Facing the true facts  about their style\history\ancestor , practitioners are not able to accept them and they become aggressive toward the person\source of these information . 

It is important to say that majority of teachers do not insist on these things , they are just teaching for money and practitioners themselves are actually ones who push things in this direction and it is their own fault for such situation . Of course , majority of teachers do not stop this behavior as well , for purely financial purposes .

At the end , it would be good to ask yourself a question , are you a kung fu practitioner or a cult member .

LAW TIU WEN

Law Tiu Wen was descendant  of very    old and respected family from Foshan whose roots reaching far in the past . As a young man he received traditional education,  he was direct student of Kang Youwei, a well-known Chinese scholar and a major leader of the short-lived reforms presided over by Emperor Guangxu in 1898. and he passed the Imperial examination with an excellent score  for what he got an official title “ Kung Seng” '貢生‘ in the late Qing dynasty .    The fact  he passed Imperial examination with an excellent score  witness how good his kung fu was . Most of the exam was concentrated on display of military practical skills such as hand to hand combat , weapon fighting , archery , horsemanship as well history , military tactics , law , traditional medicine ,ect.   

The exams were difficult to pass and only one in 100 candidates were able to complete it  . There were only  a handful of people who manage to pass this exam in the late Ching dynasty . As a promising young official he was sent to Japan to continue his studies in a military academy .  Since early childhood Law Tiu We was trained in  a system later known as Snake Crane Wing Chun . According to Law family written  accounts he learned his art  from Dai Fa Min Kam (Sun Kam).

Latest research conducted by Grandmaster Wayne Yung shows that his actual teacher was Law Man Gung , an actor from Cantonese Red Boat opera  house and active participant in Taiping rebellion . After the defeat of the rebels , Law Man Gung went hiding and found refugee in Foshan where he was supported by his family . In return he passed his wing chun system to Law Tiu Wen .

In time of his return from Japan ,Sun Yat-sen raised a Revolution to finally liberate China from  Ching rule . Law Tiu Wen , as a patriot  joined the movement  and he was assigned as general Lee Fu Lin’s military advisor. During his service in general Lee Fu Lin’s cabinet he was forced to use his Wing Chun several times fighting for his life. In one occasion , when he stayed late to finish some paperwork an assassin , who was sent to kill the general ,attacked him by mistake thinking he was a general because he was alone in general’s office

                                                                  

   Law Tiu Wen responded to this quickly      and swiftly disarmed the attacker crippling his arm.  Assassin, surprised by this brutal response to his attacked panicked and manage to escape leaving his weapons  behind him .    In the early days of Republic of China, Law Tiu Wen gave up an official position , feeling that his public work was done and China was finally free, and  became a doctor returning to his ancestral place Xiqiao near Foshan. He stayed in Xiqiao  until his death leading a quiet life and managing his clinic . He never showed his kung fu in public and he passed all his knowledge to his son, Law Ting Chau. There several interesting facts from Law Tiu Wen’s life connected to general Wing Chun history and several famous Wing Chun masters of modern times .

Ancestor worshiping or what do we teach next generation

I had an interesting conversation couple of days ago with some wing chun practitioners . We talked about usual subjects and of course Yip Man and Bruce Lee were mentioned , and again ,I said some facts about them which were not taken well . They said I have no respect to my ancestors . I said I do , I actually have great respect to my ancestors , in my culture there are four religious holidays dedicated to ancestors and I follow them all , even more I pray for them every day . Unfortunately there is no Orthodox Church here in Tainan so I cannot go light the candle and leave their names to the priest so he can also mention them on the service but I do what I can. Like most old, traditional culutures , mine care dearly for the ancestors and we keep the memory of them alive for generations , I know my ancestors with 100 % certainty since 11th century and some records show my ancestors line as far as 8th centuy AD.

They were totally surprised with my answer , they said they were thinking about Yip Man . Well , Yip Man was not my grandfather , I have no blood connection to Yip family so why should he suppose to have special treatment ? Why should I respect him like he is my ancestor . They said I should respect him as wing chun master . I asked why? I do not practice his style . They said it is not ok to say all thous things I said about Yip Man . Again I aked why , because I said the truth , he was a racist and a drug addict .These things are commonly known and people say thous things like it was nothing , like it is ok . Some times they justify his actions and say he was a man of his time . Hitler was a man of his time , maybe we should stop talking about fascism , or teach children that is ok because Nazis were people of their time ? Then, they got really angry , how can I compare Yip Man and Hitler . I do not compare , I just say , truth must be told and what is wrong ,is wrong . Racism is wrong , period , using drugs is wrong , period . What kind of message this sends to next generation, Yip Man was racist , but that was ok, he was a man of his time ? What if that times come again ? Who will stand against it if teach others that is ok ? Being wing chun master or good at one thing does not absolve bad things he did . We have to stand on the side of truth , to say what is right and what is wrong . Yip Man may be the best wing chun master of all times (many actually believe he was ) and I do respect his skill and knowldge , but other things cannot be forgotten and we have to separate skill and knowledge from personalty and clearly stand for what is right .

At that point , conversation was over , with a remark that we “Serbian people” are impossible to talk reasonably . I said , of course ,we are impossible .Like all religious arguments this one ended with one side angry . You can continue to worship your god and I will stay on the side of truth .

Why kung fu sucks

I am aware that this article ( like many of my articles before) will make a lot of people angry . On the other hand , facing the reality is never easy and often , when forced to face real facts , people react with anger , refusing to accept the truth . The truth in this case , Chinese Traditional Martial Arts , known as kung fu are a joke . Yes a joke . As a practitioner of traditional kung fu I am painfully aware of this. It is not once that people give me that “look” when I say I practice kung fu , especially people who practice boxing ,MMA , BJJ ,kick boxing … and I cannot say they are wrong , because ,for the most part , they are not .

While western boxing, Thai boxing , BJJ , wrestling proved them self in full contact competitions , Chinese kung fu failed tremendously to do the same . The question is why ? How systems advertised as the most effective fighting arts ever have no real fighting skills , at all. Even more , how systems which were used for real fighting in the past ,today fail to do the same ?

Well , it is all about the training , everything revolves around that . Just like there is only one way to learn how to swim , you have to actually enter into the water and …swim , same goes for fighting , if you want to learn how to fight , you have to fight , for real . Nothing can replace fighting , no drills , no sticky hands , no “internal” powers , nothing , fighting can be learned only through fighting , there is no other way . More you do it , better you become .

While each and every kung fu style is “the most effective martial style” , at least that is what everyone says , the sad truth is that maybe one Sifu in 1000 can actually fight . Even that one who can fight usually uses some kind of kick boxing which has nothing in common with a style he actually teaches. They use kick boxing because no one taught them how to use kung fu in a real fight .

I am a practitioner of Wing Chun and White Crane . Both are “internal “ styles . I have visited many schools and maybe one or two actually have sparring I their regular training schedule , the vast majority of schools do not spar , ever . Many believe that chi sao (sticky hands) practice is a replacement for sparring . Other styles have similar practice , they put accent on drills , “techniques “ and forms.  While there is nothing wrong in practicing drills , forms and “techniques “ , problems begin with a lack of sparring . Where there is no realistic training , drills and techniques become useless , self sufficient and goal to them self . They become more and more complicated , the accent is on visual effect , not on effectiveness . Now , if we have two or three generations of teachers who didn’t fight or spar , we have styles with a lot of theory , and a lot of “If he comes at you like this , you do this and this and this” . Kung fu stops to be a fighting art and becomes a performing art . People master forms drills and techniques , they are visually pleasing and look really attractive , sadly they have nothing in common  with real fighting . Drills are too precise , too complicated to be used in real fighting under the adrenalin rush , there too many steps , they are based on memorization , which has no sense in real fighting where everything is random . Techniques have too many steps , “opponent” is compliant and , of course , everything and anything can be done on such opponent , but in real fight ,if you try to do three blocks on one hit …well …  Of course , there is also a financial moment , where many teachers deliberately make their systems complicated in order to keep students as long as possible .

There is one more significant moment in this story and that is “internal” practice . More than often and from the side of many teachers deliberately misunderstood , internal practice promises great fighting powers without any real effort . Physical fitness is often despised by practitioners of “internal” arts , most of them cannot do even 10 pushups . It is like someone lifts 5 kg weights every day and that will is some amount of time make him so strong that he will be able to lift 100 kilos . That is not going to happen. If you practice without power , you will have no power , period . The truth is , there is no internal without external , relaxation and softness comes from experience and from the fact that there is something to be softened and relaxed . Like Mohamed Ali , probably the greatest “internal” master of all times . But his softness and relaxation came from hard training and everyday sparring , and of course , he was physically very strong . His softness and relaxation was very powerful , totally different form “softness” and “relaxation” in many kung fu schools , where people scream if you use even a little power .

The last thing is complete misunderstanding of principles and concepts , it is like my French , I can read French perfectly , but I don’t understand a word of it . Same goes with kung fu people and kung fu principles and concepts . Even if people learn proper structure , power generation , footwork ect , they practice it wrong ,because they do not fight , do not spar , so they have no sense how to use those things properly , which leads to the things I already described , too complicated and unrealistic drills and techniques .

The main ,and probably the only problem in kung fu is lack of sparring , if people fight , that resolves all other problems , like politics , lineage wars , “originality” , false histories , debate of which hand position is right or wrong and all other bullshit .

I practiced and believed , like so many others ,wrongly , for years , and wasted so much time ,but eventually I realized where is the problem and I changed my way of training . It is still the same wing chun and white crane I have learned from my teachers , I just put accent on different things , on basics , I train to hit stronger , to hit faster ,and don’t care how does it look like as long as I have results that can be really  measured .

  

Imperial military examination

Common believe is that Chinese martial arts were developed in Buddhist monasteries by monks who researched and experiment with combat systems and later spread it among common people. The story pf Shaolin monastery became so famous that eventually was accepted by many as rue history of Chinese martial arts. Martial arts are much older than Buddhism and for the most part of China’s history had no connection to Buddhism and were not practiced by common people until the end of XIX century . The most important and for the most part of China’s history , the only factor that drove development of martial arts was the army. One of the most important segments of martial development and a system of martial standards were Imperial military examination.

 Military examination mirrored “civil service examinations” or “imperial examinations” in Chinese, known as keju 科舉, keju zhidu 科舉制度, gongju 貢舉, xuanju 選舉 or zhiju 制舉, The Imperial examinations were an essential part of the Chinese government administration and official method for recruiting bureaucrats. First imperial examination started during   Han Dynasty (206 B.C.E. to 220 C.E.) although the idea of imperial examination can be traced to even older , Zhou dynasty(c. 1046 BC–256 BC) .The examination system was systematized and adopted its classical form during the time of  Sui Dynasty (581–618) .Imperial examination  until 1905  , although the degree to which this process was utilized varied over time and i was even discontinued for periods of time . Last exam was held during Qing dynasty and was finally abandoned on 2 September 1905, when the emperor ordered that the old examination system be discontinued at all levels .

To obtain a civil service post, a candidate had to pass through several stages, starting with preliminary local exams, and progressing, if successful, through to district, provincial and palace examinations. Exams were held every three years. Tight quotas restricted the number of successful candidates at each level — for example, only three-hundred students could pass the metropolitan examinations. Students often took the examinations several times before earning a degree.

The  subjects of the examinations was limited to the Four Books and Five Classics of Confucianism as well as  mathematics, law, calligraphy, and in early dynasties , poetry , which later was excluded from tests .

 The examinations lasted between 24 and 72 hours, and were conducted in spare, isolated examination rooms. In order to obtain objectivity in evaluation, candidates were identified by number rather than name, and examination answers were recopied by a third person before being evaluated to prevent the candidate's handwriting from being recognized.

Like it was said before . Military Imperial examination mirrored civil examination system . Candidates started with testing on local level and if successful they would gradually progress to the imperial palace level.

From candidates on Imperial Military exams were required the same knowledge as for the civil service , like Four Books and Five Classics of Confucianism , mathematics ect. With addition of military tactics , strategy,  and of course high level of martial arts proficiency . Candidates for Imperial Military  exams usually came from military families and they were prepared for exams in military schools .

There is little evidence how military exams looked like before Ming dynasty , when they were finally formalized and even from that period we have little data . The best known ,with the largest amount of written documents , artifacts and other evidence were tests from Qing dynasty period .

Testing on provincial level was consisted of three parts . First part was horseback archery . Candidate had nine arrows   and he had to hit at least three targets on the course , he had three laps to ride.

Second part had two sections . First section was stationary archery , basically accuracy testing. Second part was strength testing and had three parts , bow drawing, sabre waving and stone lifting . The strength of the bow was 45 , 55 and 72 kilos . The weight of the sabre was 48, 60 and 72 kilos . The weight of the stones were 120 , 150 and 180 kilos .

The third part of testing was written test . While in previous dynasties this part of the test was quite demanding and probably harder than martial test and included strategy , tactical formations , astronomy, topography , pyrotechnics in Qing dynasty this part of test was just a formality because candidates could not to meet the standards of previous times . Also in Ming dynasty , physical testing included besides what was already named testing with spear , straight sword , sabre , unarmed combat , on the horse and on the ground .

Passing the test would secure the candidate a government appointment to official post with secured income , that goes for civil and military examination . 

Woman as a creator of Wing Chun \White Crane

Creation stories of White Crane and Wing Chun are probably the best known in kung fu world and probably the most romantic ones . There are several versions of each story but in essence story goes like this , a beautiful girl with no martial skills finds herself in trouble which cannot be resolved by any other means but fighting . By the act faith , girl crossed her path with a Buddhist nun who passes her a superior fighting system and the girl finally can win over her enemies . Later girl finds happiness and refine the art further , teaching her husband and other students . Both stories put girl’s life in an early Ching dynasty period , soon after they took over Chine from the Ming dynasty , somewhere in the middle of the 17^th century . 

While stores are quite interesting and beautiful they can hardly be seen as a historical facts. Not only that existence of Fang Qi Niang and later  Yim Wing Chun  as well as the existence of the nun , Ng Muy was proven false , there is the fact that woman in traditional Chinese society , especially in the period before the very end of the Ching dynasty could not practice martial arts . There are several reasons for this .

China is, and always has been, a patrilineal and patriarchal society. It is well known that Chinese society emphasis the importance of the family and the hierarchy within the family. Men's superiority and women's inferiority are deeply rooted in the 2,000-year-old Chinese culture and are reflected in many aspects of social life.Throughout the imperial period and into the beginning of the twentieth century, the relationship among family members was prescribed by Confucian teachings. The revered philosopher sought order in the ancient ties within a family and codified the position of the male patriarch as the sole arbiter for the family unit. All family members were subordinate to the eldest male,just as all loyal subjects were subservient to the Celestial Emperor. This hierarchy also dictated relationships between a husband and his wife and concubines, a father and his children, and an elder and younger sibling. Marriages, births, and deaths were all accompanied by rituals designed to reinforce these unequal  roles.

                                            Fang Qi Niang funder of White Crane 

Prejudice against woman had existed in China long before Confucianism , in China from very early times, men have been seen as the core of the family. The ancestors to whom a Shang or Zhou dynasty king made sacrifices were his patrilineal ancestors, that is, his ancestors linked exclusively through men (his father’s father, his father’s father’s father, and so on, but it was  Confucianism that cemented role of a woman in traditional society .It was during the Han dynasty (206 B.C.E. - 220 C.E.) that Confucianism was adopted as the government's state doctrine, with his thoughts becoming part of official education. In later dynasties, Neoconfucian interpretations further reinforced male authority and patrilineal customs. Women were at the bottom of the Confucian hierarchy. Exemplary behavior and uncomplaining obedience was expected of them. By custom, aristocratic men and women lived separately. Men had multiple wives and concubines, but women were not allowed to see men other than their close relatives, husbands, or masters, or the palace eunuchs. For Confucians, spiritual development begins at home, and the home traditionally has been seen by Confucians as the paradigmatic arena of social relations. Social relations, of course, are rarely exchanges between equals, in the Confucian view, but instead tend to be interactions between superiors and inferiors. The so-called "Five Relationships" described by Confucians as the complete range of human interaction include four that entail hierarchy (ruler/subject, parent/child, husband/wife, elder sibling/younger sibling) and only one that need not entail hierarchy (friend/friend). The ideal Confucian state, with its "natural" hierarchy of ruler and subject, mirrored the home, with its "natural" hierarchy of husband and wife, and older and younger children.

As children, girls were required to obey their fathers; as wives, women were required to obey their husbands; and as widows, women were required to obey their grown-up sons. At no point in her life was a woman, according to the traditional Confucian view, expected to function as an autonomous being free of male control.

                                        Yim Wing Chun , creator of Wing Chun

In the centuries after Confucius, it became common for writers to discuss gender in terms of yin and yang. Women were yin, men were yang. Yin was soft, yielding, receptive, passive, reflective, and tranquil, whereas yang was hard, active, assertive, and dominating. Day and night, winter and summer, birth and death, indeed all natural processes occur though processes of interaction of yin and yang. Conceptualizing the differences between men and women in terms of yin and yang stresses that these differences are part of the natural order of the universe, not part of the social institutions artificially created by human beings. In yin yang theory the two forces complement each other but not in strictly equal ways. The natural relationship between yin and yang is the reason that men lead and women follow. If yin unnaturally gains the upper hand, order at both the cosmic and social level are endangered.

Maintaining a physical separation between the worlds of men and the worlds of women was viewed as an important first step toward assuring that yin would not dominate yang. The Confucian classic the Book of Rites stressed the value of segregation even within the home; houses should be divided into an inner and an outer section, with the women staying in the inner part. One poem in the Book of Poetry concluded: “Women should not take part in public affairs; they should devote themselves to tending silkworms and weaving.” A similar sentiment was expressed in the Book of Documents in proverbial form: “When the hen announces the dawn, it signals the demise of the family.”

Further  decline of women began  in the Song period, just when Neo-Confucianism was gaining sway. The two signs of this decline most frequently mentioned are the pressure on widows not to remarry and the practice of binding young girls’ feet to prevent them from growing more than a few inches long. 

Confucian sayings about woman 

1. The Mother of Mencius in Liu Hsiang, "Biographies of Admirable Women." (ca. 33 B.C.E.): "A woman's duties are to cook the five grains, heat the wine, look after her parents-in-law, make clothes, and that is all!." "It will be theirs neither to do wrong nor to do good. Only about the spirits and the food will they have to think." " A woman's duty is not to control or take charge."
2. The Book of Odes, no. 264. (ca. 781-771 B.C.E.): "Disorder is not sent down by Heaven, It is produced by women." "Those who cannot be taught, cannot be instructed. These are women and eunuchs."
3. Admonitions for Women, Madam Ban Zhao, Female Confucian philosopher and historian, (ca. 45-116 CE): "Let a woman modestly yield to others; let her respect others; let her put others first, herself. last." "Lay the (girl) baby (at birth) below the bed to plainly indicate that she is lowly and weak, and should regard it as her primary duty to humble herself before others." "A husband can marry twice, but his wife must never remarry. Just as Heaven cannot be disobeyed, so the wife cannot keep away from her husband." "As Yin and Yang are not the same nature, so man and woman have different characteristics....Man is honored for strength; a woman is beautiful on account of her gentleness."
4. Record of Ritual and Book of Rites (Han dynasty): "No daughter-in-law, without being told to go to her own apartment, should venture to withdraw from that of her parent-in-law. What ever she is about to do, she should first ask leave from them." "Women are to be led and to follow others."
5. Ban Gu, Han dynasty Philosopher: "Why is it that according to the rites the man take his wife, whereas the woman leaves her house? It is because the yin is lowly, and should not have the initiative; it proceeds to the yang in order to be completed."
6. Nu Lun U - Analects for Women (Tang dynasty): "Conjugality is made of husband's strength and wife's frailty...Accepting the blame and keeping quiet while he is in anger...Serving the husband around the clock when he is ill."
7. The Admonitions of the Instructions to the Court Ladies, quoted in Edward Schafer, "Ancient China," Great Ages of Man series, Time-Life Books, 1967. "A husband is Heaven, and Heaven cannot be shirked."
8. Confucian marriage manual, quoted in Nah Trang, "Traditional Roles of Women as Reflected in Oral and Written Vietnamese Literature," Berkeley: Asian Studies Ph.D. thesis, 1973: "Even though you sleep intimately on the same bed and use the same cover with him, you must treat your husband as if he were your king or your father."
9. Menciuss, a disciple of Confucianism, "There are three unfilial acts: the greatest of these is the failure to produce sons."
10. Greater Learning for Women, Neo-Confucian writer Kaibara Ekken (Togukawa period): "Women's nature is passive." "The foolishness of woman fails to understand the duties that lie before her very eyes."
11. Quotation attributed to Confucius, quoted in Denis Bloodworth, "The Chinese Looking Glass,, Farrar, Straus & C., ©1967: "The woman with no talent is the one who has merit."
12. Quotation attributed to Confucius, quoted in Alasdair Clayre, "The Heart of the Dragon," Houghton Mifflin, 1985:"We should not be too familiar with the lower orders or with women,"
13. Sayings based on Confucian ideals quoted in William Forbis, Japan Today:A People, Places, Powers, Harper & Row, 1975: "If you love your wife, you spoil your mother's servant." "Woman has no particular lord. She must look to her husband as her lord, and must serve him with all worship and reverence." "A woman should look on her husband as if her were Heaven itself, and never weary of thinking how she may yield to him."
14. Popular Saying quoted in, among others, Sharon Sievers, "Women in China, Japan, and Korea," Restoring to Women to History, OAH, 1988; Keith Taylor, "The Birth of Vietnam," University of California Press, 1983: "A woman ruler is like a hen crowing."
15. Xiao Ma, Asian Women's Studies Program, CUNY-Buffalo: "One of Women's Virtues lies in her ignorance." "Woman are as different from men as earth from heaven." "Women are a lower state from men."
As we can see , position of woman in traditional society prevented them from kung fu practice of any kind . Before late Ching dynasty period , martial arts were practiced exclusively by military and there was no place for a woman in the army .There was no way woman would be taught any kind of martial arts , her position was strictly regulated by traditional and state laws .  By the end of 19^th century  situation started change a little under the influence of the western religion ,philosophy and values that came with technological modernization . Of course , situation started to change only in the upper social classes , who had enough money , education and were in position to experience and stay in contact with the western influences , rural China is pretty much the same today as it was millennia ago . By the end of the 19^th century we have sporadic cases of woman practicing kung fu ,mostly daughters who were taught by their fathers . Still we have no record from that time that any woman was an official student in any martial school.
Republican period brought little changes to woman position in the society , woman were taught kung fu sporadically , only by their fathers or relatives and only in the upper social levels of society . Truth is , lower social casts never practiced martial arts in history of China . Number of woman taught kung fu before Second World War is extremely low . On the other hand , with this first appearance of woman in kung fu world we have first stories about woman ancestors and heroes of the past . Characters from the beginning of the article emerged for the first time in this period . Ng Mui was at beginning a negative character , a traitor who is responsible for the fall of the “Southern Shaolin”, later her role changed into a founder of white crane and wing chun. There are other characters , woman warriors that emerged in this period, their existence were put in a different periods of Chinese history , from Han dynasty to Ching dynasty period .
Real change for a role of a woman in Chinese society came after cultural revolution in China and strong western influence on Taiwan and Hong Kong in the same period. Although , situation was far from western standards of woman’s rights , today number of woman in kung fu is significantly higher than before .

We can clearly see that creation stories of Wing Chun and its pre successor White Crane are just that, stories . Real creators of these arts stay hidden  on some other place and time .