Wang Rong Sheng

Praying Mantis Shifu

The information presented in this chart was collected from different sources -see Bibliography-, therefore the romanizations in Pinyin according to the Mandarin pronunciation of the characters sometimes is not available. If you find any mistakes or inaccuracies please contact me.

His name is also romanized as:
Wang Yun Chun / Wang Yun Sheng / Wong Wing Sang / Wong Wing Shen / Wang Yung Shang / Wong Ywing Sun / Wong Wing San / Wang Yong Chun.
Other genealogies list him as Wang Yun Sheng (), Wang Yun Shen () or Wang Yong Chun().
Born in Fushan county (Shan Dong province) on May 13, 1854. PRC sources mention he was born in Yantai.
Shifu Wang Rong Sheng started training Chang Quan (Long fist) and Di Tang Quan (Ground Boxing) under shifu Li Yu Chun in 1862 and was a local champion in Fushan. Shifu Wang Rong Sheng opened his Wuguan in 1877 at the age of 23.
During the fourth year of the Guang Xu reign (1888) shifu Li San Jian (then 67 years old) arrived to Fushan. He met shifu Wang Rong Sheng and asked him for a demonstration of the skills he had used to become a champion. After watching him perform, shifu Li San Jian remarked that the techniques he exhibited should not have won him a championship. Shifu Wang Rong Sheng grew angry at shifu Li San Jian's assessment of his gong fu skills.
In fact shifu Wang Rong Sheng attacked shifu Li San Jian, however, all he met was thin air. Shifu Li San Jian seemed to just disappear. Shifu Wang Rong Sheng attacked again and met the same fate. Shifu Li San Jian could evade shifu Wang Rong Sheng at will seemingly without effort. Realizing that he faced a person of considerable skill, shifu Wang Rong Sheng bowed down to humble himself and asked to be accepted as shifu Li San Jian's student. Shifu Wang Rong Shen spent the next three years learning all that shifu Li San Jian had to teach him.
Having been born to a wealthy family shifu Wang Rong Sheng had the opportunity to practice praying mantis as a recreation, developing his art to an advanced level. He took the civil service examination under the Imperial system and was awarded the title of "third degree graduate of martial arts". As he did not need the money he never taught the art openly.
Shifu Wang Rong Sheng was friend with Hao Liang Ru master from the Mei Hua Tang Lang system. Therefore it is supposed they exchanged mantis techniques.
In the 1890s shifu Wang Rong Sheng created most of the "pure" Qi Xing Tang Lang Quan forms as a combination of long range Boxing (Chang Quan) techniques and shifu Li San Jian's Praying Mantis techniques. Shifu Wang Yong Chun is considered the actual founder of the Qi Xing Tang Lang Quan as we know it nowadays and the fist to call the style with that name.

Shifu Wang Rong Sheng passed away in 1926.


Page Updated: 1st July 2005.
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