The Shaolin Temple flourished until 1733 AD, during the reign of Yung Cheng of the Ching dynasty. When China was invaded by the Manchus from the north and the Ching government was over-thrown by traitors of its own army, who were previously trained at Shaolin. The temple, being sacred, was not touched, but the Manchus fearing the temple might be used as a sanctuary by officials of the Ching Government, decided to destroy the temple and exterminate the Shaolin sect.

Ng Mui, the only female at the Shoo-in Temple, and the eldest of the five elders got word of this treachery and called the elders together to discuss their plight. She though someday they might have to face the soldiers they had previously trained, and that the only difference between them and the traitors were skillful application of technique, and one day they might be overcome by them. She knew they would have to devise a new system of Kung Fu, one that would be theoretically superior to the existing system, require a relatively short period of time to learn, and would not require great physical strength. But before this new system could be developed the temple was attacked and burned.

The five elders, Ng Mui, the Buddhist mistress, Mui Him-the Abbot, Bak Mei-the Taoist master, Jui Shan-the Zen master, and Fung To Tak-a Taoist master, managed to escape this treachery. They went into hiding to form secret societies that would raise armies and worked toward the over-throw of the Manchus. Ng Mui, wishing not to be involved in politics, took refuge at the White Crane Temple, a Buddhist convent in the Tai Lueng mountains. She concentrated on the practice of Zen-Buddhism, and on the development of the system that was theorized at Shaolin.

Ng Mui, who, from time to time would visit the village below the temple to buy supplies, soon became aquatinted with Yim Lee and his beautiful daughter Yim Wing Chun. Yim Wing Chun was being forced into marriage by a local bully with the threat of killing her father if she refused. Yim Yee, a disciple of Shaolin, now too old to defeat the bully, called on Ng Mui for help. Ng Mui could not defeat the bully without drawing attention to herself, and possible revealing her identity--decided to take Yim Wing Chun to the temple and teach her the new system she had developed, so she could defeat the bully and save her father's life.

After a year of hard practice, Yim Wing Chun had mastered the system taught to her. Ng Mui, after having extracted a solemn promised that she not reveal the system to undeserving individuals, allowed her to return the village, where the bully again accosted her and she soundly defeated him. As it was the custom in those days, Yim Wing Chun was betrothed to Leung Bok Chow, whom she later married. Leung Bok Chow, himself a Kung Fu practitioner, would practice kung fu for many hours with his friends and often rejected the advise of his wife, thinking her a mere woman. One day she proved her skill by defeating him. He then became her first student.

After mastering his wife's system, Leung Bok Chow then passed it on to his friend Leung Lan Kwai. The system being unnamed at this point was named "WING CHUN" in honor of its first disciple. Leung Lan Kwai the passed it on to his friend Wong Wah Bo, who later met Leung Yee Tai, a performer on the Red Junk (a flat bottomed boat where operas were performed). Leung Yee Tai admired the Wing Chun technique of Wong Wah Bo, and Wong Wah Bo admired the Long Pole technique of Leung Yee Tai-taught to him by Mui Hin, one of the five elders of Shaolin, now in hiding aboard the junk. Wong Wah Bo and Leung Yee Tai exchanged techniques, thus adding a second weapon set to the Wing Chun system, the first being the Bart Cham Do (a double broadsword) technique.

Leung Yee Tai passed the system to Dr. Leung Jan, whose existence can be proven by historical records, and who accepted the greatest number of students up to this point. One being Chow Chin Wa, who in turn, passed the system to Jiu Wan, the late Wing Chun Grandmaster, who then passed the system to Grandmaster Jason Lau. Jason Lau introduced Wing Chun Kung Fu to the United Stated in 1969. He currently runs a large school in Atlanta, Georgia.

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