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Yim Wing-chun (simplified Chinese:严咏春; traditional Chinese:嚴詠春; Cantonese Yale:Yim4 Wing6-cheun1; pinyin:Yán Yǒngchūn) is a Chinese legendary character, often cited in Wing Chun legends as the first master of the martial art bearing her name. Wing-chun, though a person's name in Chinese language, translates literally to "spring chant", or may be substituted with the character for "eternal spring".[2]
Different accounts of Yim's legend exist, but the central sequence of events remains largely the same, beginning with the origin of her teacher. During the Qing dynasty, a ShaolinBuddhist nun and abbess, Ng Mui (五枚師太), reportedly fled the destruction of the Shaolin temple at the hands of the government; the temple was believed to be harbouring revolutionaries.[3] According to one legend, after being inspired by witnessing a crane and a snake fighting, Ng Mui incorporated their movements into her style of Chinese kung fu to form a new, yet-unnamed martial art system.[3]
Ng Mui later took on a disciple, Yim Wing-chun, and passed the art on to her.[3] Yim Wing-chun was well known for her beauty and sold tofu for a living.[4] A local bully tried to force her to marry him, but she used the art to defeat him.[3] Some accounts claim that Ng Mui taught Yim the art specifically for the purpose of defending herself against the man's unwanted advances.[5]
Yim later married Leung Bok-chau, a salt merchant, who named the art "Wing Chun Kuen" (Wing Chun Fist) after her.[3][5]James Yimm Lee (1972) attributes significant development of the art to Yim Wing-chun, crediting her with the invention of the Chi Sao (sticking hands) exercise.[6] From there, the art passed through several men's hands before coming to Ip Man.[4]
Stranger from Shaolin (1977) uses the character of Yim Wing-chun in an action film genre starring Cecilia Wong Hang-Sau.
The movie Wing Chun (1994) loosely portrays Yim Wing-chun's life within the action film genre, with Michelle Yeoh portraying the central character and Donnie Yen (now famous for playing Ip Man in four films) playing Leung Pok-to, Yim Wing-chun's childhood friend and fiancé.
Erica Choi portrays Yim Wing-chun in the 1994 Hong Kong martial arts television series The Kung Fu Master.
In the 2010 film Kung Fu Wing Chun, Yim Wing-chun was portrayed by Bai Jing and Leung Bok-chau was portrayed by Yu Shaoqun.
Meng and Rudnicki (2006) have written a critical analysis of the legend surrounding Yim Wing-chun.[7]