Leung Jan
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Leung Jan (born Leung Tak-wing; 1826–1901) was a Chinese martial artist and
Wing Chun Wing Chun (Chinese: 詠春 or 咏春, lit. "singing spring"), sometimes spelled Ving Tsun, is a concept-based fighting art, form of Nanquan (martial art), Southern Chinese kung fu and close-quarters system of self-defense. In Mandarin, it is ...
practitioner from Heshan,
Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
. He was known in
Foshan Foshan (, ), alternately romanized as Fatshan, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of the ...
as ''Mr. Jan of Foshan'' and ''King of Wing Chun Kuen''. Leung Jan is one of the earliest well-documented practitioners of Wing Chun, which was mainly passed down verbally from teacher to student prior to Leung Jan.


Background

Born Leung Tak-wing in 1826 in
Heshan, Guangdong Heshan () , formerly romanized as Hokshan, is a county-level city of Jiangmen City in the southern part of Guangdong Province, China with a total land area of and a population of 530,684 inhabitants as of 2020 census and some 200,000 intern ...
, he had a elder brother, Leung Tak-nam, who would later become a successful businessman. His father later moved to Kuai Zi,
Foshan Foshan (, ), alternately romanized as Fatshan, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of the ...
and Leung helped ran a
traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...
Dit Da Die da () or dit da, is a traditional Chinese method of bone-setting used to treat trauma and injuries such as bone fractures, sprains, and bruises. Background Dit da originated in Guangdong, China, and was usually practiced by martial artists ...
clinic there. At the age of 18, he was trained by
Leung Yee-tai Leung Yee-tai was a Wing Chun master of the late Qing Dynasty. Background Leung Yee-tai had become associated with Tiandihui and anti-Qing Dynasty resistance. He was a strong boatman who steered a riverboat by pushing a long pole against the ri ...
in Southern Shaolin skills. Yee-tai later introduced Jan to his partner
Wong Wah-bo Wong Wah-bo was a martial artist and an opera singer of the late Qing Dynasty. Wong Wah-bo is a notable figure in development of martial art Wing Chun, which is known for its poorly documented history, and is recognized as being part of various co ...
. Wong was also a Gulao (古勞) resident like Jan, and he taught Jan the whole
Wing Chun Wing Chun (Chinese: 詠春 or 咏春, lit. "singing spring"), sometimes spelled Ving Tsun, is a concept-based fighting art, form of Nanquan (martial art), Southern Chinese kung fu and close-quarters system of self-defense. In Mandarin, it is ...
skill set. From 1870 onwards, under the nickname Leung Jan, he succeed his father medical business and work within the Wing Sang Tong (榮生堂), also known as Jan Sang Tong, in Foshan and would occasionally take in students to train them in Wing Chun privately. His name eventually became well known due to his wins in competitive bouts and he was respected by other martial artists. He was called ''Mr. Jan of Foshan'' (佛山贊先生). He later became a government official and was known as ''King of Wing Chun Kuen'' (詠春拳王). His training and medical hall was looked after by his student
Lee Wah Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...
(李華), nicknamed Woodman Wah (木人華).


Personal life

Leung had three wives, nine sons and eight daughters. His first wife Ms. Wong (黃氏), bore him no children. His second wife Ms. Cheng (鄭氏), bore him seven sons. His third wife Ms. Poon (潘氏), bore him two sons. His nine sons were: * 1st: Leung Yuen-fuk (梁元福), courtesy name Yan-wah (恩華) – with Ms. Poon, learned Wing Chun from his father, and on later years went to
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
with him to do business there, he had a son, and died at the age of 24. * 2nd: Leung Bik-wo (梁璧和), courtesy name Tai-wah (態華) – with Ms. Cheng, born in 1845, learned Wing Chun from his father and grand-teacher Wong Wah-bo, later moved to
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
with a friend to set up a clothing business there. He had two sons. He further trained
Ip Man Ip Man, also known as Yip Man, ( / 叶问; 1 October 1893 – 2 December 1972) was a Hong Kong-based Cantonese martial artist and a grandmaster of the martial art Wing Chun when he was 20. He had several students who later became martial art ...
in 1909 and died in 1911 at the age of 65. * 3rd: Leung Chi-yin (梁賜賢), courtesy name Hin-wah (憲華) – with Ms. Poon, he had no children. * 4th: Leung Yu-chun (梁遇春), courtesy name Mou-wah (懋華) – with Ms. Cheng, born during the
Tongzhi period Tongzhi (Wade-Giles: ''T'ung-chih'') can refer to: * Tongzhi Emperor (1856–1875, reigned 1861–1875) of the Qing dynasty **Tongzhi Restoration (c. 1860–1874), an attempt to strengthen the late Qing dynasty ** Tongzhi porcelain, a Chinese porcel ...
in Year 9, April 12, he was more verse into his father's medical practices and
medical ethics Medical ethics is an applied branch of ethics which analyzes the practice of clinical medicine and related scientific research. Medical ethics is based on a set of values that professionals can refer to in the case of any confusion or conflict. T ...
, but later switched to business, he had six sons and three daughters and died at age 54. * 5th: Leung Chung-wah (梁忠華) – with Ms. Cheng, died prematurely. * 6th: Leung Shu-wah (梁恕華) – with Ms. Cheng, died prematurely. * 7th: Leung Ko-peng (梁高明), courtesy name Yue-wah (愈華) – with Ms. Cheng, born during the Tongzhi period, year of Wuchen, he had two sons. * 8th: Leung Nim-wah (梁念華) – with Ms. Cheng, died prematurely. * 9th: Leung Pak-jau (梁百就), courtesy name Sai-wun (世煥) – with Ms. Cheng, due to death of his mother, he was supposed to be sent to a wet nurse for breast-feeding, however along the way he was abducted and was sold to a new family. There is currently no available historical information on any of Leung's eight daughters.


Later life and death

In 1888, his physical health began to decline and his five remaining sons had since left Foshan to make a living and they had no intention to take over his training and medical hall. Notably, Leung Yuen moved to Vietnam, while Leung Bik moved to
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. While searching for a successor, Leung took in a money changer
Chan Wah-shun Chan Wah-shun ( 1849 – 1913), nicknamed Money Changer Wah (找錢華) and Money Clutcher Wah (爪錢華), was a student of the Wing Chun grandmaster Leung Jan (梁贊). He is noted for being the martial arts teacher of Ip Man. Background Bor ...
as his student. Leung later often went back and forth between Foshan and his hometown Gulao Village, and Chan continued to be trained by Lee. Leung also taught Chan in Dit Da. Chan eventually closed his money changing business and helped run a Dit Da clinic. After the death of Lee Wah on the following year in 1889, Chan took over the operations of the training and medical hall, while Leung continued to go back and forth between Foshan and Gulao. Wing Sang Tong was later renamed to Hang Chai Tong (杏濟堂). Around the age of 70, Leung retired permanently back to his hometown, there he taught a group of four youths, including his nephew Wong Wah-sum, a modified form of Wing Chun which focused on side-facing positions (known as Kulo village Pin Sun Wing Chun in present day). Leung died in 1901.


Lineage


In popular culture

In the 1978 film ''
Descendants of Wing Chun Descendant(s) or descendent(s) may refer to: * Lineal descendant, a consanguinous (i.e. biological) relative directly related to a person ** Collateral descendant, a relative descended from a brother or sister of an ancestor Books * "The Descend ...
'', he was portrayed by
Melvin Wong Melvin is a masculine given name and surname, likely a variant of Melville and a descendant of the French surname de Maleuin and the later Melwin. It may alternatively be spelled as Melvyn or, in Welsh, Melfyn and the name Melivinia or Melva may ...
. He was portrayed by
Bryan Leung Bryan Leung Kar-yan (Chinese: , born 20 January 1948) is a Hong Kong film and television actor and film director who has played roles in numerous acclaimed martial arts films. He is affectionately known as "Beardy" due to his trademark facial ...
in the 1978 film ''
Warriors Two ''Warriors Two'' () is a 1978 Hong Kong martial arts film written and directed by Sammo Hung, who also co-stars in the film. The film stars Bryan Leung, Casanova Wong and Fung Hak-on. Leung plays the character of the historical figure, Leung Jan ...
'' as the master role as a more disciplined and older man. He takes up the student Chan Wah-shun alongside a few other ones he is already training, but is caught up in an elaborate scheme by Foshan's new mayor. The mayor plans to remove all top martial artists from the town, so he may rule with an iron fist. Putting both Cashier Wah (Chan Wah-shun), and Leung Jan himself on the mayor's hit list. In the 1981
TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and ...
television drama series ''
Kung Fu Master of Fat Shan Kung or Küng may refer to: * ǃKung people * ǃKung language * Kung (Haida village), an historical village of the Haida people of the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Columbia, Canada; also Kung Indian Reserve No. 11 at the same location * Ku ...
'', he was portrayed by
Kwan Hoi-san Herman Kwan Hoi-San () (born Kwan Ming-kok; October 23, 1925 – September 11, 2006) was a Hong Kong actor. His English name was Herman Kwan. Kwan started off as a Cantonese opera actor in street theatre before joining New Voice Opera Troupe ( ...
. Leung Jan, as an already somewhat skilled martial artist, is featured in a student role in the 1981 film '' The Prodigal Son''. In this fictional tale of his life,
Yuen Biao Yuen Biao (born Ha Lingchun; 26 July 1957) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist and stuntman. He specialises in acrobatics and Chinese martial arts and has also worked on over 80 films as actor, stuntman and action choreographer. He was one ...
as Leung Jan, is a young man determined to learn real martial arts after a humiliating defeat by undercover Wing Chun master
Leung Yee-tai Leung Yee-tai was a Wing Chun master of the late Qing Dynasty. Background Leung Yee-tai had become associated with Tiandihui and anti-Qing Dynasty resistance. He was a strong boatman who steered a riverboat by pushing a long pole against the ri ...
who is a seemingly harmless man, despite Leung Jan being known as Foshan's "kung fu king". Leung was portrayed by Yuen Biao again in the Hong Kong TV series ''
Real Kung Fu ''Real Kung Fu'' is a Hong Kong television series first broadcast on TVB in October 2005. The series is shown to celebrate TVB's 38th anniversary. It aired every weeknight at 10:05 to 11:05 pm (Hong Kong Time Hong Kong Time (abbreviation: HK ...
'', which aired on
TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and ...
in 2005, along with ''
Wing Chun Wing Chun (Chinese: 詠春 or 咏春, lit. "singing spring"), sometimes spelled Ving Tsun, is a concept-based fighting art, form of Nanquan (martial art), Southern Chinese kung fu and close-quarters system of self-defense. In Mandarin, it is ...
'' a year later or two from 2006 to 2007.


References


Fighters of Fatshan
at www.leungting.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leung, Jan Chinese Wing Chun practitioners 1826 births 1901 deaths Qing dynasty people Sportspeople from Guangdong People from Foshan