Wong Fei Hung
|
|
Wong Fei Hung (黃飛鴻 huang2 fei1 hong2) (1847 - 1924) was a healer, martial artist and revolutionary who became a Chinese folk hero. He is often described as the "Chinese Robin Hood".
As a healer and medical doctor, he practiced and taught acupuncture and other Chinese medicine at his 'Po Chi Lam' (寶芝林) clinic in Guangzhou (Canton city), where he was known for compassion and a policy of treating any patient.
As a martial artist, he helped invent a system/branch of Tiger-Crane form kung fu and "Ten Special Fists" boxing that still is used to this day. Fei Hung is associated with a kung fu move called "No Shadow Kick (佛山無影腳)". He has been mistakenly said to be one of the Ten Tigers of Canton - the top ten kung fu masters in Guangdong (Canton) around the end of the Qing dynasty. In fact, his father Wong Kei Ying was one of the Ten Tigers, and Fei Hung was often called "the Tiger after the 10 Tigers of Canton". It is this nickname which led to the error.
Wong died in Canton a few months after a riot burned his clinic to the ground. His wife and two of his prominent students(林世榮，鄧世瓊) moved to Hong Kong, where they continued teaching Wong's martial art. Wong became a legendary hero whose real-life story was mixed freely with fictional exploits on the printed page and onscreen.
From the late 1940's into the 1960's, there was a Wong Fei Hung movie series in Hong Kong consisting of roughly 100 movies. The star at that time was Kwan Tak Hing who gained his nickname "Master Wong" through this movie series. It is claimed by some sources to be the most prolific movie series ever, and Wong Fei Hung to be the most-portrayed character in movie history. Both Jackie Chan (in Drunken Master and Drunken Master II, as a trouble-making youth) and Jet Li (as an adult contending with European influence on China in the Once Upon a Time in China series and in the comic take Wong Fei-hung chi tit gai dau neung gung) played Wong Fei Hung. The character of Wong Fei Hung also appeared as a child in the movie Iron Monkey alongside his father (played by Donnie Yen).
There is a monument for Wong Fei Hung in Fushan(佛山), China, as well as a recognisable Chinese classical ensemble tune, called "A Man Should Strive to be Stronger" arranged and composed by the late Jim Wong. This song is based on an ancient chinese folk song (將軍令) and is widely known as his theme song (as popularised in Once Upon a Time in China series).it:Wong Fei Hung zh:黃飛鴻