Profile of Wong Fei-hung

QUOTE
As a famous martial arts master, he had many apprentices. He was successfully engaged by Jiming Provincial Commander-in-Chief Wu Quanmei and Liu Yongfu as the military medical officer, martial art general drillmaster, and Guangdong local military general drillmaster. He later followed Liu Youngfu to fight against the Japanese army in Taiwan.

Wong Fei-hung, also known as Huang Fei-hong is one of the most revered folk heroes in Southern Chinese culture. This figure has been immortalized in serialized novels and in over 100 feature films. While little is known about the personal life of Fei-hung, this celebrated kung fu expert, healer, philosopher, and champion of justice has left an indelible mark on Hong Kong cinema and the martial arts world.

History

Fei-hung’s father, Wong Kai-ying was known as one of the “Ten Tigers of Canton.” According to Bey Logan in his book, Hong Kong Action Cinema, these men were a band of heroes who lived by a code of honor. Kai-ying studied Hung Kuen or Hung Gar kung fu from master Luk Ah-choy. Hung Kuen, which included training in Chinese medicine and internal martial arts is often considered the most direct descendant of traditional Shaolin kung fu.

In Chinese kung fu, one’s martial arts lineage is of nearly equal importance to one’s family lineage. The handing down of kung fu techniques from sifu (teacher) to student is of grave importance as many of the forms and techniques widely used today can often be traced back to a single figure. Such is the case for the “Southern Fist” technique which would become the basis for Fei-hung’s Hung Kuen style.

Avid kung fu film fans have likely seen at least one movie dealing with the destruction of Shaolin Temple. While the actual facts of this event remain shrouded in legend, it is known that the reigning Qing (Ching) Dynasty began to look at the monks of Shaolin as a threat to their sovereignty. Through years of rigorous and highly disciplined training, these monks had become skilled in unarmed and armed combat. They were even recruited by the government to fight the Japanese in Taiwan. In addition, they had for years trained emperors and generals in their fighting arts. But in the mid-1700s, the Qing government sacked the Shaolin Temple and the surviving monks and lay students scattered throughout Southern China. One such lay student of notable skill was Hung Hei-kwun who settled near the city of Guangzhou (Canton) and began teaching martial arts. His most successful student was Luk Ah-choy. Ah-choy, himself a monk handed down his skills to Wong Tai. Wong Tai handed down his knowledge to his son, Wong Kai-ying. Kai -yng, of course was Fei-hung’s father and in due time passed on what had become the family martial arts to his son, although who actually taught Fei-hung is disputed.

Fei-hung was born in the village of Xiqiao within the Canton province in 1847. According to one account, his father would not teach his son martial arts for his concern that it might endanger his life. Still desiring to learn, Fei Hung took lessons from his father’s master, Ah Choy. The young Fei Hung was known to perform kung fu in the streets for money. As a young adult, he took the responsibility of becoming a martial arts instructor to the 5th Regiment of the Cantonese army as well as the Guangzhou Civilian Militia. He became quite involved with the local government after having trained two generals and becoming the assistant to the governor of the Fujian province.

Much of the political turmoil surrounding Fei Hung as fictionally depicted in Once Upon a Time in China centered around a popular uprising where the people of Fujian demanded that the governor, Tang Jinsong be appointed head of a new democratic state while Fei Hung would become the commander-in-chief. This riot was suppressed by thousands of government troops led by Li Hongzhang. Needless to say, it put an end to Fei Hung’s political career as he and Tang fled to Canton. There, Fei Hung opened a drug store named “Bo Chi Lam” and kept a low profile.

At this time, little else is known about his life. He was married several times and endured several deaths within his own family due to illness. His last wife, Mok Kwei Lan was only a teenager when she married the elderly Fei Hung. He lived to the age of 77 where he died in 1924.

As a martial artist, Fei Hung was famed for his skill in Hung Kuen. He had mastered the Iron Wire Fist, Five Forms Fist, Vanquishing Fist, and the Shadowless Kick. Not stopping there, Fei Hung also excelled at the traditional Southern Chinese art of Lion Dancing. Within Canton he was known as the “King of the Lions.”

The Legend Begins

After Fei Hung’s death a series of novels appeared in several newspapers authored by Woshi Shanren. The topic of these fictional accounts propelled the story of Wong Fei Hung to mythic proportions with heroic tales embellished with the author’s imagination. It wasn’t long before these popular stories were tapped by Peking Opera alumni for a ambitious series of feature length films. The series ran from 1949 to 1970 and included 99 films in all starring the prolific actor, Kwan Tak Hing. These series of films were the first to feature “real” kung fu according to Tak Hing, unlike many wuxia inspired films featuring superhuman feats.

The influence of these Fei Hung films on the kung fu movies of the 1970’s and beyond cannot be understated. Many of the celebrities in the original series were parents or mentors of future kung fu legends such as Bruce Lee, Yuen Wo Ping, and Lar Kar Leung. Many would pass the torch by appearing in some of the early classics with the next generation of stars. Kwan Tak Hing reprised his role as Fei Hung in Dreadnought, starring Yuen Biao and directed by Yuen Wo Ping.

One of Jackie Chan’s breakout roles appeared in Drunken Master (1978), playing Fei Hung from a new perspective. Unlike previous portrayals of Fei Hung, Jackie and director Yuen Wo Ping realized that rather than focusing on the noble deeds of Fei Hung’s later life, it would be more interesting to see how he might have developed into the legend. Having created a unique formula in his previous project, Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow, Jackie brought his physical slapstick humor to the film. Creating a story of a mischievous adolescent Fei Hung who must overcome his own faults proved a huge success and made Jackie in his own words, a star.

Several subsequent films featured Fei Hung’s character in the early eighties. Yet not until a decade later did an energetic new wave filmmaker with tremendous ambition seek to commit the quintessential story of Wong Fei Hung to the screen that would make the his legend spread internationally and in the process, kindle a renaissance of period martial arts films.

Once Upon a Time in Hong Kong

Tsui Hark has enjoyed a rare level of commercial and artistic success in Hong Kong as a director, producer and occasional actor. He first established himself as what is termed a “new wave” director with his directorial debut, The Butterfly Murders (1979). Taking his experience in studying American film, his limitless imagination, and his tireless devotion to the craft, Hark began a career of redefining genres within the Hong Kong film industry. Zu: Warriors From the Magic Mountain (1983) brought Hollywood special effects to Hong Kong and A Better Tomorrow (1986) created the heroic gunplay craze. With success in just about every other film genre it was only a matter of time before Hark turned to kung fu.

After the success of The Swordsman (1990) which brought wuxia tales into the ’90’s Hark began work on an epic reworking of the Wong Fei Hung legend. This time, Fei Hung would be portrayed not as an aging Tak Hing who uses martial arts only as a last resort or a comically naive Jackie Chan but as a composed and intense man in his prime. Jet Li, a mainland Chinese actor was chosen over local talent to become the latest incarnation of Fei Hung. Li, with his boyish looks and bristling martial arts abilities was a wushu champion from Beijing who had starred in several mainland produced kung fu films promoting the Shaolin Temple. Once Upon a Time in China premiered in 1991 and was a huge success. In fact, Jet Li went on to play Fei Hung in three sequels. Vincent Zhao played Fei Hung in the fourth installment.

The commercial success of the film franchise guaranteed that kung fu films would rule the box office for at least the first half of the decade as numerous period martial arts films appeared shortly after. Director and choreographer, Yuen Woo Ping who had created the comic Fei Hung with Jackie in “Drunken Master” returned to the legend in 1993 with Iron Monkey. Woo Ping went even further back to create a fictional account of the adolescent Fei Hung. The young Fei Hung was portrayed by Tsang Sze-man, a talented young girl who gives a convincing performance. Visually, the film is a departure from the authentic martial arts seen in the original film series. Woo Ping’s trademark wirework was on full display and creates a fun if unrealistic representation of Fei Hung’s childhood.

One of the most recent noteworthy films to feature Fei Hung was conceived by Jackie Chan as an answer to the unrealistic kung fu seen in the films of Tsui Hark and Wo Ping in the early ’90’s. Drunken Master II (1994) reprised Jackie’s breakthrough role in 1978 as a bungling drunkard who must rise above his faults to defeat the villain. While considered past his physical prime, Jackie gave arguably his best performance in this film which featured more authentic kung fu without the use of wirework to give the martial arts a superhuman quality. Like Jackie’s previous film, Drunken Master II uses Fei Hung’s name but makes little effort to accurately recreate the man or what is known of his life.

Will the Real Wong Fei Hung Please Stand Up?

Wong Fei Hung is remembered as a Chinese patriot, a healer, a philosopher, and a martial artist who stood for the rights of the oppressed within a country long plagued with corrupt leadership. Yet the more we see Fei Hung portrayed in film, the less we really know of the man. While still hugely popular in China, little serious effort has been made in film or fiction to chronicle an accurate version of Fei Hung’s life, particularly in the West. Played as a budding martial artist, an immature young adult, an austere patriot, or as a wizened elder, the real Fei Hung continues to elude us. Perhaps this is not so important. Like all heroes of myth and history, the legend of Wong Fei Hung will no doubt continue to inspire and entertain people around the world for years to come.