Grandmaster Tse’s Wing Chun Note 366

Shaolin Five Ancestors 少林五老 – Part 1

The Siu Làhm Ngh Lóuh (Shàolín Wǔ Lǎo) 少林五老 – Shàolín Five Ancestors, were first known because of a Chinese novel written in 1893 called, Sing Chìuh Díng Sihng Maahn Nìhn Chīng (Shèng Cháo Dǐng Shèng Wàn Nián Qīng)聖朝鼎盛萬年青 – The Prosperity of Holy Dynasty Everlasting Youth, which  is also known as Maahn Nìhn Chīng (Wàn Nián Qīng) 萬年青 – Everlasting Youth. The book talks about the top five Kung Fu 功夫 masters of the time and these masters were known as the Shàolín Five Ancestors. However, they were not all actually from Shàolín they were from different areas and from different mountains in China. Many Chinese novels are created based on stories or legends of heroes and so the details become blurred. The Five Ancestors were said to have their own individual styles of Kung Fu, that they passed down, like ́Ngh Mùih Sī Taai 五枚師太 creating Wing Chun. Baahk Mèih Douh Jéung (Bái Méi Dào Zhǎng) 白眉道長 – White Eyebrows Daoist from Ngòh Mèih Sāan (Éméi Shān) 峨嵋山 – Er Mei Mountain, Sīu Lam Jih (Shàolín Si) 少林寺 – Shàolín Temple and Móuh Dōng Sāan (Wǔ Dāng Shān) 武當山 _ Wu Dang Mountain, all have their styles of Kung Fu.

From Wing Chun history, my Sīgōng 師公, Ip Man 葉問 wrote that at that time, the top five masters were, the first was Yunnan White Crane Mountain’s 雲南白鶴山 Ngh Mùih (her Sīfú 師父 was Hùhng Ngáahn Douh Sí  (Hóng Yǎn  Dào Shi ) 紅眼道士 – Red Eyed Daoist), second was Shàolín’s Ji Sihn (Zhì Shàn) 至善, third was Wu Dang Mountain’s Fùhng Douh Dāk (Féng Dào Dé) 馮道德, fourth was Er Mei Mountain’s Baahk Mèih Douh Jéung (Bái Méi Dào Zhǎng) and fifth was Gwóng Dūng (Guǎngdōng) 廣東, Lìhn Jāu (Lián Zhōu) 連州 Canton Province, Lìhn Jāu City’s Mìuh Hín (Miáo Xiǎn) 苗顯.