Wong Kei Ying

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Wong Kei Ying (or Huang Chi-Ying) (Chinese: 黃麒英) (18?? - 1886) is best known as the father of the Chinese folk hero and martial arts master Wong Fei Hung. Kei-Ying was himself a master martial artist and, though not as famous as the son he trained, was renowned enough to be included in the Ten Tigers of Canton, a group of ten of the top Chinese martial arts masters in Guangdong (Canton) towards the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912).

In the many movies made about Wong Fei-Hung, especially the Once Upon a Time in China series, Wong Kei-Ying is a supporting character with little screentime. However, the 1993 film Iron Monkey is a fictional depiction of the filial relationship between Wong Kei-Ying and a 10-year-old Fei-Hung and hints at how the younger Wong is shaped by the example of his father.

Father and son were both masters of the martial art Hung Gar, which Kei-Ying learned from Luk Ah-Choi (陸阿采), a classmate of Hung Hei-Gun (洪熙官), after whom Hung Gar is named. Some accounts say that Kei-Ying was first taught by Wong Taai (黃泰), his father or his uncle depending on the account, and then later sent to Luk Ah-Choi to complete his training. Kei-Ying in turn imparted to his son the knowledge that was handed down to him: Single Hard Fist, Double Hard Fist, Taming the Tiger Fist (伏虎拳), Mother & Son Butterfly Knives (子母雙刀), Angry Tiger Fist, Fifth Brother Eight Trigram Pole (五郎八卦棍), Flying Hook, and Black Tiger Fist (黑虎拳).

His date of birth is not specified. His son, Wong Fei Hung, lived from 1847 to 1924, so it is very possible Wong Kei Ying was born in the 1810s-1820s, but no documentation has been offered here.