| Wong Kei-ying | |
|---|---|
| Born | ca. 1815 Xiqiao, Nanhai Guangdong |
| Died | 1886 Guangzhou, Guangdong |
| Residence | Foshan, Guangzhou, Guangdong |
| Style | Chinese martial arts Hung Ga |
| Teacher(s) | Wong Tai |
| Occupation | Martial artist Physician |
| Notable relatives | Wong Fei-hung (son) |
| Notable students | Wong Fei-hung |
| Wong Kei-ying | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 黃麒英 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 黄麒英 | ||||||||||
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Wong Kei-ying (ca. 1815? – 1886), also known as Wong Leung-ying, was a Chinese martial artist and physician who lived during the late Qing Dynasty.
Wong's son, Wong Fei-hung, inherited his father's martial arts and medical skills and later became a folk hero in Chinese popular culture.
Wong Kei-ying was born in the village of Xiqiao, Nanhai, Guangdong. 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 or 1820s, but there is no documentation of his birth.
As a young man, Wong Kei-ying would perform as a street artist, using kung fu and acrobatics. During one of these performances in Guangdong, he was noticed by Luk Ah-choi, a practitioner of the Hung Ga fighting style who is known as the first and best disciple of Jee Sin Sim See and as a classmate of Hung Hei-gun, for whom Hung Gar is named. Based on the young acrobat's talent, Luk took on Wong as a student.
A different story, which reflects the sense of history and lineage in Hung Ga, says that Luk Ah-choi learned "Taming the Tiger Fist", a southern Shaolin form, from Abbot Chan, who was staying in the Hoi-tong Monastery in Guangdong. Luk passed it on to Wong Tai, who lived in Saichiu, who passed it on to his son Wong Kei-ying.
Wong spent ten years training and mastering all of Luk's skills, including "Single Hard Fist", "Double Hard Fist", "Taming the Tiger Fist", "Mother & Son Butterfly Knives", "Angry Tiger Fist", "Fifth Brother Eight Trigram Pole", "Flying Hook", and "Black Tiger Fist". Once this training was complete, Wong became a martial arts instructor and member of the Black Flag Army. His wages were so low that he had to sell herbal medicines to support his family. He had a herbal medicine dispensary on Jingyan Street in Guangdong.
Wong Kei-ying was became so famous that he was named one of 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. Wong passed on his knowledge of martial arts to his son, Wong Fei-hung.
In the many films made about Wong Fei-hung, especially the Once Upon a Time in China series, Wong Kei-ying is a supporting character with little screen time. However, the 1993 film Iron Monkey is a fictional depiction of the filial relationship between Wong Kei-ying and a ten-year-old Wong Fei-hung. It hints at how the younger Wong is shaped by the example of his father.