The origin of Wing Tsun kung fu

The founder of Wing Tsun Kungfu System, Miss Yim Wing Tsun was a native of Canton China. As young girl, she was intelligent and athletic, outstanding and manly. She was betrothed to Leung Bok Chau, a salt merchant of Fukien. Soon after that, her mother died. Her father, Yim Yee was wrongfully accused of a crime, and nearly went to jail. So the family moved far away, and finally settled down at the foot of Tai Leung Mountain at the Yunnan-Szechuan border. There, they earned a living by. All this happened during the reign of emperor K´anghsi (1662-1722). At the time, kungfu was becoming very strong in Siu Lam Monastry (Shaolin Monastry) of Mt Sung, Honan. This aroused the fear of the Manchu goverment, which sent troops to attack the Monastry. They were unsuccessfull. A man called Chan Man Wai was the First Placed Graduate of the Civil Service Examination that year. He was seeking favour with the goverment, and suggested a plan. He plotted with Siu Lam monk Ma Ning Yee and others.

They set fire to the Monastery while soldiers attacked it from the outside. Siu Lam was burnt down, and the monks scattered. Buddhist Abess Ng Mui, Abbot Chi Shin, Abbot Pak Mei, Master Fung To Tak and Master Miu Hin escaped and fled their seperate ways. Ng Mui took refugee in White Crane Temple on Mt. Tai Leung (also known as Mt. Chai Har). There she came to know Yim Yee and his daughter Yim Wing Tsun. She bought bean curds at their store. They became friends. Wing Tsun was a young woman then, and her beauty attracted the attention of a local bully. He tried to force Wing Tsun to marry him. She and her father were very worried. Ng Mui learned of this and took pity on Wing Tsun. She agree to tech Wing Tsun fighting techniques so that she could protect herself. Then she would be able to solve the problem with bully, and marry Leung Bok Chau, her betrothed husband.

So Wing Tsun followed Ng Mui into the mountains, and started to learn kungfu. She trained night and day, and mastered the techniques. Then she challanged the local bully to a fight and beat him. Ng Mui set of to travel around the country, but before she left, she told Wing Tsun to strictly honour the kungfu after her marriage, and to help the people working to overthrow the Manchu goverment and restore the Ming Dynasty.
This is how Wing Tsun kungfu was handed down by Abbess Ng Mui.