Our History |
We in Shaolin Wahnam are very proud of our lineage which can be traced back directly to the two southern Shaolin Temples, as illustrated in the chart above. There were in fact, contrary to what many people believe, two southern Shaolin Temples, one in the City of Quanzhou, and the other on the Nine-Lotus Mountain, both located in Fujian Province, Southern China.
During the Ming Dynasty (14th to 17th century) a Ming emperor built the Temple in the City of Quanzhou, Fujian Province as an imperial temple to replace the northern Shaolin Temple in Henan Province. This temple was burnt by the Qing Army in the 1850s led by Crown Prince Yong Cheng who had enlisted the help of Lama kungfu experts from Tibet. The Venerable Chee Seen escaped and built a secret southern Shaolin Temple on the Nine-Lotus Mountain, also in Fujian Province. This temple was also soon burnt by the Qing Army, this time led by Pak Mei who was a classmate of Chee Seen in the southern Shaolin Temple in Quanzhou. The northern Shaolin Temple on Song Shan or Song Mountain in Henan Province remained throughout the Qing Dynasty. In fact, the Chinese characters, "Shao Lin Si" which means "Shaolin Temple" at the Main Gate of the Temple were written by the Qing Emperor, Qian Long. This temple was burnt only in 1928, 17 years after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, by rival Chinese warlords. Its burning was by cannon fire and had nothing to do with kungfu. Our Grandmaster, Sifu Wong Kiew Kit, learned from four sifus, or teachers. Grandmaster Wong's first sifu was Sifu Lai Chin Wah, more widely known by his honorable nick-name, 'Uncle Righteousness.' His second sifu was Sifu Chee Kim Thong, regarded as a living treasure of the People's Republic of China during his life-time. Grandmaster Wong's third sifu was Sifu Ho Fatt Nam, the third generation successor from the southern Shaolin Temple at Quanzhou. His fourth sifu was Sifu Choe Hoong Choy, the patriarch of Choe Family Wing Choon. It was no co-incidence that all Grandmaster Wong's sifus were patriarchs of their respective styles because Grandmaster Wong always sought for the best available teachers. |
Who We Are
The name "Wahnam" consists of meaningful Chinese characters from the names of Grandmaster Wong's two masters: Ho Fatt Nam and Lai Chin Wah. The name "Shaolin Wahnam" was chosen to honor these two masters as well as all of the past masters in the Shaolin tradition.
After over a hundred years of secrecy and exile, these two lineages, one from Zhi Shan and the other from Jiang Nan, were reunited in my teacher, Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit. This reunion is meaningful to us because we now inherit the best of two Shaolin traditions.
Zhi Zhan was a revolutionary; his objective was to overthrow the Qing Dynasty. His teaching was fast and secretive, with emphasis on kung fu that was hard and combative.
The Venerable Jiang Nan was a missionary. His main aim was to preserve the original Shaolin arts, with little intention to fight the Qing Dynasty. While Zhi Zhan quickly rebuilt a second southern Shaolin Temple after its destruction and taught many disciples, Jiang Nan took 50 years to search for a deserving successor in order to teach him holistically and slowly. Jiang Nan's teaching emphasized internal development and spiritual cultivation. The Shaolin Kungfu from his lineage is comparatively soft and internal.
After over a hundred years of secrecy and exile, these two lineages, one from Zhi Shan and the other from Jiang Nan, were reunited in my teacher, Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit. This reunion is meaningful to us because we now inherit the best of two Shaolin traditions.
Zhi Zhan was a revolutionary; his objective was to overthrow the Qing Dynasty. His teaching was fast and secretive, with emphasis on kung fu that was hard and combative.
The Venerable Jiang Nan was a missionary. His main aim was to preserve the original Shaolin arts, with little intention to fight the Qing Dynasty. While Zhi Zhan quickly rebuilt a second southern Shaolin Temple after its destruction and taught many disciples, Jiang Nan took 50 years to search for a deserving successor in order to teach him holistically and slowly. Jiang Nan's teaching emphasized internal development and spiritual cultivation. The Shaolin Kungfu from his lineage is comparatively soft and internal.
