Chi Sim

Chi Sim ( Chinese  至善 禪師  /  至善 禅师 , Pinyin Zhìshàn Chánshī , Jyutping Zi ³ sin ⁶ Sim ⁴ si ¹ , Yale Ji ³ -Sin ⁶ Sim ³ -Si ¹  - "literally very kind Chan / Zen master" ) was one of the legendary "Five Elders of Shaolin " ( 少林 五 老 , Shàolín wǔ lǎo , Jyutping Siu ³ lam ⁴ ng ⁵ lou ⁵ ), who is said to have lived during the reign of Qianlong (1735–1796). The names of these legendary "Five Elders of Shaolin" were Chi Sim ¹ (" Zhìshàn ", 至善 ), Ng Mui ¹ (" Wǔméi ", 五 枚 ), Bak Mei ¹ (" Báiméi ", 白眉 ), Fung Doudak ¹ ( “ Féng Dàodé ”, 馮道德  /  冯道德 ) and Miu Hin ¹ (“ Miáoxiǎn ”, 苗 顯  /  苗 显 ).

The name Chi Sim is now transcribed as " Zhishan " from the official Pinyin transliteration for standard Chinese . In older publications the name is also spelled with “ Jee Sin ” or “ Gee Seen ” after other regional pronunciations of the characters 至善 . The name of the Shaolin monk Chi Sim ( 至善 和尚 , Zhìshàn Héshàng , Jyutping Zi ³ sin ⁶ Wo ⁴ soeng ^{6 * 2} ) can be translated as “highest virtue” or “perfect virtue”. Among the Kungfu monks of Korea , the Sungbyong, who are directly descended from the Shaolin Chan branch, Abbot Chi Sim is known under the Korean name “Chi Sun”.

As abbot of the Southern Shaolin Monastery ( 南 少林寺 ), Chi Sim is said to have been one of the five people ("Five Elders of Shaolin") who defeated the southern Shaolin Temple by the Qing troops (1644–1912), Mid 17th century, survived. The South Shaolin Temple is said to have been located in Fujian Province in China. Chi Sim is said to have been the last abbot of the southern Shaolin monastery and thus the founder and at the same time one of the last representatives of various styles of the monastic line of southern Shaolin, which went down with him. The kung fu styles of the abbot Chi Sim were passed on from this point on only among his five secular disciples independently of Chan Buddhism . Today's North Shaolin Monastery in Henan Province no longer contains any South Shaolin styles. In addition to Wing Chun , which comes from the abbot Ng Mui, this group includes the styles of the families Hung - 洪 , Choy - 蔡 , Lee - 李 , Mok - 莫 and Ng - 吳  /  吴 . The founders of these five martial arts styles (“schools”, “families”) were all secular Wushu students of Shaolin abbot Chi Sim. According to the history of the Wing Chun style, written down by Grand Master Yip Man (Ip Man), the Shaolin- Abbot Chi Sim after the destruction of South Shaolin as a cook on the then “Red Junks of the Cantonese Opera ” ( 粵劇 紅 船  /  粤剧 红 船 , yuèjù hóngchuán , Jyutping jyut ⁶ kek ⁶ hung ⁴ syun ⁴ ). There he taught Leung Yee Kwai, who later swapped the Shaolin long stick with the double knife of Wong Wah Bo, the grand master of the Wing Chun style, which resulted in the long stick form in Wing Chun Kungfu.

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¹ The names and designations are Romanized after the pronunciation in Cantonese . Due to the lack of an official transcription system in the Cantonese language, the Chinese names in Western literature often vary slightly from one another.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ term Zhihan -至善: (Chinese, English) [1] on www.zdic.net, accessed on January 14, 2018 - Online
2. ↑ Term zhìhàn - 至善: (Chinese) [2] on dict.revised.moe.edu.tw, accessed on January 14, 2018 - online
3. ↑ Wing Chun Histories - Ancestors - Chi Sim. Wingchunpedia.org, accessed on February 13, 2017 .