Hung Sing Martial Arts School

Hung Sing Martial Arts School

Foshan’s Hung Sing Martial Arts School was founded in the first year of the Xianfeng era of the Qing Dynasty (1851), originally known as the Foshan Cai Li Fo Martial Arts School. In the early years of the Guangxu reign, it came under the leadership of Zhang Yan, an outstanding disciple of Cai Li Fo martial arts founder Chen Xiang, and was renamed Hung Sing School. Over its 98-year history from its establishment until its closure in 1949, the school trained renowned martial artists including Chen Sheng, Lei Can, Huang Kuan, Li En, Chen Mian, Li Su, Tan Li, Zhang Sanbing, Qian Weifang, and Wu Qin, making it one of the longest-running and largest martial arts schools in China.

During the late Qing and early Republican period, Foshan’s handicraft industry gradually declined under the impact of foreign goods, leading to widespread unemployment and social unrest. Capitalists and secret societies took control of some martial arts schools, using them as tools to oppress workers. Many laborers, seeking protection and self-defense skills, joined the Hung Sing School, which upheld the principles of “not teaching officials, local tyrants, or hoodlums,” and only accepted workers and small merchants. Chen Sheng, who succeeded Zhang Yan as head of the school, maintained strict discipline among his disciples and earned high respect in the martial arts community across Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Foshan. By 1921, the Hung Sing School had expanded to 13 branches, with over 3,000 registered disciples under Chen Sheng and more than 10,000 members in the entire Hung Sing system, making it the largest martial arts school in China at the time.

The Hung Sing School primarily practices the martial arts style passed down by Monk Qingcao (one of Chen Xiang’s teachers), known as Inner and Outer Eight Trigrams Fist. Regular martial arts forms typically contain just over a hundred movements, but the Inner and Outer Eight Trigrams Fist consists of 1,080 movements, incorporating ten animal forms: dragon, snake, tiger, leopard, crane, lion, elephant, horse, monkey, and bull. It includes eleven techniques: wrapping, sweeping, stealing, circling, intercepting, ascending, sinking, diving, ambushing, advancing, and retreating. It is said that this style was designed to build strength and breath endurance for battlefield charges. To make teaching easier, Chen Sheng divided the Inner and Outer Eight Trigrams Fist into three sets, simplifying them into Long Fist (over 360 movements), Ping Fist (over 280 movements), and Kou Da (over 180 movements). This reform played a significant role in popularizing Cai Li Fo martial arts.

While many people learned martial arts at the Hung Sing School, most disciples only mastered external styles. Only those who advanced further could learn the internal styles. A master would only secretly teach the internal styles to a disciple who had achieved a certain level of skill, demonstrated good character, and was deemed worthy. External styles involve long-range maneuvers, while internal styles use close-range techniques that can counter and subdue traitors. Advanced techniques such as Xiao Yi Jin, Chuan Lian Pei Jian, Zhong Yin Cha Shou, Lu Xie Chui, Chan Si Ma, and Xian Si Huan Sheng Ma were only taught to those learning the internal styles.

After the Hung Sing School was shut down during the April 12 Incident in 1927, many key members went abroad to establish schools and teach, helping Cai Li Fo martial arts become one of the most widely practiced styles in the world.

Today, the Hung Sing School still has branches in Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, and Malaysia, maintaining a notable influence in the international martial arts community. In Foshan, remnants of the school such as the Hung Sing Ancestral School and Tai Shang Temple remain well-preserved, and around 20 veteran members of the school are still alive.

Now under the administration of the Foshan Museum, the Hung Sing School is located at Tai Shang Temple on Xiang’an Street, Funing Road, Foshan. It is a building from the early Qing Dynasty. The newly renovated Hung Sing Memorial Hall covers a total floor area of 360 square meters, featuring a traditional two-courtyard quadrangle layout. The main hall has been restored to its original appearance, while the side rooms serve as exhibition spaces. Through a wealth of historical photos and artifacts, the exhibits introduce the school’s 150-year development, its involvement in revolutionary struggles, and its status and influence in the global martial arts community.

Source: Chancheng District Culture, Sports, and Tourism Bureau

Zumiao Subdistrict: Located in the northeastern part of Chancheng District, Foshan, Zumiao Subdistrict is bordered by Guiwan Road to the east, Jihua Road to the south, Foshan Avenue to the west, and the northern bank of the Fenjiang River to the north. Covering an area of 21.5 square kilometers with a population of about 600,000, it governs 64 villages (communities). As the core area of Foshan’s urban center, it houses the municipal government and Party committee headquarters, as well as the majority of the city’s cultural, educational, medical, and social welfare institutions. It is now the political, economic, commercial, and cultural hub of Foshan.

Rich Historical and Cultural Heritage. Zumiao Subdistrict is the central area of Foshan, boasting a history of a thousand years... More details about Zumiao Subdistrict ++