Bak Mei
Encyclopedia
- For information on the fictional Pai Mei from Kill BillKill BillKill Bill Volume 1 is a 2003 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart, the second volume being Kill Bill Volume 2....
, see Pai Mei (Kill Bill).
Bak Mei is said to have been one of the legendary Five Elders
Five Elders
In Southern Chinese folklore, the Five Elders of Shaolin are survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Monastery by the Qing Dynasty, variously said to have taken place in 1647, in 1674 or in 1732.-The Kung Fu Five Elders:...
— survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Temple by the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
imperial regime
Late Imperial China
Late Imperial China refers to the period between the end of Mongol rule in 1368 and the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912 and includes the Ming and Qing Dynasties...
(1644–1912) — who, according to some accounts, betrayed Shaolin to the imperial government. He shares his name with the Southern Chinese martial art attributed to him.
Bak Mei has been fictionalized in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
films such as Executioners from Shaolin (1977), Abbot of Shaolin (1979), and Clan of the White Lotus
Clan of the White Lotus
Clan of the White Lotus is a 1980 Shaw Brothers kung fu film directed by Lo Lieh, with action choreography by Lau Kar Leung, and starring Lo Lieh and Gordon Liu. It is released as Fist of the White Lotus in North America.- External links :...
(1980). In Executioners from Shaolin and Abbot of Shaolin, Bak Mei was played by Lo Lieh
Lo Lieh
Lo Lieh was a Hong Kong actor in martial arts films. His real name is Wang Lap Tat. After his parents sent him back to China he attended acting school in Hong Kong. He began his martial arts training in 1962 and joined the Shaw Brothers Studio in the same year and went on to become one of the...
, who also directed the 1980 film, which stars Wilson Tong as Bak Mei. Recently, Bak Mei is better known in the West as "Pai Mei" (the Wade-Giles
Wade-Giles
Wade–Giles , sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a romanization system for the Mandarin Chinese language. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Wade during the mid-19th century , and was given completed form with Herbert Giles' Chinese–English dictionary of 1892.Wade–Giles was the most...
romanization of his name in Mandarin
Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
), played by Gordon Liu
Gordon Liu
Gordon Liu is a Chinese martial arts film actor. He became famous for playing the lead in The 36th Chamber of Shaolin and its sequels...
in the Hollywood film Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004).
Historical Bak Mei
| Bak Mei | |
|---|---|
| Chinese Chinese language The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages... : |
白眉道人 |
| Pinyin Pinyin Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into... : |
Bái Méi Dào Rén |
| Wade-Giles Wade-Giles Wade–Giles , sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a romanization system for the Mandarin Chinese language. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Wade during the mid-19th century , and was given completed form with Herbert Giles' Chinese–English dictionary of 1892.Wade–Giles was the most... : |
Pai Mei Tao Jên |
| Yale Cantonese: | Baak6 Mei4 Dou6 Yan4 |
| Literally | "White Eyebrow, Taoist" |
Accounts of the Five Elders
Five Elders
In Southern Chinese folklore, the Five Elders of Shaolin are survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Monastery by the Qing Dynasty, variously said to have taken place in 1647, in 1674 or in 1732.-The Kung Fu Five Elders:...
are many and varied. Some versions identify the traitor not as Bak Mei, but as Ma Ning-Yee. In other versions, Bak Mei and Ma Ning-Yee both betray Shaolin, sometimes joined by Fung Do-Duk. Still other versions say that "Bak Mei" is a nickname for either Ma Ning-Yee or Fung Do-Duk. The stories of the Five Elders may have no basis in historical fact at all, and may come solely from wuxia
Wuxia
Wuxia is a broad genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists. Although wuxia is traditionally a form of literature, its popularity has caused it to spread to diverse art forms like Chinese opera, manhua , films, television series, and video games...
novels like Wan Nian Qing and the mythology of anti-Qing organizations such as the Heaven and Earth Society, which were spreading wildly through China in the early 19th century.
Whether justified or not, Bak Mei's traitorous reputation has led to real life animosity between practitioners of his namesake martial art and practitioners of arts identified with those whom he is accused of betraying. In the accounts of some Bak Mei practitioners, their founder did not so much betray the Shaolin as decline to join their rebellion against the Qing. Other tales portray Bak Mei as having been banished from the Shaolin Temple because he killed several of his fellow monks when he first tried out his new style. Some Bak Mei practitioners embrace their founder's reputation as a murderer of Shaolin disciples as proof of the superiority of their style. Some famous Bak Mei forms that may suggest Bak Mei had many vicious and deadly altercations with Shaolin Monks are Sap-Baat Ding Jeung (18 Crazy Monks) and Sap-Baat Moi Kiu (18 Ghost Bridges).
Bak Mei according to the lineage of Nam Anh
Ming ChinaMing Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
, which had been weakened by corruption and internal rebellion, was overtaken by the Manchu
Manchu
The Manchu people or Man are an ethnic minority of China who originated in Manchuria . During their rise in the 17th century, with the help of the Ming dynasty rebels , they came to power in China and founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which...
in 1644. Hong Mei ("Red Eyebrows"), abbot of the southern Shaolin Temple, died during this time and his position was passed onto onto Chi Thien Su, also known as Jee Sin. Another such master named Chu Long Tuyen did not accept this. He believed the Ming had become corrupt and would rather serve the Qing
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
rulers. In 1647 the Manchu attacked the southern Shaolin Temple in Quanzhou, Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
province. Only five masters managed to escape, and since then became known as the Five Elders
Five Elders
In Southern Chinese folklore, the Five Elders of Shaolin are survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Monastery by the Qing Dynasty, variously said to have taken place in 1647, in 1674 or in 1732.-The Kung Fu Five Elders:...
.
Chi Thien Su, one of the Five Elders, founded another temple at Nine Lotus Mountain in Fujian where the survivors sought shelter. Chu Long Tuyen refused to provide his real name for fear of retribution against his family and students, in case they survived. The abbot then christened him Bak Mei—White Eyebrow. According to some stories, Bak Mei betrayed the Ming by taking information about their plot against the invaders to the Manchu Shunzhi Emperor
Shunzhi Emperor
The Shunzhi Emperor was the third emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and the first Qing emperor to rule over China, which he did from 1644 to 1661. "Shunzhi" was the name of his reign period...
, then returned with information about the Manchu attack plan to the Shaolin. After the temple was destroyed, Bak Mei and Fong Toh Tak (creator of the Bak Fu Pai) left the temple on separate paths in order to study Daoism.
Bak Mei trained an anti-imperial attack force but, following capture of the force by the imperials, was forced to teach and lead 50,000 imperial troops in the second destruction of the Shaolin Temple to prevent those captured with him from being tortured and killed. There, Bak Mei slew the "invincible" Shaolin leader Chi Thien Su in single combat by breaking his neck. He claimed he did this to prevent the massacre of the monks in the temple by the troops who followed him.
Bak Mei was eventually killed but accounts disagree on whether he was poisoned or slain. While he is often portrayed as a traitor, Bak Mei's actions were undertaken, including the destruction of the temple, with the intention of preventing harm to those who had chosen to follow him. It is possible that if Bak Mei had not aided the imperial forces, his followers would have been tortured to death.
Bak Mei according to the lineage of Jie Kon Siew
During the reign of the Qing emperor Kangxi (1662–1722), the warriors of the Xilufan rebellion were so feared that the two ministers whom Kangxi ordered to quell the revolt fled China rather than face either the mercilessness of the Xilu warriors, which often involved beheading. In 1673, over a period of three months, the 128 monks of the southern Shaolin Temple defeated the Xilu army without suffering a single casualty. However, by doing so they had made enemies of some Qing officers who were embarrassed by how easily the Shaolin monks had succeeded where they had failed.Rumors soon began to spread about the threat posed by a power so great that it defeated the entire Xilu army with a force of only 128 monks. This campaign of innuendo was wasted on Kangxi, who remained grateful to the monks, but the rumors had their intended effect on his successor, the emperor Yongzheng (1722–1735). He began his reign by plotting the temple's destruction and was said to have secretly recruited a band of renegade warrior monks from Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
to carry out his plan.
In 1723, on the 6th day of the first new moon of the lunar calendar, a former Shaolin disciple named Ma Ning-Yee aided Qing forces to launch a sneak attack on the southern Shaolin Temple. They began the assault by bombarding the largely wooden monastery with a relentless deluge of burning arrows. Between the surprise attack, the fire, and the overwhelming number of Qing soldiers, 110 out of the 128 monks were killed that day. The Great Shaolin Purge took 70 days as Qing forces hunted down the 18 survivors. The surviving monks of Shaolin inflicted massive casualties on their Qing pursuers but, in the end, their numbers were too great.
Soon only five remained. Their identities vary but they are generally accepted as the following:
- The ChanZenZen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
Jee Sin - The nun Ng MuiNg MuiNg Mui is said to have been one of the legendary Five Elders — survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Temple by the Qing Dynasty....
Si Tai - The Daoist Bak Mei
- The Daoist Fung Do-Duk who later created the white tiger style
- The "unshaved" (lay) disciple Miu Hin
After two years of running and hiding from the Qing army, these fugitives of the cloth regrouped at Mount Emei
Mount Emei
"峨眉山" redirects here. For the county-level city that Mount Emei is located in, see Emeishan CityMount Emei is a mountain in Sichuan province, China...
in Sichuan Province.
As one of the sacred mountains of China
Sacred Mountains of China
The Sacred Mountains of China are divided into two groups, one associated with Taoism and the other with Buddhism. The group associated with Taoism is known as the Five Great Mountains , whereas the group associated with Buddhism is referred to as the Four Sacred Mountains of Buddhism .The sacred...
, Mount Emei was home to about 70 monasteries and temples where the five clerics could blend in easily.
It was decided that Bak Mei would infiltrate the Qing court as a spy while the others travelled throughout China to establish an alliance of anti-Qing rebels. The more Bak Mei learned, the more he realized that his allies' efforts would never be enough to overthrow the Qing. He decided to give up on the rebellion, which was seen as a betrayal. Over the years, the rebels sought to punish Bak Mei for his withdrawal. Almost all who made an attempt on his life ended up dead at Bak Mei's hands. This included Jee Sin and Miu Hin's son Fong Sai Yuk (Miu Hin's grandson according to other sources) whom Bak Mei had known since Sai Yuk was a small boy.
Bak Mei Pai
The Bak Mei Pai traces its origins to Mount EmeiMount Emei
"峨眉山" redirects here. For the county-level city that Mount Emei is located in, see Emeishan CityMount Emei is a mountain in Sichuan province, China...
, where Bak Mei is said to have transmitted the art to the Chan
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
(Zen) master Gwong Wai, who then passed it on to Juk Faat Wan.
Bak Mei's fighting style makes use of the four principles of "floating" (fou), "sinking" (chum), "swallowing" (tun) and "spitting" (tou) common in the southern Chinese martial arts. It is characterized by its emphasis on powerful close range hand strikes, specifically with the extended knuckle attack known as the "phoenix-eye fist". Bak Mei strikes are usually executed in conjunction with intercepting and jamming the opponent's strike. Unique to Bak Mei is its classification of the following 6 neijin (powers): biu (thrusting), chum (sinking), tan (springing), fa (neutralizing), tung, and chuk. Bak Mei emphasizes the movements of the tiger and its strikes are executed with explosive power via Fa jin. Additionally, it contains numerous kum la
Chin Na
Chin Na or Qinna is a Chinese term describing techniques used in the Chinese martial arts that control or lock an opponent's joints or muscles/tendons so he cannot move, thus neutralizing the opponent's fighting ability...
(joint manipulation) techniques as well as ground-fighting methods in the Dei Saat Kun form.
Fushan branch
According to the Fatsan family tree, Pak Mei passed the art to Kwong Wei, Chuk Yun, Fong fo Dao Yan, Lao Xiu-Luang (刘少良) who established the Fatsan lineage of pak Mei.Source Barbary Jonathan
Jeung Lai Chuen branch
| Cheung Lai-Chuen | |
|---|---|
| Chinese Chinese language The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages... : |
張禮泉 |
| Pinyin Pinyin Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into... : |
Zhāng Lǐquán |
| Wade-Giles Wade-Giles Wade–Giles , sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a romanization system for the Mandarin Chinese language. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Wade during the mid-19th century , and was given completed form with Herbert Giles' Chinese–English dictionary of 1892.Wade–Giles was the most... : |
Chang Li Ch'üan |
| Yale Cantonese: | Jeung1 Lai5 Chyun4 |
| Hakka pinjim | Zhong1 Li1 Can2 |
Jeung Lai Chuen began his study of the martial arts at the age of 7 with the Classical Chinese Medicine practitioner Sek Lam, who taught him the vagrant style. Jeung would later learn Li Style from Li Mung,(founded by Li Yi李義) who taught Jeung his family style. While he was studying martial arts with the Lam family, he became close friends with their son Lam Yiu Gwai, with whom he had much in common, and eventually studied under Yiu Gwai's uncle. Lam would later become known for disseminating Dragon Kung Fu
Dragon Kung Fu
The movements of the Southern Dragon style of Shaolin Boxing are based on the mythical Chinese dragon. The Dragon style is an imitative-style that was developed based on the imagined characteristics of the mythical Chinese dragon....
much as Jeung would later become known for disseminating Bak Mei. Both were born in Huìyáng County (惠陽) in the Huizhou
Huizhou
Huizhou , historically known as Waichow, is a city located in central Guangdong province of the People's Republic of China. Part of the Pearl River Delta, Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shaoguan to the north, Heyuan to the northeast, Shanwei to the east, Shenzhen...
prefecture of Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
and a marriage between their families would eventually make them cousins.
They both left Huizhou to build their futures in Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
and did so by opening several schools together.
After moving to Guangzhou, Jeung was defeated by the monk Lin Sang after which the monk referred Jeung to his own teacher master Juk Faat Wan, who taught Jeung the art of Bak Mei over the next two or three years. Jeung had a background in Hakka Kuen
Hakka Kuen
Hakka Kuen is a general term describing a variety of Chinese martial arts originating from the Hakka community of Southern China and is considered to be an important style within Southern Chinese Martial Arts....
, the martial arts of the Hakka people
Hakka people
The Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....
, from his study of Li Mung's family style and the vagrant style. Because of this, Jeung's style of Bak Mei is associated with Hakka kuen, but more strongly still with the dragon style of Lam Yiu Gwai who is also said to have had a background in Hakka Kuen—due to the many years Jeung and Lam spent training together.
See also
- Five EldersFive EldersIn Southern Chinese folklore, the Five Elders of Shaolin are survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Monastery by the Qing Dynasty, variously said to have taken place in 1647, in 1674 or in 1732.-The Kung Fu Five Elders:...
- Jee Sin Sim SeeJee Sin Sim SeeJee Sin Sim See is said to have been one of the legendary Five Elders, survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Temple by the Qing Dynasty ....
- Ng MuiNg MuiNg Mui is said to have been one of the legendary Five Elders — survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Temple by the Qing Dynasty....
- Fong Sai-YukFong Sai-YukFong Sai-yuk is a Chinese martial artist and folk hero. He is first introduced in Wuxia stories from the Qing Dynasty such as Wan Nian Qing. He is also featured in several forms of media, of which the most notable is the 1993 film Fong Sai-yuk.-Early life:Fong Sai-yuk is a native of Zhaoqing,...
- Dragon Kung FuDragon Kung FuThe movements of the Southern Dragon style of Shaolin Boxing are based on the mythical Chinese dragon. The Dragon style is an imitative-style that was developed based on the imagined characteristics of the mythical Chinese dragon....