The white crane and the ape In Tibetan White Crane tradition, the origins of this martial art can be traced to the 15th century, and a Tibetan
lama whose name has been transliterated into Mandarin as Adatuo (). In Cantonese his name is pronounced Ah Dat To, and he also sometimes known as the Dai Dat Lama (). Adatuo lived in what today is China's
Qinghai province, where he learned Tibetan wrestling sports and joint-locking techniques before becoming a monk. Then one day while meditating in the wilderness, he observed a battle between an ape and a white crane, in which the crane gracefully avoided the ape's attacks and aggressively counterattacked. Based on this experience, he developed a new martial art based upon the ape's powerful swinging and grabbing, and the crane's evasive movements and vital point striking. Lion's Roar (), a
Buddhist term commonly used by Tibetan practitioners, was the name Adatuo chose for his new martial art. Tradition states that he, his disciples, and the following generations continued to develop the art during the
Ming and
Qing dynasties. Tradition aside, Tibet is home to a fierce martial culture, and Qinghai has long been a place where Tibetan, Mongolian, and Chinese cultures encountered each other, and where martial arts concepts such as animal-based styles have been absorbed and developed locally. In addition, no doubts have been raised about the overall history of the art from the Qing dynasty on.
Qing patronage The Qing dynasty was founded by Manchu conquerors from the northeast who followed Tibetan Buddhism and felt a strong cultural affinity with co-religionists of the north and west like Mongols and Tibetans. It was natural that they would value and support a martial art from Tibet, inviting masters to teach, train, and serve at the capitol in
Beijing. Lion's Roar masters served in the imperial palace guard, and official support for a wide range of Tibetan Buddhist pursuits is evident in the massive
Lama Temple of Beijing. But as Qing rule and the state of the nation declined, one master from the west brought the art to the south instead.
Journey to the South In 1865, 11th-generation master Sing Lung (, , or ) arrived in the
Guangdong area via
Sichuan. Unlike his predecessors, this lama was no friend of the Manchu rulers. He quickly made a name for himself as a fighter – legend has it he defeated and then befriended a pirate, among other adventures – and began training a group of Lion's Roar disciples. Residing at a monastery (Clear Cloud Temple, , or Blessed Cloud Temple, ), at first he trained only other monks. But his last two disciples were laymen who became the founders of two new branch lineages: Chan believed that because Jyu trained with both lay disciples of Sing Hong, Wong Yan-lam and Wong Lam-hoi, only Lama Pai represented an authentic and complete version of this tradition.
Bak Hok Pai () or "White Crane Style" was founded by Wong Lam-hoi's disciple Ng Siu-chung (). Ng is known for defeating the foremost of the "Five Tigers Who Went South to Jiangnan" (, see
Central Guoshu Institute). It is lost to history whether the name of this art was selected solely to emphasize crane techniques, or to avoid association with Hop Ga's veneration of another master, or to move away from association with the Manchu era, or all of the above, but today with the passage of time Bak Hok Pai is also called "Tibetan White Crane" to distinguish it from other white crane techniques, forms and styles. This art of course emphasizes crane techniques, with a defensive approach, evasive footwork, high and low kicks, and aggressive hand counterattacks to vital points. Ng moved to Macau and served as White Crane grandmaster there, in Hong Kong, and worldwide for many years. In martial arts circles his most famous disciple was Chan Hak Fu (), whom we shall discuss in more detail below.
Southern success After the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911, the descendants of Lion's Roar no longer had official support. The
Jing Wu organization and the government-led
Guo Shu institute focused on Han Chinese martial arts, and mostly northern styles at that. But in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau, the three new Lion's Roar lineages developed deep roots. By the 1950s, Bak Hok Pai was one of the most well-known styles in Hong Kong and Macau, and popular in nearby Guangdong and Guangxi as well, alongside native southern arts like
Wing Chun,
Hung Ga, and
Choy Lay Fut. Grandmaster Ng Siu-chung and his senior disciples Chan Hak Fu (), Kwong Poon Fu (), and Luk Chi Fu () — the "Three Fus" or "Three Masters" of White Crane () — proudly presided over schools that trained many Hong Kong and Macau officials and celebrities, including local police. One notable practitioner was the actor
Kwan Tak-hing, who played
Wong Fei-hung in at least 77 of his 130 films. (Kwan had to learn some Hung Ga to move like the historical Wong Fei-hung.)
Wu vs. Chan, 1954 Tibetan White Crane was at the heart of a major pivot point in Chinese and worldwide popular culture, when in 1954 Chan Hak Fu of Macau faced off against Hong Kong's recently arrived
Wu Gongyi () in a popular public match organized for charity and held in Macau. Master Chan represented not only Grandmaster Ng Siu-Chung's Bak Hok Pai against Grandmaster Wu's
Wu-style tai chi. He also represented natives of the south against newcomers from the north, Cantonese speakers vs. Mandarin speakers, external vs. internal kung-fu, modern training (Chan) vs. traditional practice (Wu), Macau (Chan) vs. Hong Kong (Wu), and yes, a Tibetan Buddhist martial art against a Han Chinese
Daoist art. The fight's outcome is not the most important aspect, especially as it was disappointingly halted after only two shortened rounds, with the result declared as "no winner, no loser, no draw". An unsophisticated bout by today's standards, all that can be said is that Wu impressively held his own against a much younger opponent, bloodying Chan's nose and severely bruising his arms, while Chan showed great skill and aggressiveness in a good demonstration of the techniques and strategies of Tibetan White Crane within the strict limitations set by the organizers such as no kicking. More important, as Y.L. Yip has argued, this massively attended event and its avid media coverage generated broad acceptance and celebration of Chinese martial arts throughout modern Chinese culture, resulting in a new wave of
wuxia fiction and
kung-fu film, from the books of authors like
Louis Cha (Jin Yong) to the movies of
Bruce Lee, followed by second and third waves with stars like
Jackie Chan and
Jet Li.
From mid-century to today Tibetan White Crane After Grandmaster Ng Siu-Chung's passing in 1968, Bak Hok Pai entered the 1970s as a remarkably unified art under a committee of masters in charge of the White Crane Athletic Federation, which coordinated as many as 35 schools around the world including 25 in Hong Kong and Singapore. But during that decade the committee introduced controversial changes meant to simplify the curriculum and increase the sense of immediate satisfaction among modern students, on the theory that the traditional fifteen year path to mastery was not the best way to market the art. In response, some masters including Chan Hak Fu parted ways with the committee. There are now schools in 10 countries under the International White Crane Association () founded by Chan, along with schools in 9 countries under the International Pak Hok Pai Cheung Kwok Wah Martial Arts Association (), and more affiliated with the Ng Siu Chung Martial Arts Institute (), as well as independent schools.
Hop Ga The first to establish Hop Ga outside mainland China was a colorful character named Ng Yim-ming (, Pinyin: Wǔ Rǎnmíng, a.k.a. Harry Ng, 1908–1972). A student of Wong Yan-lam and disciple of Wong Hong-wing, he was an actor in traditional Chinese opera and a Chinese air force pilot with the
Flying Tigers before founding a Hong Kong Hop Ga training center in the 1960s, then immigrating to the US in 1970. He selected his disciple David Chin (1943–2020) as official representative of the art in the US. Chin and his brother disciples Ku Chi Wai, Jack Hoey, and Tony Galvin, and their disciples, have founded Hop Ga schools across the country. Hop Ga continues to thrive in Guangdong Province and to spread around the world from there. Deng Gum Tao (, Pinyin: Dèng Jǐntāo, 1902–1987) and his son Deng Zeng Gong (, Pinyin: Dèng Zhènjiāng, 1945–), masters of Hop Ga, Hung Ga, and
Yang-style tai chi, trained disciples who went on to become wushu competition champions and coaches, and at least one also became a police trainer and a film actor and advisor. Several have become prominent abroad, including Kong Fanwei () in the
Netherlands, Melissa Fung Chan in
New Zealand, Liang Xiao Wang in
France, and David Rogers in the
United Kingdom.
Lama Pai After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chan Tai San and other disciples of Lama Pai masters Jyu Chyuhn and Choi Yit Gung of Guangdong competed and coached in Chinese military and civilian wushu competitions, and trained military personnel in close quarters combat. They and the next generations went on to establish Lama Pai centers in China and abroad, founded by Chan in New York, by Lei Fei San in Guangdong (said to have thousands of students), by Lo Wai Keung (, Luó Wēiqiáng) in Hong Kong, and by Tony (Bok Tong) Jay in Vancouver. By the 1990s, Chan estimated Lama Pai was successfully represented in at least six cities worldwide.
Martial Brotherhood Tibetan White Crane, Hop Ga, and Lama Pai masters maintain good relations between all branches of the Lion's Roar lineage, sometimes cross-training and generally maintaining a collegial competitive atmosphere. In addition, since the 1954 Wu vs. Chan event, White Crane masters have maintained longstanding friendships with masters of Wu-style tai chi, especially between the families and disciples of Chan Hak Fu and Wu Gongyi. ==Characteristics==