Chan Wah-shun


Chan Wah-shun, nicknamed Money Changer Wah and Money Clutcher Wah, was a student of the Wing Chun grandmaster Leung Jan. He is noted for being the martial arts teacher of Ip Man.

Background

Born in Shunde District, Foshan in 1849, Chan ran a currency exchange stall near Dit Da and Wing Chun practitioner Leung Jan's herbal medicine clinic in Foshan. He carried heavy loads of coins every day, and so developed great strength over the years. In 1884, his son Chan Yu-gum was born.
In 1888, Leung Jan's physical health had begun to decline and his sons, including Leung Bik and Leung Chun, had left Foshan to make a living and had no intention of taking over his training hall. Wing Sang Tong, also known as Jan Sang Tong, which was looked after by his student Lee Wah, nicknamed Woodman Wah.
While searching for a successor, Leung took in Chan as his student. Leung would later often return to his hometown Gulao Village, and Chan continued to be trained by Lee. Chan also learned traditional Chinese medicine Dit Da from Leung. Chan eventually closed his money changing business and helped ran a Dit Da clinic.
Upon the death of Lee in the following year in 1889, Chan took over the operations of the training hall, while Leung went back and forth between Foshan and Gulao. Wing Sang Tong was later renamed to Hang Chai Tong.
Chan started training his young son Wing Chun in 1892. Chan assisted Leung for only four years.
With the death of Leung Jan in 1901, Chan left Hang Chai Tong and worked at a ceramic shop at Lianhua Street.
In 1906, he rented a huge ancestral hall at Yejia Village, Chancheng District at Foshan for teaching Wing Chun, and there he accepted his 16th and last student, Ip Man, but was only able to teach him for three years when in 1909, he suffered a mild stroke. Chan asked his second student, Ng Chung-sok, to take over the hall and continue Ip's training before retiring back to his village at Shunde. Chan died of illness in 1913 and was buried there.

Lineage

In popular culture

In the 1978 film Descendants of Wing Chun, he was portrayed by Norman Chui.
In the 1978 film Warriors Two, he was portrayed by Casanova Wong.
In the 1981 TVB television drama series Kung Fu Master of Fat Shan, he was portrayed by Ray Lui.
In the 2005 TVB television drama series Real Kung Fu, he was portrayed by Timmy Hung.
In the 2006 TVB television drama series Wing Chun, he was portrayed by Philip Ng.
In the 2010 film , he was portrayed by Sammo Hung.
In the 2013 film The Grandmaster, he was portrayed by Yuen Woo-ping.
In the 2013 TVB television drama series Ip Man, he was portrayed by Yuen Wah.