市井亦江湖

市井亦江湖

Last century, there was a global cinematic craze for Chinese Kung fu, which added a touch of mystery and individual heroism to Chinese martial arts. As a matter of fact, Kung fu masters, who often lead a lowpro fi le life, can be found in many martial arts clubs across Foshan city, on erect lion dancing posts, and even among ordinary people.

MARTIAL ARTS AWAKENING 武馆人生

Today, many martial arts clubs are tucked away on the side streets of Foshan. Crossing the busy commercial street of No. 2 Guofang New Village on Chao'an Road, and walking along a damp, narrow lane, you will fi nd Yao Cai and Yao Qi's Wing Chun Club. Yao's club is on the fi rst fl oor of a 3-storey residential building. Yao Zhongqiang, the grandson of Yao Cai who was one of the three Wing Chun Grandmasters in the Republic of China period, runs the club and teaches Kung fu students.

Yao Zhongqiang, an inheritor of Yao's Wing Chun, which is an Intangible Cultural Heritage item of China, teaches his many students in the club for three nights a week. In the daytime, he works as a purchaser at a hotel. Despite the fact that Yao has many students, the income from teaching alone is too humble to support his family. Therefore, taking on a second job is a rather common lifestyle for Yao as well as for many Kung fu masters in Foshan.

Yao Cai, Yao Zhongqiang's grandfather, was a contemporary of Ip Man (Ye Wen), another master teacher of Wing Chun, and was one of the three Wing Chun Grandmasters of the Republic of China period. Yao's family wealth enabled him to focus on practising and perfecting Snake Style Wing Chun, and he was recognised as “Yao the Wizard” by Wing Chun

Yao Zhongqiang, inheritor of Yao's Wing Chun, is teaching his students in his club.佛山姚氏咏春传人姚忠强带弟子练拳。

Yao Hanqiang demonstrates Snake Style Hands.姚汉强演示姚氏咏春蛇形手。

practitioners of his time in Foshan. When Wing Chun was passed down to Yao Qi, Yao Cai's son and Yao Zhongqiang's father, Kunf fu's popularity was diminishing, so he only taught his own children and a few apprentices. All his three sons practised Wing Chun with him, among whom the eldest son Yao Hanqiang, a man of few words, can perform Snake Style Wing Chun superbly, and the outgoing son, Yao Zhongqiang, takes over the baton to pass on the Yao Cai branch of Wing Chun.

In Nanhai District of Foshan, Guo Fu, Ip Man's eldest student, carried his teacher's branch of Wing Chun forward. Guo's students have opened martial arts clubs and taught students in more than ten countries around the world. According to historical records, Guo was taken in by Ip Man as his student after six-month's of observation. Ip also made an exception of teaching Wing Chun skills to him for free because of Guo's virtues. When Guo was unemployed and returned to his hometown in the countryside, Ip resolutely walked 15km on foot to Guo's home everyday to continue teaching him martial arts and medical skills for the treatment of injuries. The Guo's Wing Chun Association now has more than 100 advanced students. On summer evenings, 50 to 60 students would be practising Wing Chun together against more than a dozen wooden posts in the outdoor fi eld, reliving the glory days of martial arts clubs of Foshan back in the 1930's.

Foshan was the centre of martial arts in the Republic of China period. Back in the 1930's and 1940's, the city swarmed with martial arts clubs of various schools or branches along today's Shengping Road and Lianhua Road, and martial artists made a living by teaching students. Due to Foshan's proximity to Hong Kong and Macau –China's gateways to the outside world at the time, local martial artists were able to go abroad and set up clubs overseas, spreading Chinese Kung fu all over the world. For instance, Chen Jinhui, an inheritor of Choy Li Fut (Cai Li Fo) Style Kung fu, had taught martial arts in Venezuela for 23 years. He was the martial arts instructor at the Ministry of National Defense and the Police Headquarters of the state. On his student list were notable political fi gures such as the President and the Minister of National Defense and over a million soldiers, policemen, and civilians.

According to the statistics from Foshan Martial Arts Association, today there are more than 290 registered martial arts clubs in Foshan or more than 500 if unregistered ones are counted. Despite the fact that most clubs only operate on a part-time basis, the worship of the Kung fu spirit is awakening among the local people.

上世纪在全球银幕上掀起的﹃中国功夫热﹄，为武术增添了神秘主义和个人英雄主义色彩。事实上在佛山，武林高手们就隐藏在街头巷尾的大小武馆中、高高的舞狮桩上，乃至寻常百姓家。

Guo Weizhan, Head of Foshan Wing Chun General Association and his students from Denmark.佛山市咏春拳总会会长郭伟湛与来自丹麦的徒弟。

大隐于市，藏于民间，是当今佛山武馆的生存现状。

沿着禅城区一条狭窄潮湿的小巷走到尽头，就到了姚才姚祺咏春堂。每周三个晚上，武馆灯火通明，弟子云集，佛山姚氏咏春拳非遗代表性传承人姚忠强在此开班授课。日常的白天，他在佛山一家酒店从事物料采购工作。尽管徒弟众多，但收入仍不足以支撑一家人的生活，再打一份工，是佛山众多“武林高手”当今的生活常态。

姚忠强的祖父姚才与叶问同时代习武，二者同为民国“咏春三雄”，家境殷实使得姚才有更多的精力钻研咏春，其蛇形手咏春功夫日益精湛，被佛山咏春拳界誉为 “神手姚才”。父亲姚祺这代，武术在佛山民间式微，姚祺只在家里教自己的孩子，兼教几个徒弟。姚家三兄弟，皆随父习咏春，不擅言辞的大哥姚汉强将姚氏咏春蛇形手演绎得出神入化；性格外向的忠强则肩负起传承姚氏咏春的重任。

而在佛山南海，叶问的大弟子郭富则将叶问一脉咏春发扬光大，其郭氏咏春弟子已经在世界十多个国家开馆授徒。据资料记载，郭富当年因为人品好，被叶问考察半年后收为徒弟，并破例免费传艺于他。郭富失业回乡后，叶问还毅然每天步行30里到郭富南海乡下的家里传授武艺及跌打医术。如今的郭氏咏春总会有入室弟子100多人。夏日的傍晚，室外场地的10多个木人桩旁，每天五六十名弟子齐练咏春的场景，蔚为壮观。郭富的儿子郭伟湛是这里的总教头，武馆常有外国人慕名前来习武。

民国时期，佛山是中国武术之乡，拥有众多的武术流派，各派均以开馆授徒来传承基业。在上世纪三四十年代，佛山升平路、莲花路一带，各派武馆林立，武师就以教武谋生。更因为毗邻港澳，佛山的武术家们很早就走出国门，到海外开馆授徒，将中国功夫传遍世界。如蔡李佛拳的传人陈锦辉在委内瑞拉授徒23年，任该国国防部、警察总部武术教官，该国总统、国防部长等政要及百万以上军人、警察、平民学过蔡李佛拳。

据佛山市武术协会统计，如今在佛山武术协会注册的武馆有290多家，加之没有注册的，全市武馆数量有500多家。尽管大多武馆还只在业余时间授课，但佛山民间尚武的精神正在复苏。

THE SPIRIT OF LION DANCE

Ye Zhongming is 180cm tall with broad shoulders and strong arms, and he walks briskly. His body shape is a perfect fi t for the lion's head.

Such a stature is not uncommon in Foshan's many Lion Dance Associations. In fact, a dancer' physique is the decisive factor for determining which part he performs – the head or the tail. The head performer needs to do a lot of jumping and springing and to frequently step on the tail performer. Therefore, performers who are relatively short, but have large, bulky calves are more desirable for the head. Performers of the tail, by contrast, are often taller in height, but have shapely calves to prop up the head as they move or leap with agility.

In addition to these prerequisites, to win the title of lion dancing also demands a superb physical condition and a high level of coordination between the two partners. “We have two performers who have superior jumping ability and are able to leap 2.8m between wooden poles above ground, synchronously,” Ye said proudly. “They have been partners for four years, and are eating, showering, relaxing, and doing everything together.”

The lion dance has a long tradition in China. In the Lingnan region, it is a very technical activity where some basic training in martial arts is required for performers to accomplish various dif fi cult moves on high wooden poles. Therefore, it is quite common in Foshan for martial arts clubs to have lion dance associations, and for every village to have their own lion dance troupe. As a child, Ye took a keen interest in the lion dance since toys were very rare in his village. That day, the fi rst day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, when he was 7 years old, the whole village was drowned by the cacophony of cymbals, gongs and drums as more than 100 villagers were taking turns to perform lion dances door by door. “Since then, I would become restless every time I hear the thump of drums and would run to have a look at it.” Ye said with a smile.

A few years later, at the age of only 13, Ye paid a respectful visit to Master Huang, an inheritor of the dragon & lion dance, to ask for an apprenticeship. He succeeded. From his teacher, Ye learned advanced lion dance skills and important life lessons. He was not the only one who bene fi ted from Huang's instruction. The troubled youngsters in the village, even drug addicts, were civilised and had their acts cleaned up. Six years later, Ye's dream of winning a world championship became true, and he has been making steady progress on the track ever since.

For natives in Foshan, the fl ag, the painting of the lion face and lion dance performance skills, together re fl ect the prosperity and solidarity of a village. It is out of the pride of their own village and the passion for this activity that generations of folk artists have carried forward the spirit of dragon and lion, which runs in their blood.

Ye Zhongming, Head Coach of Wong Feihong Zhonglian Cable Lion Dance Association.叶仲铭，佛山南海黄飞鸿中联电缆武术龙狮协会总教练。

龙狮精神

叶仲铭有着典型的“狮尾身材”：身高一米八的他肩宽臂硕，行走如风。

这样的身材在他所在的龙狮协会并不鲜见。实际上，狮头和狮尾运动员的角色分配正是由运动员的先天身材条件决定的：狮头需要做大量弹跳动作，很多时候需要踩在狮尾身上，因此通常会选择身材矮小、小腿肌肉成块的运动员；而狮尾运动员则身材高大，小腿肌肉均匀，移动速度快——如此才能托着狮头灵活跑跳。

除了先天身材条件以外，要想在舞狮界称霸还需要极佳的体能条件和搭档之间的高度默契。“我们有两个腿部弹跳力极好的运动员能够做到‘双人2.8米凌空跨桩飞跃’。” 叶师傅骄傲地说道，“他俩搭档四年来形影不离，就连吃饭、洗澡、打球都在一起。”

岭南舞狮讲究技巧，通常要在高桩上完成各种高难度动作，武术功底是必备的，所以一般佛山的武馆多设有狮会，每条村也都有自己的舞狮队。叶仲铭还记得7岁那年年初一，整个村子锣鼓喧天，一百多位村民挨家挨户、轮流交替舞狮。“自那时候起，每每听到鼓声，我就坐不定，拔腿就跑去看。”叶仲铭笑着说。

几年后，年仅13岁的叶仲铭来到了龙狮传承人黄师傅的家门前恳切拜师，在这里他不仅学到了高超的舞狮技巧，更学到如何做人，村中的小混混，甚至吸毒的都被师傅教化归正。六年后，叶仲铭的世界冠军梦实现了，在属于自己的道路越走越坚定。

对佛山人来说，狮队的水平反映出一个村子是否兴旺和团结。正是出于对家乡的自豪感和对这项运动的热爱，世世代代的民间艺人才能将血液里流淌着的龙狮精神不断传承下去。

Left: A group photo with the cast including Leung Chiu Wai.左：与梁朝伟等剧组人员合影。

Right: Learning from Chiu Chi-ling, a disciple's disciple of Wong Fei-hong.右：跟黄飞鸿徒孙赵志凌学习。

THE KUNG FU GIRL

Born into a family of martial arts, the Kung fu girl Ye Wanxin is a representative of young Kung fu practitioners in Foshan. She started to practise martial arts (Wing Chun, Hong Quan, knives, spears, clubs, etc.) at the age of four and won the Foshan Kung fu championship at the age of nine. She played a role in the Chinese blockbuster fi lm The Grandmaster when she was ten years old.

She is agile, diligent and eager to learn. That is why at such an age, she is already remarkably accomplished in Kung fu. Her father, Ye Baisong, a lion dance coach, was initially not keen on the idea of letting her daughter practise Kung fu as he thought that “girls should go to school and fi nd a stable job”. Yet a smart, active girl with boyish qualities, she quickly picked up some lion dance moves through imitation while hanging around as her father coached his team. This caused him to succumb to that idea.

The Kung fu girl was by no means overwhelmed by the hardship of practising Kung fu. She took the rooftop of her home as her arena where she spent 2 hours after school every day, or half a day on weekends, to practise Kung fu, in the heat or in the cold. This was her daily routine during six years of primary school. What seemed to be hard and boring to her peers was tremendous fun for her. Through persistent training like that, she acquired masterly skills at a young age, and often amazed her audience with her poker card performance as well as the performance of piercing balloons or glass with needles.

“Wong Kar-wai was a very serious director. He asked me to wear short sleeves and short trousers in winter. I was chilled to the bone, but I had fun.”Wanxin enjoyed talking about her experience of being part of the movie. Once she practised Wing Chun against the actor Leung Chiu Wai at the fi lm studio. “We both claim the other's Wing Chun was not authentic.” This 15-year-old girl will still have a big laugh today whenever she talks about that movie experience.

Now, Wanxin wears long hair and looks more girly. She has enrolled on a preschool education program in a vocational high school, and has started to learn to sing, dance and play instruments. But Kung fu is still her favourite as it is part of her DNA. “I may have a career in acting in the future, or become a Kung fu star. You never know. ” She has her own expectation for the future.

功夫少年

出身功夫世家，4岁习武，学咏春，练洪拳，能舞刀、枪、棍，9岁即得佛山功夫争霸赛冠军，10岁参与《一代宗师》拍摄，功夫妹——叶宛馨是佛山当代习武少年的代表。

她灵活，勤奋，好学，小小年纪，功夫就十分了得。当舞狮教头的父亲叶柏松，起初并没有想让她学功夫，“女孩子，上好学，找份安稳的工作就挺好”。但宛馨从小就机灵好动，十分调皮，像个“假小子”。在父亲的舞狮队玩耍时，喜欢跟着队员比比划划，动作有模有样。女儿的天分，让叶柏松决定，教女儿学武。

学武术苦，但她特别能吃苦，家里楼顶的天台，是宛馨的练功场，夏酷暑，冬严寒，但不影响她每天放学练功2小时，这是她小学6年的“天天功课”，周末时，往往一练就是大半天。在同龄孩子看来枯燥辛苦的功夫，在宛馨看来，乐趣无穷。小小年纪，她就练就了一身绝技，飞扑克牌、针穿气球、飞针穿玻璃常常让观众目瞪口呆。

“王家卫导演特严肃，冬天让我穿着短衣短裤，冻死我了，但也开心。”说起拍戏的那段经历，宛馨乐在其中。她还在片场和梁朝伟切磋过一段咏春拳，“我们都说对方打的拳是假的”。如今已经15岁的叶宛馨回忆起当初拍戏的场景，仍会开怀大笑。

现在的宛馨，已经留起了长发，更像个女孩子了。她考上了职业高中的幼师专业，开始学习唱歌、跳舞、乐器，但学武术仍是她的最爱，这是融入血液里的基因与爱好。“将来，我可能会走演艺这条路，说不定会成为一个功夫明星呢。”对未来，宛馨有自己的憧憬。

URBAN KUNG FU MASTERS

Text by Guo Hua & Madz Translation by Leo Photos by Zeng Jian