King Mui Choy Li Fut
Choy Li Fut lineage from King Mui (Jingmei) village in Xinhui, birthplace of founder Chan Heung (1806–1875). On China's national intangible heritage list since 2008.
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About King Mui Choy Li Fut
King Mui Choy Li Fut is the Choy Li Fut lineage tied to the village of King Mui (Jingmei) in Xinhui District (San Wui), Guangdong Province, the birthplace of the founder Chan Heung. The description of the national item states that Chan Heung (Chen Xiang) from Jingmei village in Yaxi founded the style in the 16th year of the Daoguang era (1836). A study in Tiyu xuekan (Tang, Cai and Qin, 2011) and HK01 both give his dates as 1806 to 1875. We find no King Mui or San Woi Choy Li Fut as a separate branch in the sources of the national list or in scholarly literature. The national list carries only Choy Li Fut for Xinhui, while the Hong Kong inventory distinguishes the Hung Sing and Bak Sing lineages.
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The name of the style honors Chan Heung's three teachers, Choy Fook, Li Yau-San and his uncle Chan Yuen-Wu. According to Tang 2011, Choy and Li are the surnames of the first two teachers and the syllable Fut (Buddha) stands for the teacher from the Chan family, since all three were Buddhists. The Hong Kong inventory also gives a second version, in which Fut refers to the monk Qing Cao. According to HK01, Choy Fook was a Buddhist monk from Mount Luofu who taught Choy Gar, and according to Tang 2011 Chan Yuen-Wu taught Fut Gar with an emphasis on palms, but HK01 says the uncle taught Hung Kuen. The sources disagree on the length of study with each teacher. According to HK01, at thirty Chan Heung founded his first school, called Hung Sing (Hongsheng guan), in the family shrine of Yuanfu in his village. Around fifty he was persecuted by the Qing for helping the triads and fled to Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Choy Li Fut was inscribed on China's national list of intangible cultural heritage in the second batch of 2008 as item VI-36 for Xinhui in Jiangmen. The protected institution is the Xinhui Choy Li Fut Founder Fist Association, whose president and head coach was, according to Tang 2011, the representative bearer Chen Zhongjie. The Xinhui lineage is not a small family school. In 2007 the district held celebrations of 170 years of the style and 200 years since Chan Heung's birth, with over two hundred foreign students from 16 countries, in 2008 the first Guangdong international Choy Li Fut tournament with about fifty teams, and according to Nanfang+ (2025) the association cooperates with more than thirty kindergartens and schools.
History
Choy Li Fut was founded, according to the description of the national item, by Chan Heung (Chen Xiang) from the village of Jingmei (King Mui) in Yaxi, Xinhui District, in the 16th year of the Daoguang era (1836). The study by Tang, Cai and Qin in Tiyu xuekan (2011) and HK01 (2017) give his dates as 1806 to 1875. We found no source at federation level or in scholarly literature for the exact birth date of 23 August given by English Wikipedia. According to HK01, he was taught from childhood by his uncle Chan Yuen-Wu (Hung Kuen according to HK01, Fut Gar according to Tang 2011), then by Li Yau-San and from the age of 21 by the monk Choy Fook from Mount Luofu, and the sources disagree on the length of study (Guangzhou Ribao: five years with Li from the age of 19, with Choy Fook until 34).
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According to Tang 2011, Chan Heung named the style in memory of three teachers, Choy and Li being their surnames and Fut (Buddha) standing for the teacher from the Chan family, since all three were Buddhists. The Hong Kong inventory also gives a second version, in which Fut refers to the monk Qing Cao, and describes the style as composed of Choy Gar, Li Gar and Fut Gar. According to HK01, at thirty Chan Heung founded his first school, called Hung Sing (Hongsheng guan, written with different characters from the Foshan Hung Sing), in the family shrine of Yuanfu in his village. Around fifty he was persecuted by the Qing for helping the triads and fled to Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, and the article gives no year. According to HK01, the shrine in King Mui was renamed Hongsheng guan after reconstruction in December 2001. Choy Li Fut was inscribed on China's national list of intangible cultural heritage in the second batch of 2008 as item VI-36 (serial number 808) in the category of traditional sport, games and acrobatics for Xinhui in Jiangmen. The protected institution is the Xinhui Choy Li Fut Founder Fist Association. A King Mui or San Woi Choy Li Fut as a separate branch does not appear in the sources of the national list or in scholarly literature. In 2007 Xinhui District held celebrations of 170 years of the style and 200 years since Chan Heung's birth, with over two hundred foreign students from 16 countries and regions, and in 2008 the first Guangdong international Choy Li Fut tournament with about fifty teams and over five hundred participants in 12 disciplines and a lion dance competition.
Technique
The description of the national item lists 193 forms: 39 barehanded, 54 paired, 64 with weapons (14 of them with the staff), 18 wooden-dummy exercises, 9 lion forms and forms of internal work. It enumerates 30 fighting sequences, 28 palm techniques, 29 forearm techniques, 35 fist strikes, 14 torso movements, 16 leg techniques and 18 stance and step techniques, and according to the description the movements are sweeping and the hands link attack with defense. The style uses five sounds to mark stances, and vocalization accompanies movement. Tang 2011 gives as a technical specialty the gua, shao and cha sequences in the strategy of linked strikes and describes the components of the style: Fut is strong in the palms and combines long and short bridges, Li uses long bridges, a wide stance and sweeping straight arms, Choy uses long, medium and short bridges and multiple strikes.
Training
Tang 2011 describes three forms of transmission: one teacher teaching many, individual instruction, and the family line from father to son. In 2006 Xinhui District introduced at Huangchong Primary School in Yamen the designation Xinhui Choy Li Fut Wushu School, with the style taught in physical education lessons. According to Nanfang+ (2025), the representative bearer Chen Zhongjie compiled the Basic Choy Li Fut Textbook for Primary and Secondary Schools in Jiangmen and a book on Choy Li Fut fighting technique, and the association cooperates with more than thirty kindergartens and schools. We found no grading system specific to the style.
Today
The representative bearer of the national item for Xinhui is, according to the website of the national list, Chen Zhongjie, listed in 2011 as president and head coach of the Xinhui Choy Li Fut Founder Fist Association. The Guangdong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism rates the fulfillment of duties by this protected institution as satisfactory. The Guangdong Wushu Association estimated in 2012 that Choy Li Fut as a whole has clubs in more than 35 countries and at least three million practitioners in more than a hundred countries, which is the association's estimate. In Xinhui stand Chan Heung's birth house and the founder's shrine. Choy Li Fut is not a separate competition discipline of wushu and does not appear in the 2019 IWUF rules for traditional wushu.
Did you know
In 2009, according to Tang 2011, filming began on two films, Choy Li Fut and Choy Li Fut 2010, and at the opening ceremony in Xinhui the plaque of the national intangible heritage item was unveiled at the same time.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Choy Li Fut and when?
According to the description of the national item, Chan Heung (Chen Xiang) from Jingmei (King Mui) village in Xinhui, in 1836.
Why is the style called Choy Li Fut?
According to a study in Tiyu xuekan, in memory of three teachers, Choy Fook, Li Yau-San and Chan Yuen-Wu. Fut stands for the teacher from the Chan family, since all three were Buddhists.
Is Choy Li Fut on China's national intangible heritage list?
Yes, since 2008 as item VI-36 for Xinhui, and the protected institution is the Xinhui Choy Li Fut Founder Fist Association.
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