Ving Tsun Museum research to-date supports a hypothesis that Wing Chun history unfolded in three principle stages: Concept Design / Field Testing, Modification / Public Awareness, and Commercialization. The ultimate prize from the quest was a realization that Wing Chun's rich treasure of combat training science and applications was not diminished by the centuries. The pieces of the art are still intact and available for continued use and growth in the 21st Century.

The Concept Design and Field Testing stage began at the Southern Shaolin Temple in 1670's A.D. during a time of war and revolution in Southern China. Highly trained tacticians and teachers needed a single system that could be called upon to address the numerous threats of the myriad of fighting styles employed throughout China. A cutting-edge combat system was needed. The challenge to create such a system was picked up by the warrior monks of the Southern Temple and fugitive General Officers of the remnant Ming Dynasty (mìhng chìuh) army. The Wing Chun Tong (wíhng cheùn tòhng) in the Southern Shaolin Temple was dedicated to these goals. The characters used in the name of this hall translate directly to "Everlasting Spring," the original name given the system. The name itself represents the essence of Shaolin Chan (Zen) Kung Fu. It also represented a secret code used by the designers calling for the rebirth of the Ming Dynasty.

Benny Meng welcomes the successor of the Chi Sim Weng Chun lineage, Grand Master Andreas Hoffmann.

As with all complex system design efforts in time of war, several models were developed and field-tested. The earliest design efforts were heavily influenced by the monk's Chan (Zen) Buddhist beliefs. Chi Sim Weng Chun (ji sihn wíhng cheùn) (modern day name meaning 'Extreme Compassion'), as one of the arts, points to the earliest phase in Wing Chun history. It is a complete system of combat training and one of the original expressions of Wing Chun Kung Fu. Its primary purpose was to retain an identity that presented the treasures of Shaolin Kung Fu - Health, Fighting Skills, and Chan (Zen). At this early stage of development, Wing Chun contained the tools needed to engage in all ranges of combat, from close-quarter to long range with weapons as its foundation. Today's descendants call themselves Chi Sim Weng Chun practitioners and, like their Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun (hùhng fà yih wihng cheùn) counterparts discussed below, trace their roots directly to the Wing Chun Tong in the Southern Shaolin Temple. A modern day representative of this system, Sifu Andreas Hoffmann, resides and promotes this lineage in Germany.

Members of the VTM welcoming the successor of the Hung Fa Yi lineage, Grand Master Garrett Gee.

Along with the already combat effective Chi Sim Weng Chun, Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun was developed along a true paradigm shift in hand-to-hand combat thinking. Prior to this point in time, styles of combat were based on art and self-expression. Hung Fa Yi was created in an environment based strictly on human physiology and the physics of time and space. Personal artistic expression became irrelevant. Absolute control of time and space, with predictable and repeatable results in combat, represented the center of all focus. Science replaced art in the structure and evaluation of the entire style. At the same time, the military logistic imperative for training warriors in a feasible time-frame became a paramount concern and was given overarching consideration. The ten years intensive training required to master classical Shaolin postures was not logistically viable. This version of Wing Chun may have been created by a different group within the same Wing Chun Tong or the same group heavily influenced by military thinking from Ming Dynasty officers; either way, members of the Chu royal family, the former leaders of the Ming Dynasty, supported this group. This is the first time in the development of Shaolin fighting systems that time and space themselves became the focal point of design consideration. They provided the "idea" in the first level of Siu Nim Tao (Little Beginning Idea) training. The military implications of this decision are far too extensive for review here. Suffice it to say the physical science expertise of the monks, resulting from their relentless pursuit of the laws of nature and universal harmony, pared with the tactical and logistical training necessities confronting the professional soldiers, yielded the ultimate fighting system in terms of efficiency and effectiveness.

Both Chi Sim and Hung Fa Yi lineages focus on the strong Chan (Zen) Buddhist view of existence in terms of time, space, and energy. This same focus remains at their cores in the 21st Century. However, in Hung Fa Yi the major components of the Wing Chun fighting system's modern day identity take on its key structures and form. This is where the Siu Nim Tao (little idea in the beginning), Chum Kiuh (sinking bridge), and Biu Ji (thrusting finger) forms of Wing Chun Kung Fu were first seen. Chi Sim does not reflect these forms and employs traditional Shaolin structures.

The inheritor of the Hung Fa Yi system, Sifu Garrett Gee (jyù gìng hùhng), lives and promotes this lineage in San Francisco, California. The name 'Hung Fa Yi' literally translates to "Red Flower Righteousness' with its origins in the secret societies surrounding the Southern Temple during this period of continuous resistance fighting with the Manchu armies. The phrase "Hung Fa" came from Hung Fa Wui (hùhng fà wúih), a Shaolin secret society counterpart to the Hung Muhn (hùhng mùhn) revolutionary society. The word 'Righteousness' emphasizes practitioners' strict adherence to the highest moral standards in conduct and battle in the fight for their country 's honor and preservation of their Han heritage. By this time the characters used to depict 'Wing Chun' have changed to mean 'Praising Spring.' The secret code had by this time evolved to encourage practitioners to continue talking about and soliciting support for the rebirth of the Ming Dynasty.

Hung Fa Yi became the primary combat system of the secret societies. Revolutionary leader, Jeung Ngh (jéung ñgh) (often written as Cheung Ng), the temple inheritor of the Hung Fa Yi Wing Chun, made the art available to revolutionaries through a cover organization called the Excellent Flower Association (kìhng fà wúih gún) in public (also called Red Flower Association by the secret societies). The Excellent Flower Association (often called the 'Red Opera') formed around 1720 AD was an ideal cover for training and distributing a fighting system because its public nature was the performance of Chinese Opera. Performers could travel extensively with legitimate cover and disguise. Combat training took place in the dark of night and public performances could be scheduled for regions where training was most needed.