Li Chan Wo / One of the first residents of Ming Wah Dai Ha
At his martial arts school, Master Li Chan Wo prominently displays a black and white photo of his godmother Mok Kwai Lan, who was Master Wong Fei Hung’s wife and successor. It was in Ming Wah Dai Ha where Master Li had promised Mok that he would dedicate his life to promoting Master Wong’s kung fu.
In 2022, before the second phase of redevelopment of Ming Wah Dai Ha, an 80-year-old Master Li Chan Wo invited his disciples to revisit Block H, where he had lived for more than 30 years. During the visit, he shared the story of his godmother Mok Kwai Lan, who had spent her last two years of life in Ming Wah with Master Li.
Rumour has it that Mok Kwai Lan, a skilled martial artist, married Wong Fei Hung, a master of the Hung Kuen style of boxing, after she impressed him by slapping him twice. Despite an age gap of more than 40 years between them, they wed and she became his successor. Following Master Wong Fei Hung’s passing, Mok Kwai Lan moved to Hong Kong and established a martial arts school in 1936. While working as a Chinese medicine practitioner, she saved the life of a woman who was experiencing a difficult childbirth. In gratitude, the woman asked Mok Kwai Lan, who did not have any children, to be the godmother of her next child. That child was Master Li Chan Wo.
Li’s apprenticeship could be likened to adoption back then. Master Li spent most of his childhood living with his godmother, who paid for his schooling. They led a difficult life renting a bedspace in a tenement building in Wan Chai. However, a hardworking and determined person, Mok Kwai Lan ran a martial arts school on the rooftop of the tenement building where she taught students every night of the week. Her only source of joy was enjoying porridge and fried noodles almost every night after class at Tse Kee Wonton Noodle Restaurant on Lockhart Road.
When Master Li was seven and a half years old, he fell so ill that he was unable to walk for days. It was during this time that he began to learn kung fu from his godmother. He recalls his godmother as a very strict person often wielding a wooden sword. Whenever she saw him in the wrong posture, she would strike him right away. Li became smarter later and deliberately stood in a dimly lit spot every time he was having a lesson. In the shade, he would lift his leg and shrink back as soon as he saw her swing the sword, and she would laugh and give him a break. The continued practice of kung fu made Li grow stronger and he would try to memorise the moves whenever he had time. He progressed so fast that Mok Kwai Lan decided to appoint him as her successor in recognition of his exceptional kung fu skills.
In 1966, as Li grew up, he moved out on his own and settled in Ming Wah Dai Ha. “I was so happy then, the school where I worked was just across the road,” he recalls. He worked as a clerk at Salesian English School. After finishing work at 5 pm, he would return to his house at the estate to attend to his injured neighbours suffering from sprains or bruises. “There is a slope in Ming Wah (Chai Wan Road). You can easily get hurt if you don’t watch your step when walking there.”
He cared for his neighbours as much as they cared for his family. When his wife went out to pick up their eldest son from school, the neighbours would volunteer to look after their younger daughter, easing the burden on his wife who had to care for two kids. They also shared homemade soups with each other. Li said that Block H was very safe at that time. “Whenever they heard someone shouting for help, neigbours would come out and lend each other a hand.”
Master Li led a busy life juggling work and family responsibilities, but every night at 7 pm, he would walk to the Shau Kei Wan terminus and take the tram to a martial arts school in Wan Chai to teach kung fu, hoping to ease the burden on his godmother. The school later invited him to form a Chinese martial arts team after finding out that he practised martial arts. He recalls, “It was a scorching summer, in 1969, when more than 60 students gathered on the rooftop to practise horse stance. But when school resumed in September, only 16 remained.” Most of those who stayed were close to him, and some were even sons of his neighbours in Ming Wah. On one of his birthdays, students from his martial arts team surprised him with a lion dance at his doorstep. They had secretly borrowed a lion head and a drum from the school. “They really touched my heart,” he said.
In 1980, as Mok Kwai Lan was in her final days, she decided to move back in with Master Li. During this time, Master Kwan Tak Hing, the actor who portrayed Master Wong Fei Hung on screen, paid a visit to her. A kung fu master herself, Mok Kwai Lan became immobile and depressed. Master Li vividly remembers a day in 1982, when his strong-willed godmother broke down in tears.
She lamented, “I have many disciples, but none of them have helped to promote Master Wong’s legacy. It’s all going to be forgotten. You have been with me for so long and you are my godson. You must continue to promote and teach his martial arts. That’s the most important thing, to teach.” Li replied, “Don’t cry. I will keep promoting Master Wong’s martial arts as long as I live.”
Li’s godmother had kept her promise to take good care of him when he was young. Now, at the age of 83, Master Li has remained committed as ever to his godmother. He continues to teach kung fu in an old building near the Shau Kei Wan tram terminus. He guides his emigrated disciples through videos they occasionally send him, helping them improve their skills. Li does not want Master Wong Fei Hung’s Hung Kuen boxing style to be forgotten, with plans already in place for promoting it. He is eagerly learning marketing skills by watching YouTube videos and, if time permits, he wants to write a new book to share Master Wong’s kung fu with the world.
Ming Wah Dai Ha
Documentary Project
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Organiser|Hong Kong Housing Society
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Copyright © 2024 Hong Kong Housing Society. All Rights Reserved.
Ming Wah Dai Ha
Documentary Project
Copyright|Disclaimer | Contact us
Organiser|Hong Kong Housing Society
Collaborator|Dragon Foundation、Lion Head Culture、Hide and Seek Tour
Copyright © 2024 Hong Kong Housing Society. All Rights Reserved.