The following variations to the history detailed in my thesis have been mentioned by one reporter or another.
Rather than there being five masters who escaped the burning of the Shaolin Temple, some have five masters developing the Wing Chun style within the temple to train a revolutionary army, with Ng Mui being the only survivor after the Manchu attack. This theory clashes with that of the role of Jee Sin teaching Dragon Pole to Wong Wa Bo.
Ng Mui is also credited by some as having developed the White Crane (Pak Hok) style of Kung Fu, passing it on to a descendent named Mui Min. A story is told of Ng Mui witnessing a battle between a crane and a snake (some say a fox), with the snake’s darting and coiling moves evading the crane’s beak, while the crane swept the snake’s strikes away with skilful use of its wings. Legend has it that Ng Mui based the Bon Sao (wing arm) on the crane’s movement, and the Fok Sao (bridging arm) on the snake (or the paw of the fox). Other stories have it that Yim Wing Chun was the witness of the fight between the two animals.
Some versions have Yim Wing Chun’s father as a Shaolin-trained practitioner, and say he taught the art to her and Leung Bok Cho.
Rather than the unnamed gangster being the catalyst for Ng Mui teaching Yim Wing Chun combat arts, some say that Yim Wing Chun made a living as a professional fighter, wagering her hand in marriage (she was a woman of uncommon beauty) against an adversary’s money. Leung Bok Cho was smitten by her, and took up the challenge.
Some say he was beaten, but that Wing Chun was as smitten by him as he by her, and she married him anyway. It is said also that the fight took place on a small raised platform, providing the more compact and direct art of Wing Chun with an advantage over the Northern Chinese styles which used wider stances and larger, more acrobatic movements. Leung Bok Cho was said to be a master of a Northern style.
Others have it that Wing Chun, having fallen in love with Leung Bok Cho, intentionally allowed him to defeat her. When she later revealed this to him, he laughed at the notion, but Wing Chun invited him to fight again and beat him convincingly, demonstrating that she spoke the truth. She then taught him the Wing Chun system.
Jee Sin is also credited with teaching Kung Fu to Hung Hay Gung, from whom descends Hung Gar style (“Hung Family Boxing”).
Some say that Jee Sin was related to Wong Wa Bo and the Dragon pole was passed to him as a normal family heritage, rather than being initiated via the encounter on the Red Junk. Another version says that he had joined the Red Junk earlier, disguised as a cook.
One account has it that the modern dummy was invented on the Red Junk with the mast forming the body of the dummy, with the arms and leg detachable so they could be hidden from prying Manchu eyes while the Junk was in port. This story also has it that the dragon pole’s original form was that of the oars or poles used to guide the Junk.

The Way of the Warrior, Howard Reid and Michael Croucher
Century Publishing, London
ISBN 0 7126 0079 5 / 0 7126 0080 9
The Complete History and Philosophy of Kung Fu, Dr Earl C Medeiros
Charles E Tuttle Co Inc, USA
ISBN 0 8048 1148 2
Unpublished manuscript, Sifu David S A Crook, Bac Fu Do Kung Fu
Kung Fu Butterfly Swords, Grandmaster William Cheung
Ohara Publications, Inc, USA
ISBN 0 89750 125 X
Kung Fu Dragon Pole, Grandmaster William Cheung
Ohara Publications Inc, USA
ISBN 0 89750 107 1

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