According to the traditional history of the lineage, the roots of Eng Chun lie in the Southern Shaolin Temple in Fujian province during the turbulent Ming–Qing transition of the 17th century. Ming loyalists, monks, and martial experts gathered at the temple, which became a center of resistance against the Manchu Qing dynasty.

Over a period of roughly forty years, these practitioners developed a refined hybrid combat system inside a hall known as Eng Chun Tim (Eternal Spring Hall / Hall of Forever Spring). The goal was to create a method that was direct, simple, efficient, and relatively quick to learn—suitable for training rebel fighters.

When Qing forces destroyed the Southern Shaolin Temple, survivors fled and preserved the system. Some took the name of the hall itself—“Eng Chun”—while others integrated the knowledge into existing styles or secret society curricula.

The Black Flag Lodge & Secret Societies

The survivors of Southern Shaolin are said to have contributed to the formation of the Tiandihui (Heaven and Earth Society) and related brotherhoods. These organizations were organized under five colored flags or lodges:

• Red Flag – often associated with larger-scale military-style operations.

• Black Flag (Hek Ki Boen) – smaller, highly secretive units focused on internal security, eliminating traitors, and training elite operatives.

• White, Green, and Yellow Flags.

The Black Flag Lodge operated with extreme caution. Its members trained specialized combat skills suited for close-quarters work and targeted actions against Qing officials. Because of this secrecy, fewer public records or open lineages survived compared with more publicly taught southern martial arts.

Transmission to Indonesia

In the early 20th century (approximately 1907 according to lineage accounts), the last known chief instructor of the Black Flag system in Fujian, Grandmaster Tjia Fun Tjiao (also rendered Cia Fun Tjiao, Cia Pun Jiao, or Tjia Fun Jiao), fled China after an incident in which he killed a government official and his identity was compromised.

He traveled to Indonesia, initially seeking a relative in the Malang area. After surviving a confrontation with a large group of attackers, word of his skill spread. He was eventually taken in and cared for by Grandmaster Kwee King Yang (Mpek King Yang / GGM Kwee King Yang), an accomplished martial artist who had already trained under nine different teachers in various southern systems (including White Crane, Tai Zu, and others).

After approximately two years, Tjia Fun Tjiao transmitted the complete Black Flag Eng Chun system to Kwee King Yang under a strict oath of secrecy. Kwee King Yang (who lived until 1986, dying at age 97) became the primary vessel for the art in Indonesia and taught a number of closed-door students.

Modern Revival & International Spread

In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Grandmaster Kenneth Lin Xiang Fuk (Lin Xiang Fuk, born 1975) became a central figure in the public transmission of the system. Beginning training in 1985 under Grandmaster The Kang Hay and other seniors of the Kwee King Yang generation, he later undertook extensive research:

• Collecting and compiling teachings from multiple surviving students of Kwee King Yang studying related Fujian styles that Kwee had previously learned, in order to filter out non-Black Flag elements.

• Reviving and structuring what the lineage regards as the original Black Flag curriculum from Tjia Fun Tjiao.

• Around 2004–2011, with the support of elders, he formalized and began internationally promoting the system under the name Hek Ki Boen Eng Chun (HKB Eng Chun / Black Flag Wing Chun). Schools and affiliated groups were established in the United States (Virginia and Georgia), Europe (Italy, Germany, UK, and elsewhere), and other countries. The curriculum emphasizes 18 San Sik (separate drills), body mechanics focused on impulse power and efficiency, and practical application.

The Ving Tsun Museum and various practitioners have publicly discussed or recognized aspects of the HKB material as representing an early Fujian branch of the broader Eng Chun / Wing Chun family of arts.