Jee Sin Sim See
The Venerable Chi Sim Sim Si, Chi Seen (Cantonese), Chi Sin Sim Si, Ji Sin Sim Si or "Zhi Shan (Mandarin)" (pinyin: Zhì Shàn Chán Shī; Cantonese Yale: Ji3 Sin6 Sim3 Si1; lit. 'Chi Sin, Zen teacher') is said to have been one of the legendary Five Elders, survivors of the destruction of the Shaolin Temple by the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912). His name means "Immense Kindness." He is linked to many southern Chinese martial arts including the five major family styles of Hung, Lau and Choy gar, Lee gar and Mok gar, Ng Ga Kuen/Ng Gar King and Wing Chun.
| 至善禪師 | |
| Chi Sin Sim See | |
|---|---|
| Pinyin: | Zhì Shàn Chán Shī |
| Cantonese Yale: | Ji3 Sin6 Sim3 Si1 |
| Literally | "Chi Sin, Zen teacher" |
The stories disagree as to whether Chi Sin was a survivor of the destruction of the original Shaolin Temple in Henan or the Southern Shaolin Temple in Fujian. In what may be an attempt to reconcile this discrepancy, some stories say that, when the Henan temple was destroyed, Chi Sin fled to the Fujian temple, only to have to flee again when the latter was destroyed as well.
Others say that Chi Sin and the other Five Elders escaped the burning of the temple at Quanzhou in Fujian. They went their separate ways and Chi Sin built the second southern temple at Jiulian Shan (Nine Lotus Mountain), also in Fujian. Chi Sin was a revolutionary who planned to overthrow the Qing Government. However two of the Five Elders, Bak Mei and Fung Dou Dak joined forces with the Qing army and destroyed the second southern Shaolin Temple with a huge army outnumbering the monks 10 to 1. Chi Sin, the Abbot of the temple, was killed by Pak Mei in a duel during the attack.[1]
Chi Sin features prominently in "Legends of Southern Shaolin” 南少林傳奇 written by Chiew Sek (Cantonese) and published in 1993. All of the legendary figures of Southern Shaolin and more widely, southern Chinese martial arts ('nanquan') are in some way associated with the legendary figure of Chi Sin such as Fong Sai-Yuk, Ng Mui, Luk Ah Choi, Li Chooi Peng, Wu Wei Tien and Hoong Hei Khoon to name but a few. The Ven. Chi Sin has been portrayed in many Chinese martial arts movies.[2]