# Cheung Wing-sing (张永成)
**Cheung Wing-sing** (张永成; traditional 张永成; pinyin Zhāng Yǒngchéng; 1897 – 1960) was the wife of the [Wing Chun](https://www.edgepedia.org/wing-chun) grandmaster [Ip Man](https://www.edgepedia.org/ip-man) (October 1893 – December 1972).[1](https://www.thenamesdictionary.com/references-for/cheung-wing-sing) She is known to history almost entirely through her marriage, and through her prominent portrayal in the Hong Kong film series about her husband.[2](https://www.degruyterbrill.com/de/document/doi/10.1515/cwl-2024-2004/html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Cheung Wing-sing (张永成; 张永成; Zhāng Yǒngchéng)[1](https://www.thenamesdictionary.com/references-for/cheung-wing-sing) |
| Dates | 1897 – 1960[1](https://www.thenamesdictionary.com/references-for/cheung-wing-sing) |
| Marriage | Married Ip Man, the Foshan-born Wing Chun master, during the period 1914–1937 when he worked mainly in the army and police force[3](https://www.iwco.online/background/ggm-yip-man/) |
| Children | Four children: sons Yip Hok Chun (Yip Chun) and Yip Hok Ching (Yip Ching), and daughters Yip Ar Sum and Yip Ar Woon[3](https://www.iwco.online/background/ggm-yip-man/) |
| Screen portrayal | Depicted as Ip Man's devoted wife in the film series beginning with Wilson Yip's *Ip Man* (2008)[2](https://www.degruyterbrill.com/de/document/doi/10.1515/cwl-2024-2004/html) • [4](https://www.documentarytube.com/blog/ip-man-whats-true-and-whats-fiction-in-the-four-film-series/) |
## Marriage and family
Cheung married Ip Man during the two decades when his work was mainly in the army and police force, and the couple settled in Foshan, Guangdong province.[3](https://www.iwco.online/background/ggm-yip-man/) The International Wing Chun Organization's chronicle records four children of the marriage: the sons Yip Hok Chun, known as Yip Chun, and Yip Hok Ching, known as Yip Ching, and the daughters Yip Ar Sum and Yip Ar Woon.[3](https://www.iwco.online/background/ggm-yip-man/) A Macao Magazine account of Ip Man's life spells her name Cheung Yung-sing and states that she bore him two sons.[5](https://macaomagazine.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Macao-Magazine-11.pdf)
After the Mainland liberation, Ip Man decided to go to Hong Kong via Macau; he spent about half a month in Macau, staying at a friend's bird shop on Cho Tue Street, before moving on.[6](https://www.worldwingchununion.org/14/history) In Hong Kong Ip began teaching Wing Chun publicly, starting with a class for the Restaurant Workers Association in Shamshuipo in July 1950, and the art spread from there around the world.[3](https://www.iwco.online/background/ggm-yip-man/)
## Portrayal in film
Cheung Wing-sing became a widely recognized character through the *Ip Man* films. The Hong Kong Film Archive describes the 2008 film *Ip Man*, directed by Wilson Yip, as the first biographical film based on the Wing Chun master's life.[4](https://www.documentarytube.com/blog/ip-man-whats-true-and-whats-fiction-in-the-four-film-series/) In these films she is played as Ip Man's wife in a marriage depicted as companionate, a form of masculinity that, according to one scholarly study, had not previously been seen in kung fu films or martial arts movies by and large.[2](https://www.degruyterbrill.com/de/document/doi/10.1515/cwl-2024-2004/html)
The films give her an active domestic role. In *Ip Man 3*, the character stays at Cheung Wing-sing's side for her medical appointments, goes with her to further sessions of Chinese medicine, and joins in the dances she loves; the story links her sickness to Ip's choice to withdraw from teaching.[2](https://www.degruyterbrill.com/de/document/doi/10.1515/cwl-2024-2004/html) Earlier films present the marriage differently: in one account of the series, the wife is often angry with [Ip Man](https://www.edgepedia.org/ip-man-film-series), who spends his time training and discussing martial arts with friends.[7](https://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/server/api/core/bitstreams/b41c0d26-f544-4cf1-bc78-ce433080b3d2/content)
## Film versus record
The films are historical dramas rather than documentaries, and the Hong Kong Film Archive has identified specific scenes in the first film as homages to *Fist of Fury* rather than record.[4](https://www.documentarytube.com/blog/ip-man-whats-true-and-whats-fiction-in-the-four-film-series/) Scholarly work on the series notes that the films present a culturally and politically sanitized image of history focusing on China's unity, situating the family in a comfortable middle-class Foshan household before the war.[8](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10357823.2022.2041552) The documented facts about Cheung herself remain few: her dates, her marriage, her children, and the 1950 move to Hong Kong.[1](https://www.thenamesdictionary.com/references-for/cheung-wing-sing) • [3](https://www.iwco.online/background/ggm-yip-man/)
## References
1. [Reference for Cheung Wing-sing, The Names Dictionary](https://www.thenamesdictionary.com/references-for/cheung-wing-sing)
2. [The Family Man in Ip Man Series: Ip Man as the Locale of Masculinity, Comparative Literature and Culture / De Gruyter Brill](https://www.degruyterbrill.com/de/document/doi/10.1515/cwl-2024-2004/html)
3. [GGM Yip Man, International Wing Chun Organization](https://www.iwco.online/background/ggm-yip-man/)
4. [Ip Man Movies: What's Historically True and What's Fiction?, DocumentaryTube](https://www.documentarytube.com/blog/ip-man-whats-true-and-whats-fiction-in-the-four-film-series/)
5. [Macao Magazine, N.11, April 2012](https://macaomagazine.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Macao-Magazine-11.pdf)
6. [The Brief History of Ip Man Wing Chun in Hong Kong, World Wing Chun Union](https://www.worldwingchununion.org/14/history)
7. [About the films, University of Canterbury thesis](https://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/server/api/core/bitstreams/b41c0d26-f544-4cf1-bc78-ce433080b3d2/content)
8. [China's Push for Greater Influence in the Popular Culture Arena: The Ip Man Saga, Asian Studies Review](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10357823.2022.2041552)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Social life and human behavior › Relationships and social issues › Kinship and family › Family structure and change › Family structure — overview and general treatments*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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