Second Generation
Chan On-pak
Chan On-pak: Spear Master and Second-Generation Keeper
- Period:
- Late Qing, Guangdong
- Tradition:
- Choy Li Fut — King Mui (Chan Family) branch
- Region:
- King Mui village, Guangdong
Who was Chan On-pak?
Chan On-pak was the elder son of Choy Li Fut founder Chan Heung. Known as a spear master under the nickname 'Five Blossoms with One Lance,' he inherited leadership of the King Mui branch after his father's death and carried the system through the turbulent years at the end of the Qing dynasty.
Chan On-pak (陳安伯) was the elder son of Choy Li Fut founder Chan Heung and the second-generation head of the King Mui (Chan Family) branch of the system.
The spear
His historical signature is the spear. Sources record his nickname as “Five Blossoms with One Lance” — a description of spear technique that flowers at the tip from a single shaft. In the King Mui curriculum the spear sits among the core long weapons, and On-pak’s reputation fixed the family school’s association with it.
Keeper of the lineage
When Chan Heung died in 1875, the system passed to his two sons. Chan On-pak, as the elder, led the King Mui school; his younger brother Chan Koon-pak carried the system outward to Jiangmen and Guangzhou, where new training centers grew. This division — one brother holding the home school, the other spreading the art abroad in Guangdong — is the standard account of second-generation transmission.
The era was hostile to martial arts organizing. Revolutionary politics moved through the southern schools: in 1894 two of On-pak’s students joined the Tongmenghui, the movement that overthrew the Qing in 1911–12.
Why precise dates are not given
Published sources do not fix Chan On-pak’s birth and death years. The archive states his period rather than inventing precision — consistent with the editorial method of stating what the evidence supports and no more.
Historical Timeline
Formation in the King Mui school
Grew up inside the system his father founded in 1836; trained in the full King Mui curriculum, with the spear as his signature weapon.
Succession after Chan Heung
On Chan Heung's death, the King Mui lineage passed to his two sons, with On-pak as the elder inheritor.
Students in the revolutionary current
Two of his students, Cheng Si-leung and Chan Siu-bak, supported the Tongmenghui movement that ended the Qing dynasty.
Transmission to the third generation
The King Mui line continued through the family and close students, reaching Chan Yiu-chi's generation, which carried the system into the modern era.
Sources & References
- Choy Li Fut — lineage section — Wikipedia, Records the succession of Chan Heung's sons and On-pak's spear nickname. (Secondary Source)
- Chan Family genealogical accounts, King Mui — Hung Sing / Chan Family tradition summaries, Precise birth and death dates for Chan On-pak are not fixed in published sources; the archive states only the period. (Historical Source)
Related Knowledge
People
- Chan HeungChan Heung (1806–1875) founded Choy Li Fut in 1836, combining the teachings of Choy Ah Fook, Li Yau San, and Chan Yuan Wu. His life, teachers, and lineage.
- Chan Koon-pakChan Koon-pak, younger son of Choy Li Fut founder Chan Heung, carried the system from King Mui to Jiangmen and founded a major center in Guangzhou.
Traditions
- Choy Li FutChoy Li Fut is a southern Chinese martial art founded by Chan Heung in 1836. It blends northern and southern methods; its history, lineage, forms, and weapons.