Career
He was also an influential figure in the Southern Shaolin school of Chinese martial arts His name is also alternatively romanised as Hung Hei-koon, Hung Hei-kwun, Hung Hsi-kuan, and similar renditions. Hung was originally a tea merchant.
He escaped to the Southern Shaolin Monastery in Fujian Province after having an argument with Manchus elites.
The abbot, Reverend Jee-sin, accepted him into the monastery and soon found out how talented and hardworking he was in Southern Shaolin martial arts Jee-sin was impressed by these qualities and soon began to teach Hung the Black Tiger Fist that he specialised in.
These "lay" members refer to people who learnt Southern Shaolin martial arts but were not ordained as monks in the monastery. However, Qing government forces destroyed Southern Shaolin Monastery later because the monastery provided refuge for many rebels seeking to overthrow the Qing dynasty.