Ten Tigers of Canton or Ten Tigers of Guangdong refers to a group of ten Chinese martial artists from Guangdong Province lived around the 19th century during the Qing dynasty in China. They were said to be the greatest fighters in Guangdong during the Qing era. Much of their existence has been embellished by folk legends and stories passed down from generation to generation.
Ten Tigers' martial arts
The Ten Tigers of Canton traced their martial arts lineage to the Southern Shaolin Monastery 南少林寺 in the Jiulian Mountains 九連山 in Fujian Province 福建省. Southern Shaolin Kung Fu is a branch of the better known Shaolin Monastery 少林寺 on Mount Song 嵩山 in Henan Province 河南省. As such, the Ten Tigers' martial arts styles resemble those of Shaolin Kung Fu 少林武功.
Ten Tigers of Canton
Wong Yan-lam
Wong Yan-lam or Wang Yinlin (), also romanised as Wong Yein-lam, was a student of the Tibetan monk Xinglong (), a master of the "Lion's Roar" () style of martial arts. Wong mastered this style, which later split into the Hop Family Fist (), Lama Style (), and White Crane Fist (Tibetan White Crane 西藏白鶴拳).
Wong Ching-ho
Wong Ching-ho or Huang Chengke (), also romanised as Wong Cheng-ho, was a student of Luk Ah-choi (). He is portrayed in popular fiction as specialising in the Nine Dragons Fist (). produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio. It featured a star-studded cast of Shaw Studio actors, including the Venom Mob, Ti Lung and Alexander Fu.
A fictionalized version of the Ten Tigers were featured in the 2004 film Around the World in 80 Days, with Sammo Hung making a special appearance as Wong Fei-hung. Wong and the Ten Tigers assisted the protagonists in liberating the village of Lanzhou.
Television
In 1999, Hong Kong's ATV produced a 40-episodes TV drama series titled Ten Tigers of Guangdong ().
Literature
In The Eleventh Tiger, a BBC Books original novel set in the Doctor Who universe by David A. McIntee, the Ten Tigers are featured, with Wong Kei-ying and Wong Fei-hung as major characters in the story.
Music
The electronic music artist Bonobo has a track called "Ten Tigers" on his 2013 album The North Borders.