Shi Gao Can (释高参, 1886–1960), also known by his lay name Lin Ah Hoong (林亞鴻), and by the names Dien Pah (天豹) and Fei Tian Bao (飞天豹, “Flying Leopard”), was a Chinese Buddhist monk, martial artist and traditional healer whose teaching became an important part of the martial-arts history of Southeast Asia.
The surviving accounts are not entirely consistent. His biography has been reconstructed from oral traditions, temple records, accounts of students and later historical material, and the sources themselves acknowledge that mistakes and gaps may remain. The following account therefore distinguishes where possible between historical accounts and later lineage traditions.
Shi Gao Can was born on 27 December 1886 in Hailou Township, Lingtou Town, in the northern outskirts of Huian County, Fujian Province. Some sources place his birthplace in nearby Nanpu Township. His family name was Lin and his given name was Ah Hoong. He was the second of four brothers.
He lost his parents at a young age and was raised with his elder brother, Lin Yajian (林亞尖), and his sister-in-law. At approximately thirteen, in 1899, he left home to find the Fujian martial artist and bodyguard Cao Biao (曹彪). Cao taught him Wu Zu Quan (五祖拳), probably also Luo Han Quan (羅漢拳), as well as specialised techniques and weapons. According to the traditional account, Ah Hoong trained with him for three years and four months and became Cao’s most accomplished student.
Around 1902–1903 he travelled to Singapore with his elder brother and worked as a boatman. His brother died in a boating accident approximately three years later. The loss affected him deeply. At eighteen he returned to Fujian and went to Qingyin Temple (惠安清音寺).
His subsequent life became increasingly connected with Buddhism. Later lineage accounts identify Hui Jing (慧精大师) as the teacher who transmitted the complete system to him privately. Within those traditions, Shi Gao Can is described as the sole fully trained closed-door disciple and as a forty-ninth-generation successor. These claims are important to the later lineage tradition but are not independently established historical facts.
He travelled extensively through China and later through Southeast Asia, including the Dutch East Indies, Burma, Thailand and India. During his travels in China he reportedly survived an attack with a poisoned dart by using his knowledge of traditional medicine. In Burma he became involved in a confrontation with extortionists and reportedly defeated one using a technique associated with striking the body’s meridians.
He eventually settled in Medan, North Sumatra, where he began teaching more openly in the basement training hall of Zhen Yuan Gong Temple (镇元宫). Five people became his principal inner disciples: Shi Fa Chan (释法禅), Huang Jinzhang (黃錦章), Zhuang Qingjin (莊慶錦), known as “Old Monkey” (老猴), Zhuang Jinlai (莊金來), known as “Basha” (峇殺), and Lin Jin Ju (林金聚). Other students included Shi Cheng Xiong (释成雄) and an Indonesian prince.
His North Sumatran organisation was initially known as the North Sumatra Binjai Chinese Martial Arts Research Society (苏北民礼中华国术研究社). It later became the North Sumatra Shao Shi Shan Physical Education and Charity Society (苏北民礼少室山体育慈善社), or Guo Shu She (国术社). Two other branches operated in Medan, associated with Shao Yun Shan (少云山) and Shao Ming Shan (少明山). Shao Shi Shan eventually remained the surviving branch, although organised kungfu training largely ceased around 1966.
In 1948 Shi Gao Can moved to Singapore and became closely associated with Lianshan Shuanglin Temple (莲山双林寺). He helped rebuild its congregation and activities and became abbot in 1954. His training was demanding, beginning before dawn and including strenuous conditioning. He often taught verbally rather than demonstrating techniques, and different students received different material. Consequently, the later branches did not preserve one completely standardised curriculum.
His reputation also extended to traditional medicine. He was credited with treating large numbers of people and became known as the “Living Buddha of Ten Thousand Families.” Only a few disciples are said to have received substantial medical instruction, including Zheng Shuxiang, who established the Shaolingshan Medical Bureau (少灵山医局) in 1953, and Lin Yifeng.
As the number of students increased, Shi Gao Can instructed his followers in 1954 to establish the Singapore Sao Hua San National Arts Association (少华山国术健身社). Forty people, including Zheng Shuxiang and Liu Huotu, were involved. It became the first school outside the temple specifically established to practise the Shaolin martial arts transmitted through him.
In 1955 the Siau Hiong San Pugilistic Association (少雄山國術健身社) was established in Dapo, Singapore, with eighteen founders including Zhuang Xinglong and Lin Xikan. It developed a somewhat different organisational and teaching structure from Sao Hua San.
Also in 1955, Shi Gao Can travelled to Penang and became involved in restoring Shuangqing Temple, or Siong Kheng See (双庆寺), on Jalan Perak. He taught Shaolin Quan at Guanyin Temple on Jalan Burma, while his students helped with the temple restoration.
In 1956 he established the Penang Sao Lim Athletic Association in George Town. This became a particularly important branch of his transmission. Among the students who trained with him in Penang was P’ng Chye Khim (方济钦). After Shi Gao Can’s death, P’ng Chye Khim became the central figure in continuing this branch, and the Penang Sao Lim Athletic Association subsequently became an important centre from which his teaching spread internationally.
Shi Gao Can continued to establish and support organisations in Singapore. On 17 October 1958 the Singapore Seow Tin San Athletic Association was established on Old Thompson Road, with his disciple Lin He (林和) as coach and co-founder.
On 27 December 1958, his seventy-second birthday, Shi Gao Can initiated the Nanyang Siao Lim National Arts Association (南洋少林国术总会) in Singapore and served as its chief instructor. It operated in connection with Siong Lim Temple and was intended to unite Shaolin practitioners, preserve the tradition associated with Bodhidharma, promote physical fitness and contribute to society. It was the fifth and latest major school or association specifically commissioned by him.
The principal organisations connected with his transmission therefore included the North Sumatran Shao Shi Shan organisation; Singapore Sao Hua San; Singapore Siau Hiong San; the Penang Sao Lim Athletic Association; the Penang Sao Wah San Athletic Association; Singapore Seow Tin San; and the Nanyang Siao Lim National Arts Association. Around ten additional schools were later established by his students.
The exact number of his students is uncertain. Some accounts mention around fifty students and disciples around Shuanglin Temple, while others give considerably higher numbers for Singapore. The traditional number of formal disciples is eighteen, symbolically corresponding to the eighteen disciples of Buddhist tradition.
Shi Gao Can was remembered as a strict teacher who emphasised that martial arts should not be used unnecessarily. His students were expected to maintain discipline and martial competence. He reportedly did not charge for martial-arts instruction, teaching instead from a desire to preserve and spread the art.
Shi Gao Can died in 1960. His legacy subsequently developed through several distinct branches in North Sumatra, Singapore and Penang.
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