Southern white crane is one of the core types of kung fu in Fujian both stylistically and historically.
In this document I consider the two best known touch points of White Crane on Okinawan karate together with some of the historic contexts on the prime actors of this influence.
All Yong Chun White Crane lineages trace their routes back to Fang Qi Niang circa 1650. Most Fujian and Taiwan white crane trace their roots back to Fang Qi Niang via Yong Chun. It is written in the white crane museum in Yong Chun:
"In the reign of of the Qing Emperor Xianfeng ( 1831 – 1861 ) – Lín shì chéng (林世城) taught Yongchun Bai He Chuen in Fuzhou and this evolved into Fu Zhou Crane Fist. His student Lín dá chóng (林达崇 - pán yù bā ) taught Xiè chóng xiáng (谢崇祥) who taught the Japanese man Dōng ēn nà kuān liàng (東恩納 寛量 Higaonna Kanryō)"
This references simultaneously the evolution of Fu Zhou crane from Yong Chun crane and the cross fertilization with Okinawan karate.
Full lineages in Yong Chun, for example in wen gong ci wu shu guan and the village Guan Shan, are currently headed by 12th or 13th generation practitioners. With a date for the founder generally taken to be around 1650 this would give an average duration of 30 years for each lineage head, a numb......more / full article as pdf