Presenting the history of Wing Chun (Yong Chun in Mandarin) is probably the most difficult part of explaining this art. The history of Wing Chun is shrouded in mystery and what we know about the origin and development of the art cannot be taken as fact. There are many different styles of Wing Chun coming from many different lineages and there are so many versions of the history of Wing Chun, some contradicting each other in some points, while others are completely different and unique. For example, Yip Man's style has developed into more than 50 different styles, and these styles have continued to branch out.
Besides Yip Man's lineage we have Chan Wah Shun's, Yuen Kai San's, Yuen Chai Wan's, several styles from Gulao village, Lo Kwai system, Yiu Kai and Yiu Choi systems, Snake Crane Wing Chun and many other arts that have at least a part of Wing Chun techniques and call themselves Wing Chun. All these styles and lineages have their own versions of history. What all these versions have in common is that in none of them you can find a single piece of information that is the same in even two styles.
Each lineage has its own "history", moreover, each style from the same lineage has a slightly different interpretation of the origin and development of the style. There is another interesting fact about this matter, usually in historical research the information and sources become less reliable as we go further into the past. In Wing Chun history, information and sources are equally unreliable no matter what time period, and it is the same for modern times or even the present. This mishmash of "histories" causes a lot of confusion even for serious researchers, even more so for someone who just has a genuine interest in the history and development of the art, and it is completely confusing for people who have just started to practice Wing Chun.