Book Review: Shaolin Kung Fu: The Photo Essays
By Gene Ching - Head Shaolin and Tai Chi Chuan Instructor

Recently, two different books have been published on Shaolin Kung Fu from China: Shaolin Kung Fu: Treasure of the Chinese Nation, The Best of Chinese Wushu (China Pictoral Ed.) 8 1/2 X 11, 120 pages, catalogue # B009, and Shaolin Kung Fu (Henan Fine Arts Ed.) 8 1/2 X 11 1/2, 160 pages, catalogue # B012. Both of these books are full color, with Chinese and English text. These books contain extensive photographs of the Shaolin monks and monastery. These books are truly remarkable, and even though many of the photographs are obviously staged poses, the reader cannot help but be inspired by the level of skill that is demonstrated to reach each pose. If you have not seen either of these yet, you are missing a pair of martial arts books like no others.
The China Pictoral Edition (B009) is a far more acceptable book for most westerners, especially those who are not so familiar with Shaolin or books translated from Chinese. The English translation is fairly smooth and quite informative. This book contains one of the more cohesive histories of Shaolin. Graphically, this is a beautiful book, with extraordinary photographic composition and layout, and gold foil characters on the front cover. For the majority of martial arts enthusiasts, this edition is probably the superior choice.

The Henan Edition (B012) has a more literal translation from the Chinese text. For readers who are unaccustomed to poor translations, this text will seem clunky and unprofessional. Avid readers of Chinese translations will certainly appreciate their undeniable charm. Although many of the Henan Ed. pictures are similar to the China Pictoral Ed., these are different photographs and different accompanying material. This edition contains some short routine diagrams; however, they are difficult to follow, and too short to be complete. Much of the internal power demonstrations are very questionable as to their validity. Many westerners with find this unbelievable, but interesting none the less.

Since the 1982 Jet Li (Li Lianjie) movie The Shaolin Temple, Shaolin has experienced a renaissance as a tourist attraction. There is an international Wushu festival held every year, and aspiring Wushu enthusiasts audition by the thousands when the temple accepts a new initiate. Recently, on the celebrated Shaolin Monk tour of the United States, two monks disappeared. Interestingly enough, they could not defect on grounds of religious sanctuary, they had to defect as entertainers. The state of the Shaolin Temple's authenticity today is certainly questionable. However, with such a massive pool of Kung Fu experts from which to select "monks", their level of skill is impressive, if not awe-inspiring. Knowing the state of Chinese publishing as intimately as we do here at WLKFF, it would not surprise us if these books disappeared without warning. If you do not get a copy, and they go out of print, you will certainly regret missing the chance. The Tiedanggong (iron crotch) demonstration alone is worth the price of either book.