The Shaolin Monastery: History, Religion, and the Chinese Martial Arts (Unabridged‪)‬

The Shaolin Monastery charts for the first time in any language the history of the Shaolin Temple and the evolution of its world-renowned martial arts. In this meticulously researched and eminently readable study Meir Shahar considers the economic political and religious factors that led Shaolin monks to disregard the Buddhist prohibition against violence and instead create fighting techniques that by the 21st century have spread throughout the world. Meir Shahar is associate professor in the Dept of East Asian Studies Tel Aviv University.