Shaolin Temple

by Tsai Chih Chung

Part of The Traditional Chinese Culture series, this book is an illustrated adaptation of history and the originality of martial arts and knowledge of Shaolin school and Wudang Mountain school of martial arts. Collected and popularized by the immensely popular Chinese illustrator Tsai Chih Chung, the book brings an interesting introduction to martial arts for the reader of today through cartoon panels with a text that is irreverently humorous yet replete with wisdom. It is a great and easy tool to learn Chinese classics.
About the Traditional Chinese Culture The Traditional Chinese Culture series includes a total of 22 titles that features the great thinkers in Chinese history. The writings of early Chinese thinkers have influenced all facets of Chinese culture and society, from education to art, from politics and warfare to common etiquette. The popular comic book artist Tsai Chih Chung faithfully brought the wisdom of these classics to life with his uniquely charming illustrations.
Tsai Chih Chung is a world-renowned Taiwanese cartoonist and popularizer of Chinese classics whose books have sold more than 40 millions copies worldwide. He first came to prominence through his award-winning animated movies and his immensely popular daily comic strips. When he turned his hand to the classics after a prolonged period of self-education, they were acclaimed by critics and shot to the top of the bestsellers lists. His books have been published in America by Princeton University Press and Knopf, among others.
Brian Bruya is an established translator of Chinese classics and a professor of history & philosophy at Eastern Michigan University. He received his B.A. in philosophy and Chinese from the University of Washington and his M.A. in comparative philosophy from the University of Hawaii. He has translated over 20 books by Tsai Chih Chung. All Titles in the Traditional Chinese Culture
Sunzi The Art of War, 7801885090
The Dao Speaks Whispers of Wisdom, 7801885120
The Dao Speaks More Whispers of Wisdom, 7801885139
Zhuangzi Speaks The Music of Nature, 7801885147
Zhuangzi Speaks More Music of Nature, 7801885155
Zen The Staff and Shout of the Venerable Ones, 7801885112
Confucius The Message of the Benevolent, 7801884973
Han Feizi The Power of Pragmatism, 7801886534
Mencius The Cure for Chaos, 7801885376
History The Four Princess of the Warring States, 7801886550
The New Mystery and Pure Conversation, 7801886577
The Roots of Wisdom, 7801886569
Great Learning ; The Middle The Pinnacle of Virtue ; Living a Life of Harmony , 7801886585
Spitting on Fables and Fairy Tales from Early China, 7801886542
Shaolin Temple, 7801887689
Dharma Sutra , 7801887158
Liezi Thoughts to Ride the Wind, 7801886518
Madam White Snake, 7801887697
Heart Sutra, 7801887166
Ghosts and Fables and Fairy Tales from Late China, 7801886526
The Analects of Confucius, 7801885082
Wisdom of the Zen The Quest for Enlightenment, 7801885287

Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Tsai Chih Chung (蔡志忠) is a world-renowned cartoonist and popularizer of Chinese classics whose books have sold more than 40 millions copies worldwide. He first came to prominence through his award-winning animated movies and his immensely popular daily comic strips. When he turned his hand to the classics after a prolonged period of self-education, they were acclaimed by critics and shot to the top of the bestsellers lists.

Starting from the 1980s, Tsai created a series of Chinese comic books on ancient Chinese classics, like huangzi Speaks: The Music of Nature, Zen Speaks: Shouts of Nothingness, Confucius Speaks: Words to Live by, Sunzi Speaks: The Art of War, and The Tao Speaks: Lao Tzu's Whispers of Wisdom. Confucius, Lao Tzu, Zhuangzi, and Sunzi are widely credited as sages whose thoughts have played an important role in China's development. Tsai put his unique understanding and feelings of ancient thoughts into his cartoons, and added a modern interpretation of them, making boring ancient philosophies quite amusing as well as understandable. His works won a large number of adult readers for comic books, a market predominantly children-targeted. This series of comic books has hoarded great applause from readers both in Taiwan and Chinese mainland, with 4 million copies sold in Taiwan.

Differing from most Chinese parents, Tsai has a unique way of bringing up his daughter, stressing independence and self-reliance. His daughter even traveled to Japan by herself at the age of 12.With the influence of her father, his daughter has also become fond of cartoons. Her creativity and originality is comparable to that of her father, and many of her cartoons have been published as well. Tsai once made a comparison between human beings and wolves, stating that a parent wolf never teaches its children the necessary skills of survival, leaving the child with the challenge of acquired these skills on their own.