Meir Shahar is associate professor in the Department of East Asian Studies, Tel Aviv University.
Written in clear and lucid style and ambitious both in scope and
methodology, this book offers a fascinating window into Chinese
culture, religion, and history. Ranging from historical and
ethnographic documents to a wide variety of literary sources, it
weaves them all into a compelling narrative. In this fashion,
Shahar is uniquely able to bring together social, historical, and
mythological elements, providing a demythologized account of
martial Chinese traditions such as Shaolin Boxing. This is sinology
at its best." ―Bernard Faure, Columbia University
"The book clearly belongs in a new group of books challenging
conventional understandings of Buddhism and violence. Meir Shahar
documents with meticulous accuracy and mellifluous prose the
fighting monks of Shaolin monastery in China, who appear first in
the Tang dynasty (618–907) and continue to the present. Scholars of
Buddhism and Chinese history will learn much from the author's
scrupulous analysis of the historical record―particularly the texts
on stone steles at the monastery―that documents the monastery's
traditions of fighting. Anyone interested in martial arts or Bruce
Lee films will find it fascinating to learn about the actual
history of the monastery’s fighting techniques. I found the book a
powerful and compelling read." ―Valerie Hansen, Yale University
"Meir Shahar's book will assure that the martial arts of Shaolin
take a prominent place in the history of Chinese Buddhism. Shahar
has mastered a prodigious amount of secondary scholarship, pored
over a wealth of primary documents, and brought a critical rigor to
the study of these materials that is unprecedented in any language.
Throughout, his analysis is cogent and clear. The result is a
delightful tour of one of the most enigmatic and compelling stories
of Chinese religion: the emergence and development of martial arts
at Shaolin Si. Entertaining as the book is, it delivers as well a
meditation on the sources of Chinese religion, and how fiction and
scripture, myth and history combine to produce novel traditions.
The Shaolin Monastery will appeal not only to scholars of Chinese
religion, but to those interested in military history,
self-cultivation, martial arts, and popular culture." ―John
Kieschnick, University of Bristol
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