The story of kung fu

For teenagers and adults: age 12 and up. Switch to for younger readers.

1. 1Did kung fu begin at the Shaolin Temple?A monastery built for an Indian monk in 495, monks who fought with the staff, a Ming general's manual, and the Bodhidharma story that historians trace to 1624. · 3 min
2. 2What happened at the Southern Shaolin Temple?A temple burned by the Qing, five survivors, a nun and a young woman, a tea merchant and his wife, a woman and a crane: the legends of the south, and whose version is whose. · 3 min
3. 3Who were the great masters of southern China?Chan Heung learns from three teachers and names his style after them; Wong Fei-hung, physician and martial artist, shapes the forms of Hung Gar; and a student of his line prints the manuals. · 3 min
4. 4Who were the masters of the north?Chen village and the Yang family give the world tai chi, a mantis legend becomes a style, and in 1928 the government gathers martial artists in Nanjing. · 3 min
5. 5How did Ip Man's Wing Chun reach the world?A teacher from Foshan rebuilds in Hong Kong, his students carry Wing Chun round the world under different spellings, and one of them becomes the most famous martial arts film star of all. · 2 min
6. 6Who brought kung fu to Britain?Lau Gar from Hong Kong in 1961, Wing Chun in London from 1973, Hung Gar in Liverpool, a governing body for every style, and a Shaolin monk in Tufnell Park. · 3 min
7. 7How did kung fu become a Youth Olympic sport?The People's Republic builds modern wushu, a world federation is founded in 1990, Europe gets a new body in 2023, and Dakar 2026 brings the first Olympic medals. Then: a class tonight. · 3 min

Written from checked sources, listed on the sources page. Pictures are drawn, with computer help, under our direction; none shows a real child. Recorded chapters and words are read by a computer voice; a word not yet recorded uses your device's own voice.