The Book Club: Chinese Kung Fu by Wang Guangxi

Cover of Chinese Kung Fu by Wang Guangxi. Cambridge UP, 2012.

Wang Guangxi. 2012. Chinese Kung Fu. Cambridge University Press. 115 pages.

Introduction

The prestigious Cambridge University Press published not one but two books on the topic of the Chinese martial arts in 2012. Most students of martial studies will already be familiar with Peter Lorge’s volume Chinese Martial Arts: From antiquity to the Twenty-First Century. This was the first monograph by a major academic publisher attempting to provide a single volume introduction to the history of the Chinese fighting systems. As one would expect Lorge’s work has been discussed and reviewed in a number of places since its release

Less well known in martial studies is a slim volume by Professor Wang Guangxi titled Chinese Kung Fu.  The author of this second study brings impressive credentials to the table. According to his biography on the Cambridge…