Ming's Kung Fu Adventure in the Shaolin Temple: A Zen Buddhist Tale in English and Chinese (Contemporary Writers) - Hardcover

This beautifully illustrated multicultural children's book follows Ming as he discovers the birth of Kung Fu. After Xiao Ming participates in a martial arts exercise at school, his parents take him on a trip to the Shaolin Temple--the birth-place of kung fu--in the central Henan Province of China. The temple is situated in the forests of Shaoshi Mountain, one of the seven mountains of Song Mountains. With a history of over 1,500 years, the grand Shaolin Temple has precious stone-carvings in its many buildings. At the Warrior Monks School (Wuseng Yuan), he sees monks practicing kung fu and jumps in to learn some martial arts skills. He then goes into a stone cave by mistake and meets a monk who turns out to be Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen Buddhism, according to legend. Bodhidharma takes him onto the mountain to see peach flowers, small birds and big trees. He tells Ming how the Shaolin Temple became the birthplace of Zen in Buddhism.

Li Jian graduated from Hebei Normal University in 2001, majoring in Chinese painting. Formerly a middle school art teacher, editor for children's books, and partner in an illustration studio, he currently owns his own illustration studio focusing on children's fairy tales. He has also published The Water Dragon, The Little Monkey King's Journey, The Snake Goddess Colors the World, Ming's Adventure with the Terracotta Army, The Horse and the Mysterious Drawing, Ming's Adventure in the Forbidden City and Mulan: Retold in Chinese and English, Ming's Adventure with Confucius in Qufu, Zheng He, the Great Chinese Explorer.