It was written to go along with a series of essays on Lau Kar - leung, which I guess didn't materialize, but it's a kind of timeline of Shaolin - related stories, mapping all the films I could think of into a generational chronology, from San Te and the 36th Chamber through the destruction of the Shaolin Temple, the spread of its various disciples and their fighting styles throughout
Southern China,
folk heroes like Fong Sai - yuk, Wong Fei - hung, Wing Chun up to Lau himself.