History
Kung fu (gongfu) means "skill gained through hard work"; in the West it became the name for the hundreds of Chinese martial arts, which the Chinese call wushu. The Shaolin Monastery, founded in 495, is the most famous cradle: in 621 thirteen Shaolin monks helped the future Tang emperor in battle.
Styles are often split into northern (long, high kicks) and southern (low stances, strong arms), and into external and internal (tai chi, bagua, xingyi). In the 16th century General Qi Jiguang included a chapter on boxing in his military manual. In the 20th century the Jingwu Athletic Association (1910) and the Central Guoshu Institute (1928) modernised teaching, and Bruce Lee's films made kung fu known worldwide.