This is a short but rather remarkable book about the origins of kung fu cinema going back to the films made in Shanghai. Here is what the blurb in Amazon has to say. The book is titled Vol I but fairly sure there was no follow-up.

"The importance of kung fu movies in the development of world cinema has been overlooked for too long. The genre began in the silent era, in Shanghai of the 1920s. Early martial arts arts movies were wildly popular, but their subversive emphasis on vigilante-style justice led the the Chinese government to ban them in 1931. Chinese action filmmakers and stars relocated to Hong Kong, creating a thriving kung fu movie scene in the 1940s that served as a training ground for following generations. Electric Shadows: the Secret History of Kung Fu Movies rescues lost film pioneers like Ren Pengnian, Hung Chung-ho, and Yu So-chow from undeserved obscurity and demonstrates how their work has influenced modern action cinema. Illustrated with rare images from the author’s collection, Electric Shadows is a must for anyone interested in film history or kung fu movies."