Anybody knows a non-fiction book that traces the development of that wacky, stereotypical imagining of the far east that was so dominant in American pop culture of the 20th century?
Think something like Big Trouble in Little China, or old comic books in which there is this blend of mysticism with wise old masters of hidden temples in secluded natural locations, possessing supernatural powers, while also exploring the spread of real as well fake martial arts (count dante being a very notable example of the latter)
by BigBeardedOsama