Zhou Yadong, Huang Shijun, Zhang Qingwu

In late Eastern Han Dynasty, guided by the ideology that “Tao follows the law of the nature”, and according to the ancient Daoyin skills, breathing art and the theory of Yin Yang and five elements in The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine, the highly skilled medical scientist Hua Tuo imitated the movements and features of five animals as Tiger, Dear, Bear, Monkey and Bird, combined with the operating law of viscera and bowels, meridians and collaterals, Qi and blood, and created a set of body building exercise suitable for all ages and promoting good health and longevity, which is known as “Wu Qin Xi”.

Following the ideology that “Tao follows the law of the nature”, imitating the physical form and spiritual expression of wild animals, promoting the return to the original nature, and realizing the self-improvement

Tao is the most profound philosophical concept in ancient Chinese philosophies. As the natural law, Tao gives birth to all things on earth, and reflects the principle of the nature and the law of movement. Tao is the general law for all things, and its fundamental feature is being natural. Therefore, Lao Tzu, the creator of Taoism, proposed: “Human follows the law of the Earth, the Earth follows the law of the universe, the universe follows the law of the Tao, and the Tao follows the law of the nature.” (Chapter XXV of Lao Tzu). Here “follow” refers to compliance; “nature” refers to a natural status instead of objective nature or any existence. Tao follows the law of the nature. Tao is based on itself, and decides its own existence, movement and development. “Tao accomplishes nothing but complying with the nature”. Therefore, to create all things is not the aim of Tao, but the result of complying with the nature. Lao Tzu believed that “Tao follows the law of the nature” is the fundamental law for all things in the world, and also the fundamental law that human must abide by. Human is the most intelligent of all creatures, derived from the nature and lives beyond the nature. On one hand, human’s activities are restricted and controlled by the objective law of the nature, and human shall learn from the nature, which reflects the concept that human is an integral part of nature; on the other hand, human can independently choose to develop the vitality, and shall comply with the human nature, which reflects the natural personality of human. In the opinion of Lao Tzu, the principle of Tao is nature, and human shall comply with the nature. The regimen of human shall be obviously based on the nature. Therefore, Lao Tzu’s ideology that “Tao follows the law of the nature” becomes the fundamental guiding ideology and theoretical source of health preservation for the later generations. Enlightened by the movement features of animals, Hua Tuo thoroughly understood the ideology that “Tao follows the law of the nature”, imitated the natural behavior habits and features of spiritual expressions of wild animals and created Wu Qin Xi, which substantially pursues the state of “exchanging spirits with the nature” and “coexisting with the nature, being unified with all things”. “The unified state is the supreme state in the aesthetic appreciation field, in which the subject gives up all material factors, and is really imbedded in the internal spirit of the object, unified and integrated with the object, and realizes the superb artistic conception.” Once human enters the unified realm, the boundary between object and self will disappear, object and self will be integrated and reach the realm of unification, which is named by Hua Tuo as Yi. Xi in Hua Tuo Wu Qin Xi is “so naturally and originally hidden in our nature, operated in our natural way of living. It is the paradise that perfectly unifies the opposites of emotion and rationality, thinking and existence, thought and action, priori and experience. Therefore, we will cheerfully return to the truth, and create an ideal world for living in confidence.” The guiding purpose of Hua Tuo Wu Qin Xi is to help the practitioners resume the natural characters of human, maintain simplicity, and return to the original nature. Such return is the comprehension and recognition of the nature from the degree of human nature, as well as the self-salvation with the help of nature, and becomes an effective method for pursing good health and long life to the greatest extent.

Guided by the theory of Yin and Yang, applying the principle of movement generates Yang, stillness generates Yin, cultivating genuine Qi, and realizing the balance of Yin and Yang

Yin and Yang are the concepts of ancient natural philosophy, and the theory of Yin Yang is a world outlook and methodology in ancient China. Yi Zhuan - Xi Ci Shang: “Yin and Yang create Tao.” Yin Yang is the source of generation, development, variation, extinction of all things, as the fundamental law for the movement and variation of the objective world. Developing along the road of simple dialectical materialism, the theory of Yin Yang is both the method and guiding ideology of the theoretical system of traditional Chinese medicine, and the specific academic theory with the subject characteristics in the academic field of traditional Chinese medicine. The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine proposed: “Yin Yang is the Tao of the world, principle of all things, parents of variation, source of existence and extinction, and the palace of spirit.” “Yin and Yang are the elements of life” “The anthropogenesis is closely bound up with the nature, and the nature of life is Yin and Yang.”, pointed out that “If Yang cannot be intensive, Yin Qi will be exhausted; only when Yin is at peace and Yang is compact can essence-spirit be normal; if Yin and Yang separate from each other, essential Qi will be exhausted.” “People with Yin and Yang in equilibrium in four seasons will be far away from diseases, which is the fundamental law for life and death.”, believed that the basic principle of the longevity of ancient people was “complying with the law of the nature, and exercising the correct regimen”, and clearly proposed that the balance of Yin and Yang was the nature of human body health. The balance of Yin and Yang in human body is reflected through smooth collaterals, Qi and blood. If Qi and blood are unbalanced, the vital energy of viscera and bowels and meridians will be blocked and cause various diseases.

Hua Tuo was the outstanding medical scientist in late Eastern Han Dynasty, indifferent to fame and wealth, and engaged in researching medicine. According to the record of Book of the Later Han and The History of the Three Kingdoms, Hua Tuo was “proficient in various subjects and regimen”. The contributions of Hua Tuo in health preservation were obtained through long-term practice. Guided by the theory of Yin Yang, Hua Tuo created Wu Qin Xi according to the principle that “movement generates Yang, stillness generates Yin” and the concept of combination of movement and stillness. Wu Qin Xi insists on the basic principle that “the nature of the world is Yin and Yang, Yin and Yang control movement and stillness, and human body integrates Yin and Yang. Proper movement and stillness can promote smooth Qi and blood, avoid diseases and prolong the life span”, and proposed external activeness and internal peace, stillness in movement, and the combination of inflexibility and yielding. It is a dynamic exercise. Hua Tuo proposed the health preservation ideology that “human body shall be properly exercised, which can digest the essence derived from food and promote blood circulation and avoid diseases, like the frequently opened door will never be damaged by worms. The ancient Daoyin skills imitated bear climbing and owl head turning, stretched waist and moved joints”. In the whole set of Wu Qin Xi, he imitated some movement of animals to make up the part unavailable for human in daily life and labor, so as to dredge the meridians, regulate Qi and blood, tone up physique and resist to the diseases. At the same time, Wu Qin Xi is a unique exercise that realizes stillness in movement. To be specific, instead of being mechanical and blind, the body movement in the exercise of Wu Qin Xi must comply with the movement law of the five animals, and cooperate with breathing under the guidance of consciousness concentrating on imitating the spiritual expressions of the five animals. The movement is slow, soft and gentle coupled with the relatively concentrated, peaceful mind, even and deep breath and relaxed mechanism. Also, the peaceful mind in the exercise of Wu Qin Xi is not the lifeless still water in body movement but the proper, temperate and concentrated mental movement. Therefore, the stillness in the exercise of Wu Qin Xi also contains movement and rational conversion of the spiritual expressions of the five animals, and guides the conforming external change of movement, so as to realize stillness in movement, stillness against movement, movement and stillness in equilibrium and unification. The whole set of stances of Wu Qin Xi is like a picture, fluctuating with proper height; straightening in rotation, keeping round in square; rotating head with body, with four limbs in harmony; refreshing, smooth and clean; pursuing beauty in variation, and strengthening physical health in the movement. The ancients said: “round heaven and square earth, dynamic heaven and static earth”. “Yin inside and Yang outside, movement outside and stillness inside, rigid outside and soft inside, guiding Qi with mind, sinking Qi in the Dantian; dexterity is generated from clumsiness”. The exercise of stillness exercises movement in stillness; the exercise of movement is conducted in the situation of concentrated and peaceful mind, known as the exercise of stillness in movement. However, both of the exercises aim to effectively regulate the physiological function of human body, better exercise the body, so as to reach the effect of “balancing Yin and Yang, regulating Qi and blood, dredging meridian, and cultivating genuine Qi”.

Guided by the theory of five elements, applying the theory of viscera and bowels, meridians and collaterals, strengthening physical health through regulating the flow of vital energy and dredging meridians

The theory of five elements is also a philosophical concept as the theory of Yin Yang. It is an ideological method for cognizing and analyzing things through the mode of movement of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth in the nature. Every element has its own basic characteristics, for example, fire is characterized in warm and upward, water is characterized in moist and downward, wood is characterized in ascending and pliable, metal is characterized in converging and rigid, and earth is characterized in growth and harvest. According to the basic characteristics of the five elements, everything in the world can be categorized. Things with the same element have the same basic characteristics and the same function in despite of various appearances. Animals can be categorized by the five elements. For example, tiger, dear, bear, monkey, crane have different spiritual expressions, living habits, movement characteristics, Yin and Yang attributes, etc. Tiger is bold and powerful, dear is swift and alert, bear is imperturbable and steady, monkey is agile and nimble, crane is elegant and stretched. To imitate their movements can exercise relevant part of human body, enhance resistance to disease, and to insist on the exercise can really strengthen physical health and delay senility. As the contemporary famous medicinal scientist, Hua Tuo transcended the predecessors and created a complete and systematical bodybuilding method. For more than 1,000 years, “Demonstration of Wu Qin Xi” that he applied the theory of five elements to create has not been surpassed, and his application of the theory of five elements in creating Wu Qin Xi is mainly reflected in the following two aspects: first, Hua Tuo was affected by the theory of five elements and chose quintuplet. In the coexistence with other live beings, enlightened by the living habit, bold and agile movement, magnificent and might posture of animals, human being has created various movements to strengthen physical health, and Hua Tuo is not the first one. However, there was no fixed number in imitating animals until Hua Tuo did. For example, Zhuang Zi - Ke Yi only mentioned the pair of Xiong Jing, Niao Shen; Huai Nan Zi - Jing Shen Xun mentioned Xiong Jing, Niao Shen, Fu Yu, Yuan Qu, Chi Shi, Hu Gu; the silk painting unearthed from Mawangdui tombs in Changsha mentioned Xiong Jing, Niao Shen, Yao Bei, Long Deng, Yuan Pi, Lin Hou Zhan, Que, He Kou. According to the times described in Zhuang Zi - Ke Yi, it was inferred that the theory of Yin Yang was prevailing, the pair should be the product of the thinking of Yin Yang, in which bear on earth represented Yin, bird in sky represented Yang; Xiong Jing in front of belly represented Yin, Niao Shen at the back represented Yang; bear represented beasts, bird represented fowls, and so on. The way of thinking as sextuplet, octave and quintuplet should be related to the popular cognition mode at that time. Sextuplet, octave and quintuplet should be consistent with the cognition mode of the six factors in nature, the eight diagrams, and the five elements, etc. In the times for the medical scientist Hua Tuo in late Eastern Han Dynasty, the theory of Yin Yang and the five elements was prevailing, “as the mode to interpret all things in the world, the theory of Yin Yang and the five elements is finally fixed and inherited in medicine, and gradually disappears in other fields, for the theory of Yin Yang and the five elements correctly describes the physiological and pathological phenomena.” Therefore, Hua Tuo was probably enlightened by the theory of the five elements and created Wu Qin Xi, which is the specific application of the theory of the five elements in the health preservation practice. Second, according to the method for categorizing the five elements in the Canon of internal Medicine, Hua Tuo analyzed the physical forms and spiritual expressions of animals, and chose five animals with special significance as the imitation objects. Hua Tuo had in-depth research on The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine, and was proficient in the theory of the five elements, theory of meridians and collaterals, viscera and bowels, Qi and blood in traditional Chinese medicine. Hua Tuo said: “Yin and Yang are the essential parts of the world; the five elements are the beginning and end of Yin and Yang. The world cannot be formed without Yin and Yang, while Yin and Yang cannot be formed without the five elements. Therefore, the success or failure of human is decided by the nature and Yin Yang, and the existence or extinction is decided by the conformity to the law of the five elements. The world has Yin, Yang and the five elements, while human has blood, collaterals and the five internal organs.” Hua Tuo realized that movement could be penetrated through both inside and outside, the “movement” of body could “digest the essence derived from food” in the viscera and bowels, promoted “blood circulation, and avoided diseases”. Therefore, according to the method for categorizing the five elements in the Canon of internal Medicine, in the selection of five animals, Hua Tuo started with analyzing the form and movement of animals, chose animals with special significance and characteristic movements as the imitation object. Every animal exercise is attributed to one of the five elements, and controls the recuperation of one viscus. According to the theory of viscera and bowels in traditional Chinese medicine, “Illustration of Five Animals and Five Internal Organs” shows that tiger, dear, bear, monkey and bird correspond with the five elements as wood, water, earth, fire and metal, as well as the five internal organs as liver, kidney, spleen, heart and lung. People imitate their movements and spiritual expressions in the exercise, which indirectly exercises the viscera and bowels, “reaches the essence through imagery”. The bodybuilding function of Wu Qin Xi is clearly clarified here: the body movement strengthens the functions of muscle, tendon, bone, joint, enhances energy so as to improve the physical health; at the same time, it can regulate internal organs as liver, kidney, spleen, heart, lung, etc., so as to regulate the flow of vital energy, dredge meridians, cure diseases and prolong the life span. Modern medical research has proved that Wu Qin Xi is an effective method, which can exercise and improve the functions of nervous system, improve the inhibition function and regulation function of brain, and is favorable for the repair and regeneration of nerve cells. It can improve the functions of lung and heart, increase the oxygen supply of cardiac muscle, and promote the normal development of tissues and organs. At the same time, it can enhance the gastrointestinal activity and secretion, promote digestion and absorption, and provide nutriments to the organism.

In conclusion, engendered from the soil of traditional Chinese culture, and deeply affected by traditional Chinese philosophy and thinking method, Wu Qin Xi is the crystal of the practices and experience of Hua Tuo in the exploration of health preservation, and contains rich health preservation and bodybuilding ideas. Hua Tuo Wu Qin Xi does not only make a positive contribution to the physical and mental health of Chinese people, but also produces profound influence on the development of health exercises, especially the health Qigong, and has a very important position in the history of Chinese bodybuilding and health preservation.