Can anyone help me find a link to view the Five Animal Qi Gong that Dr. Hua Tuo invented?

I hear that it is a great way to rejuvenate and get the day started properly.

I would appreciate any help.

Thanks!

Dr. Wang Ruike

In Chinese medicine history, many of the famous Chinese medicine physicians were also qi-gong masters. Hua Tuo (141-208 AD) devised movements that were similar to the movements of five different animals: the tiger, deer, bear, monkey and bird. These five animal movements had profound influence on the development of dynamic qi-gong practices.

Hua Tuo (141208 AD) was a contemporary of Zhang Zhongjing. He traveled from town to town treating patients and learning from other doctor's practices. He is famous for his skill as a surgeon and his use of anesthesia. The anesthesia was given as a powder called mafeisan that was dissolved in a fermented drink before performing surgery. It has been suggested the powder may have been hemp since its uses were unknown at that time.

Besides performing surgeries, Hua Tuo also recommended the use of physical exercises for his patients. He devised movements that were similar to the movements of five different animals. These were the tiger, deer, bear, monkey and bird. It is said that one of his disciples Wu Pu lived to be 90-years-old due to these exercises. Another of Hua Tuo's disciples called Fan A was a great acupuncturist. He devised methods to extend it use to the back and thorax. Unfortunately many of Hua Tuo's works have been lost, and surgery became unpopular because most Chinese beliefs and laws of the time did not look favorably on it.



Physical exercises - tiger, deer, bear, monkey and bird movements.







Written By:
Raka Dewan, Integrated Chinese Medicine Holdings Ltd.
Rose Tse, Integrated Chinese Medicine Holdings Ltd.

q: Why those five specific animals?

The animals correspond to the five phases.

The crane to the south and fire.

The tiger to the west and metal.

The other three, I'm going to guess...

The bear to the center and earth, as it is for muscular power.

The deer to the east and wood.

And the monkey to the north and water.

Can anyone provide a link online for videos of the exercises?

Thanks!

q: Under the five elements metaphor, believe the tiger is located in the east.

Nope, accoriding to the ancient correspondences:

Metal -White Tiger-
白虎- Autumn- west -Venus -spicy- smell -lung- large intestine -thumb

The east is associated with:

Wood -Azure Dragon-
青龍 -Spring- east -Jupiter -sour- sight- liver- gall bladder -ring finger

Thks!

Hi!

I'm new to the forum, but I think I can help you with your question. I have been very fascinated with this Wu Qin Xi exercise for the last year or so and have collected quite a few videos of it produced both here and in China. There are MANY different versions of this exercise, so picking the one that suits your needs is important. Some of them, such as the traditional form that you see in Chinese VCDs is so physically demanding that most older people cannot execute the moves properly, and most of the moves are more rooted in Chinese Gong Fu rather than Qi Gong. Some, are extremely soft and gentle and are much more "Qi Gongy".

There is a link on youtube which shows an excerpt from a gentleman in CA doing the more physical one...Jesse Tsao is his name. I have his DVD. He is very good, but again, the style is very demanding.

I would be happy to copy any of the forms that I have for you to learn if you are at all interested.

Sincerely,
Jim