Wuqinxi (Five Animal Frolics) — The Longest-Circulating Health Exercise

Wuqinxi is a traditional Chinese fitness method composed of movements imitating five different animals. It is also known as “Wuqin Cao” (Five Animal Exercises), “Wuqin Qigong” (Five Animal Qigong), and “Baibu Han Xi” (Hundred-Step Perspiration Play). It is said to have been created by the Eastern Han dynasty medical master Hua Tuo.

Wuqinxi is one of the most widely disseminated and longest-practiced fitness methods among the Chinese people. On June 28, 1982, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, and the then National Sports Commission of China issued a circular designating Wuqinxi and other traditional Chinese fitness methods as content to be promoted in “health preservation physical education” courses at medical universities. In 2003, the General Administration of Sport of China further promoted a newly recompiled version of Wuqinxi and other health exercises nationwide as part of “Health Qigong.”

History of Wuqinxi

Wuqinxi is traditionally said to have been invented by the famous Han dynasty physician Hua Tuo. However, some believe that Hua Tuo was the organizer and compiler of Wuqinxi, and that many similar fitness methods already existed before the Han dynasty. The earliest text to record the name “Wuqinxi” is Tao Hongjing's Yangxing Yanming Lu (Records on Cultivating Nature and Extending Life) from the Northern and Southern Dynasties period.

Nevertheless, it is also widely held that this is a medical qigong created by Hua Tuo, the celebrated physician of the Eastern Han dynasty, who imitated the movements of five animals — the bear, tiger, monkey, deer, and bird — to prevent and treat disease and to promote longevity. It is a biomimetic discipline characterized by “external movement with internal stillness,” “seeking stillness within movement,” and “the coexistence of movement and stillness,” combining firmness and suppleness, hardness and softness, training both the external and the internal in an integrated manner.

Content of Wuqinxi

Wuqinxi consists of five types of movements: the Tiger Play, the Deer Play, the Bear Play, the Monkey Play, and the Bird Play, each imitating the corresponding animal. Each movement is performed once on each side, in symmetrical pairs, coordinated with breath regulation.

I. Bear Play
Stand naturally with feet parallel and shoulder-width apart, arms hanging naturally at the sides, eyes looking straight ahead. First, bend the right knee, shifting the body slightly to the right. At the same time, the right shoulder sways forward and downward, the right arm sinking along with it, while the left shoulder stretches outward and the left arm, slightly bent, lifts upward. Then bend the left knee, performing the opposite movements. Sway back and forth in this manner repeatedly, without limit on the number of repetitions.

II. Tiger Play
Bring the heels together to an attention stance, both arms hanging naturally, eyes looking straight ahead.

(A) Left Form

1. Bend both knees and squat downward, shifting the body weight to the right leg. The left foot takes a “void step,” with the ball of the foot touching the ground beside the inner ankle of the right foot. At the same time, both hands form fists and are drawn up beside the waist, palm sides facing upward, eyes looking toward the left front.
2. Step the left foot diagonally forward to the left, with the right foot following a half step. The body weight sits on the right leg, and the left foot takes a void step, ball touching the ground. Simultaneously, both fists rise along the chest, palm sides facing backward. When they reach the level of the mouth, the two fists turn to face each other, then open into palms and press forward. The palms are at chest level, palm faces forward, the tiger's mouths (the space between thumb and index finger) facing each other. Eyes look at the left hand.

(B) Right Form

1. Step the left foot forward half a step, with the right foot following to the inner ankle of the left foot. Body weight sits on the left leg, the right foot takes a void step, ball touching the ground. Both legs are bent at the knees. At the same time, both palms change into fists and are withdrawn to the sides of the waist, palm sides facing upward. Eyes look toward the right front.
2. Same as Left Form step 2, but with left and right reversed.Repeat the tiger pouncing motion left and right alternately, without limit.

III. Monkey Play
Bring the heels together to an attention stance, both arms hanging naturally, eyes looking straight ahead.

(A) Left Form

1. Bend both knees. Step the left foot forward with light agility. At the same time, the left hand moves along the chest to the level of the mouth, then reaches forward as if picking something up. Just before reaching the endpoint, the hand draws together into a hook, the wrist hanging naturally downward.
2. Step the right foot forward with light agility, the left foot following to the inner ankle of the right foot, ball of the foot touching the ground in a void step. At the same time, the right hand moves along the chest to the level of the mouth, then reaches forward as if picking something up. Just before reaching the endpoint, the hand draws together into a hook, while the left hand simultaneously withdraws to below the left ribs.
3. Step the left foot backward, the right foot following and retreating to the inner ankle of the left foot, ball of the foot touching in a void step. At the same time, the left hand moves along the chest to the level of the mouth, then reaches forward as if picking something up, finally forming a hook, while the right hand simultaneously withdraws to below the right ribs.

(B) Right Form
The movements are the same as the Left Form, but with left and right reversed.

IV. Deer Play
Stand naturally erect, both arms hanging naturally, eyes looking straight ahead.

(A) Left Form

1. Bend the right knee, sitting the body backward, while extending the left leg forward with the left knee slightly bent, the left foot resting lightly in a void step. Extend the left hand forward, the left arm slightly bent, the left palm facing right. Place the right hand at the inner side of the left elbow, the right palm facing left.
2. Both arms rotate together in front of the body in a counterclockwise direction, with the left hand tracing a larger circle than the right. At the same time, pay attention to rotating the waist, hips, and sacrum counterclockwise. Over time, this should transition so that the rotation of the waist, hips, and sacrum drives the rotation of the arms.

(B) Right Form
The movements are the same as the Left Form, but with left and right reversed, and the direction of rotation also differs between clockwise and counterclockwise.

V. Bird Play
Stand with feet parallel, both arms hanging naturally, eyes looking straight ahead.

(A) Left Form

1. Step the left foot forward one step, the right foot following half a step, the toes of the right foot touching lightly on the ground. At the same time, both arms slowly lift in front of the body, palms facing upward. When the arms reach shoulder level, raise them laterally to the sides, while taking a deep inhalation.
2. Step the right foot forward to join the left foot. The arms descend from the sides, palms facing downward, while simultaneously squatting downward. The arms cross below the knees, palms facing upward, while exhaling deeply.

(B) Right Form
Same as the Left Form, but with left and right reversed.

Summary

In practicing Wuqinxi, one must achieve: relaxation of the whole body, the mind focused on the dantian, even and regulated breathing, and the unity of form and spirit. When practicing the Bear Play, one should embody lightness and agility within steadiness, expressing the bear's robust and bold nature. When practicing the Tiger Play, one should display a fierce and courageous bearing, with suppleness within firmness and firmness within suppleness. When practicing the Monkey Play, one should imitate the monkey's nimble, clever, and agile character. When practicing the Deer Play, one should embody its serene, tranquil, and peaceful state. When practicing the Bird Play, one should express the bird's soaring, cloud-piercing posture. Only in this way can form and spirit be fused into one. Regular practice of the Five Animal Frolics can activate the joints of the waist and limbs, strengthen the waist and kidneys, soothe the liver and fortify the spleen, and tonify the heart and lungs, thereby achieving the goal of dispelling disease and extending life.