New lease of life for legendary exercises
Print Edition
Among the pine trees under the morning sun, a woman imitates a bird that’s preparing to fly, redolent of a heroine from a classic kung fu novel.
This has been Hua Yi’s after-hours routine. She is the 59th inheritor of wuqinxi — the Five-Animal Exercises — invented by Hua Tuo, one of the greatest doctors in Chinese history, more than 1,800 years ago.
A recent hit television series, “The Advisors Alliance,” brought the exercises to the public’s attention.
Legend has it that Hua Tuo created wuqinxi based on his observations of tigers, deer, bears, apes and birds in Bozhou, in Anhui Province, where he was born.
Hua Yi is also a native of Bozhou. In her spare time, she practices wuqinxi and seeks to popularize it.
Having learned kung fu at the age of 7, Hua Yi discovered wuqinxi when she was 18. Then she began learning the exercises from Zhou Jinzhong, the 58th inheritor.
“Now a lot of young people think that wuqinxi is old-fashioned and is only for the elderly,” Hua Yi said.
To encourage young people to try the exercises, Hua created “wuqinxi yoga” by incorporating breathing, yoga’s philosophy of mind and body, and some aspects of traditional Chinese medicine with the Five-Animal Exercises.
“The bear movements are good for the stomach and spleen. The tiger soothes pain in the waist and back. The deer movements can reduce fat around the waist and the ape is good for cardiopulmonary functions. Bird movements can help prevent arthritis,” said Hua Yi.
“Wuqinxi yoga can truly help stressed-out city dwellers to relax.”
In 2015, she began to inspire people in China and overseas to learn wuqinxi. She often organizes public lectures and teaches people the movements at schools and offices.
Hua Yi’s mentor, Zhou Jinzhou, believes young people have a vital role to play in passing on the exercises to future generations.
“Only young people can breathe new life into the exercises and help wuqinxi adapt to the modern era,” he said.
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