Wanshou danshu (The Cinnabar Book of Longevity) is a 'nourishing life' (yang sheng) text composed in the Ming period (1368-1644) by Gong Juzhong. It records a far more ancient practice known as Wu qin xi (Play of the five creatures). This is a form of therapeutic gymnastics based on the mimesis of animal movements. Already described in Hua Tuo Zhuan (The Book of Hua Tuo [?-203 CE]) Hou han shu (History of the Later Han Dynasty), it probably represents a pre-Han popular tradition. This illustration depicts the fifth of the 'plays of the five creatures' - niao xi, the play of the bird. It is performed as follows: One holds one's breath, lowers one's head, clenches one's fists and adopts a stance like a tiger asserting its dominance, holding one's hands as though carrying a large amount of gold. Still without releasing the breath, one straightens up very gradually, then takes breath into the abdomen and allows the spiritual breath/Qi to rise and then redescend, so that a thunderous sound seems to come from the abdomen. This is done about seven or eight times. This sequence of movements is supposed to regulate the flow of Qi in the channels.
