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Chinese martial arts Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...
, there are fighting styles that are modeled after animals. In Southern styles, especially those associated with
Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
and
Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...
provinces, there are five traditional animal styles known as Ng Ying Kung Fu (Chinese: 五形功夫) )—
Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...
, Crane,
Leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...
,
Snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...
, and
Dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...
. The five animal martial arts styles supposedly originated from the
Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...
Shaolin Temple Shaolin Monastery ( zh, labels=no, c=少林寺, p=shàolínsì), also known as Shaolin Temple, is a monastic institution recognized as the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and the cradle of Shaolin kung fu. It is located at the foot of Wuru Peak o ...
, which is north of the
Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...
, even though imagery of these particular five animals ''as a distinct set'' (i.e. in the absence of other animals such as the horse or the monkey as in
tai chi is a Chinese martial art. Initially developed for combat and self-defense, for most practitioners it has evolved into a sport and form of exercise. As an exercise, tai chi is performed as gentle, low-impact movement in which practitioners ...
or xingyiquan) is either rare in Northern Shaolin martial arts—and Northern Chinese martial arts in general—or recent (cf. wǔxíngbāfǎquán; 五形八法拳; "Five Form Eight Method Fist"). An alternate selection which is also widely used is the crane, the tiger, the monkey, the snake, and the mantis. In Mandarin, "''wuxing''" is the pronunciation not only of "five animals", but also of " five elements", the core techniques of xing wu quan martial arts, which also features animal mimicry, but often with ten or twelve animals rather than five, and with its high narrow Santishi stance, these look nothing like a Fujianese Southern style found in the North. Other animal styles of various types are sometimes used.


List of animal styles

Although the technique is mainly associated with the tiger, dragon, snake, crane and leopard, many other animal styles have been developed:


Legendary origin

According to legend, Jueyuan, a 13th-century Shaolin martial artist, used the original 18 Luohan Hands as a foundation, expanding its 18 techniques into 72. In
Gansu Province Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...
in the west of China, in the city of
Lanzhou Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu province in northwestern China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. His ...
, he met Li Sou, a master of "Red Fist" Hongquan (紅拳). Li Sou accompanied Jueyuan back to Henan, to Luoyang to introduce Jueyuan to Bai Yufeng, master of an internal method. They returned to Shaolin with Bai Yufeng and expanded Jueyuan's 72 techniques to approximately 170. Using their combined knowledge, they restored internal aspects to Shaolin boxing. They organized these techniques into Five Animals: the Tiger, the Crane, the Leopard, the Snake and the Dragon. Jueyuan is also credited with the Northern style "Flood Fist" Hongquan, which does not feature the Five Animals but is written with the same characters as the Southern style Hung Kuen, perhaps the quintessential Five Animals style. Moreover, as in the Southern Hung Kuen, the "''Hong''" character (洪) in Hongquan actually refers to a family name rather than its literal meaning of "flood." However, the two styles have nothing in common beyond their shared name.


Five-animal exercise in present-day qigong

The "Five Animal play" (五禽戲, ''Wuqinxi'') are a set of
qigong Qigong ()) is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation said to be useful for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial arts training. With roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chinese medicine, Chin ...
exercises developed during the
Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
(202 BC – 220 AD). Some claim the author of this qigong sequence to be Hua Tuo, however Yang Jwing-Ming suggests it was the Taoist Master Jiun Chiam and Huatuo merely perfected its application and passed it onto gifted disciples including Wu Pu, Fan E, and Li Dangzhi. The five animals in the exercises are the tiger, deer, bear, monkey and crane. According to TCM theory of ''wuxing'' (Five Elements), each animal has two exercises corresponding to the
yin and yang Originating in Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (, ), also yinyang or yin-yang, is the concept of opposite cosmic principles or forces that interact, interconnect, and perpetuate each other. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary an ...
internal organs ('' zangfu''). Regular practise of this qigong is said to improve functioning of the
Liver The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...
/Gallbladder (Wood Element – tiger),
Kidneys In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and right in the retro ...
/
Bladder The bladder () is a hollow organ in humans and other vertebrates that stores urine from the kidneys. In placental mammals, urine enters the bladder via the ureters and exits via the urethra during urination. In humans, the bladder is a distens ...
(Water Element – deer),
Spleen The spleen (, from Ancient Greek '' σπλήν'', splḗn) is an organ (biology), organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The spleen plays important roles in reg ...
/
Stomach The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the upper gastrointestinal tract of Human, humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The Ancient Greek name for the stomach is ''gaster'' which is used as ''gastric'' in medical t ...
(Earth Element – bear),
Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...
/
Small Intestine The small intestine or small bowel is an organ (anatomy), organ in the human gastrointestinal tract, gastrointestinal tract where most of the #Absorption, absorption of nutrients from food takes place. It lies between the stomach and large intes ...
(Fire Element – monkey) and
Lung The lungs are the primary Organ (biology), organs of the respiratory system in many animals, including humans. In mammals and most other tetrapods, two lungs are located near the Vertebral column, backbone on either side of the heart. Their ...
/
Large Intestine The large intestine, also known as the large bowel, is the last part of the gastrointestinal tract and of the Digestion, digestive system in tetrapods. Water is absorbed here and the remaining waste material is stored in the rectum as feces befor ...
(Metal Element – crane) respectively.Dr. Shulan Yang, Endeavour College of Natural Health, 2012


Tiger

The first animal is Tiger. It relates to the wood element, the season of spring, and therefore the liver and gallbladder. The liver's emotion is anger and has many important functions including storing blood (''Xue''), ensuring the smooth movement of qi in the body, and housing the ethereal soul (''hun''). Liver ''Xue'' nourishes the sinews, therefore, allowing physical exercise. The liver is often compared to an army general because it is responsible for the smooth flow of qi, essential to all physiological processes of every organ and part of the body. The hun provides the mind (''Shen'') with inspiration, creativity, and a sense of direction in life.Maciocia, G 2005, The Foundations of Chinese Medicine, 2nd edition, Churchill Livingston, Edinburgh The emphasis of this exercise is grasping and stretching. By reaching up to bring down Heaven and reaching down to draw up Earth grasping is encouraged; which relates to sinews and therefore the liver. Rolling through the spine stimulates both yin and yang of ren mai and du mai channels activating the microcosmic orbit. This is then completed with a slow 'stalking' forward bend and sudden shout (release of anger) as the Tiger catches its prey with vigor while standing on one leg, to stretch the sinews while activating the jing-well points at the tips of the fingers, opening PC-8 and incorporating another important Wood trait


Deer

The second animal is Deer. It relates to the water element, the season of winter and therefore the kidneys and bladder. The kidneys emotion is fear and is often referred to as the "root of life" as they store essence (''jing''). ''Jing'' determines basic constitution, is derived by our parents and established at conception. The kidneys are the foundation of yin and yang in the body and therefore every other organ and govern birth, growth, reproduction and development. They also produce marrow, control bones and the Gate of Life (Minister Fire), while housing willpower (''Zhi''). By twisting the torso, the energy of one kidney is opened while the other is closed creating a pump to regulate ''chong mai'' and therefore ''yuan qi''. Fire (heart) and water (kidney) must connect energetically to maintain health. The hand gesture replicating horns calms Shen and connects with the heart by keeping the middle fingers in touch with the palms via the pericardium and ''san jiao'' channels. The eyes are the 'window' to shine and are smiling and joyous as we turn to look at the back heel and medial malleolus (kidney channel), also connecting fire.


Bear

The third animal is Bear. It relates to the earth element, the season of late summer and therefore the spleen and stomach. The spleen's emotion is worry and is the central organ in the production of ''gu qi'' from the food and drink we ingest. The spleen's transformation and transportation of ''gu qi'' are paramount in the process of digestion which is the basis for the formation of ''qi'' and ''xue''. The spleen is where the intellect (''yi'') is said to reside and is responsible for applied thinking and the generating of ideas, memorizing and concentration. This animal is cumbersome and its awkward traits are expressed in each movement. It starts off with circular abdominal massage to aid digestion by warming and supporting spleen yang, using the entire upper torso to move the hands. The arms are then poised to open and stretch the armpit activating the spleen's close relationship with Heart and Liver (Heart is the "mother" of spleen and liver stores xue) by stretching the flanks. The palms are empty to open PC-8 as the hip is raised to shift the leg forward while keeping the knee straight. The swinging torso and heavy step activates kidney yang to supports spleen yang in heating and "cooking" food.


Monkey

The fourth animal is Monkey. It relates to the fire element, the season of summer and therefore the heart and small intestine. The heart is considered the most important and therefore the "emperor" of the internal organs. It relates to the emotion joy and its main function is to govern and circulate ''xue'' in the vessels to nourish tissues and house the mind (''Shen''). ''Shen'' is used to indicate the entire sphere of mental and spiritual aspects of a human being and therefore encompasses ''hun'', ''Zhi'', ''yi'' and corporeal soul (po). Similar to the heart, the monkey is forever moving like the flickering of a flame. With the first exercise, suddenly lifting the hands with hook palms up towards the chest, the shoulders towards the ears and balancing on the toes with the monkey looking to the side, squeezes the heart and pumps ''xue'' as you release down again. The second part calms ''Shen'' by clearing the mind (moving the branch) to grasp the peach (fruit of heaven) with the thumb inside of the palm to hold the Hun within. Grasping in this exercise relates to the liver's ability to hold and store ''xue'', while the lifting of the back heel activates the Kidneys also supporting the Heart. The peach is then brought into view but is too heavy and must be supported as the monkey enjoys his find and soon to be "treat".


Crane

The fifth animal is Crane. It relates to the metal element and the season of autumn and therefore the lungs and large intestine. The Lungs emotion is sadness and governs qi and respiration, while being in charge of inhalation and the regulation of water passages. They are the intermediary organ between man and his environment, likened to a prime minister in charge of qi regulation particularly in the blood vessels to assist the heart in controlling blood circulation. The lungs house po the most physical and material part of the human soul; sensations and feelings. The activation of the microcosmic orbit is again featured by firstly working the spine in a concave fashion. The shoulders are raised and squeezed into the neck to squeeze the heart and pump xue while the arms are brought up to mimic a beak and the tailbone is thrust out. The arms are brought back along with one leg to mimic gliding. The second part of the exercise regulates the ascending (liver – ''xue'') and descending (lungs – ''qi'') function of ''qi'' in the Lungs. The ultimate yin and yang expressed by breathing in (kidneys) and breathing out (lungs) connects these two organs to regulate xue and assist the heart. The rhythm created by the up and down movement of the body, the opening and closing of the arms (lung and large intestine channels) and the in and out breath helps us adapt to the rhythmical changes of the seasons. The final stretch upwards on one leg stretches the flanks and therefore the liver and gall bladder channels to balance with the Lungs. The lungs are said to be "spoilt" being the last organ to start working just after birth and are therefore fragile and sensitive to change, explaining why gentle exercise is preferred.


The 12 animals of Xinyiquan

The 12 animal forms of Xingyiquan are quite different from the 5 animal forms of Southern Shaolin, like Hung Ka and Choy Li Fut. The Xingyiquan 12 animal forms came first, the Southern Shaolin five animal forms later, with about 600 years in between. The 12 animal forms emulate the techniques and tactics of the corresponding animal rather than just their physical movements. Some of the animal techniques have only simple, straightforward movements where others are more complex and involve a sequence of mimicking movements. The techniques used in the 12 animal forms complement those used in the 5 element forms and add more striking, kicking and stepping techniques. ;Xingyiquan 12 animal forms are as follows: *Dragon – contracting and expanding *Tiger – courage *Monkey – agility *Horse – speed *Alligator – gliding *Cockerel – combative *Hawk – soaring *Swallow – skimming *Snake – sliding *Ostrich – ramming *Eagle – gripping *Bear or Eagle – stability


In popular culture

*In the 1978 Hong Kong action martial arts film '' Spiritual Kung Fu'' (), Jackie Chan stars as a laïc student in the legendary Shaolin Temple of South who practices wuxingquan (). *In the
Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...
film '' Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior'', Shen uses statues of the Five Animals containing the spirits of five monks to train the title character. *In the '' Kung Fu Panda'' franchise, supporting characters the Furious Five consist of a crane,
snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...
,
monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, co ...
, mantis, and
tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...
. Additionally, their predecessor Tai Lung was a
leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...
whose name meant "Great
Dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...
".


See also

* Bando, a Burmese martial art that also features animal styles


References

{{Kung fu schools Chinese martial arts Qigong