T'ai Chi for Your Life

Happy Lunar New Year!

Happy Lunar New Year. It's the year of the wood snake which is associated with traits like wisdom, intuition and charm.

Itsa pleasant morning in the park. Could fall really coming?

So tomorrow, we're doing this in Keller at 2 pm.

My colleague, Tony Carmone and I were introduced to these Daoyin figures by one of our teachers, Madame Hu Yang, back in 2002. We have taught these beneficial exercises and their energetic applications for years. In 2022 we wrote a book about them entitled Shadows of Mawangdui. If you are interested in learning more, it is available through Three Pines Press or Amazon. https://threepinespress.com/category/books/qigong/

The Daoyintu has great stretches, but there is much more depth to it. Made during the Han dynasty, developing concepts of Chinese medicine sometimes included magical and shamanistic practices. The chart of “guiding and pulling” provides methods to guide and pull stale breath, qi, and disease out of the body. (the photo represents a modern Tibetan shaman, who may be a woman)

This is Daoyin 25 (3rd row, 3rd from the right). The text has been translated as Crane Call. This is one of nine images that have animal names. Others include Praying Mantis, Gibbon Shouting, Turtle Move, Monkey Bawling.

The 4th image from the right shows a man shooting an arrow. This same exercise appears in the 8 Pieces of Brocade during the Southern Song Dynasty 1127-1279 CE and is still practiced today.

Here is a reconstruction of the damaged silk Daoyintu. The 44 figures depict men and women doing movements for various conditions, such as "inguinal swelling" and "pulling the warm ailment". Many of the movements have animal names.

Near the bottom of the box discovered in Mawangdui tomb 3 was a water-damaged silk chart with text and figures in various postures. Pictured here is the original silk depicting the Daoyintu, (導引 圖) Guiding and Pulling chart.

This unremarkable box, or one similar, was found in Mawangdui tomb 3. Since the tomb was closed in 168 BCE, the entire tomb and the box were a time capsule undiscovered for more than 2100 years. It contained 30 documents, mostly written on silk: advice for medical conditions and longevity and charms. Next: among them was a chart of 44 images that has influenced wellness exercises through the centuries.

Many artifacts were buried, in the tombs of Chancellor Li Cang, his wife Xin Zhui and their son, Li Xi. Clothing, dinnerware, a board game called Liubo. Tomorrow, we'll focus on one particular discovery. This link will take you to the Changsha museum website: https://www.hnmuseum.com/en/content/changsha-mawangdui-han-dynasty-tombs-exhibition