Hua Tuo (?—208), also called Fu, with courtesy name as Yuanhua, was a native of Qiao County (today’s Bozhou City, Anhui Province) of the Pei State. He was a famous Chinese physician during the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms Period.

He excelled in many medical sectors such as internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, pediatrics, and acupuncture, and did best in the sector of surgery. He invented the oldest narcotic, Mafeisan, which was made of herbs, and was the first person to perform surgery with the aid of anesthesia, more than 1,000 years before the Europeans did.

He developed a series of exercises based on the movements of five animals known as “Frolics of The Five Animals”. The five animals which the set of exercises mimics are: tiger, deer, bear, ape and crane. He was one of the first physicians to devise exercises to emphasize exercise and fitness, prevent diseases and enhance health.

five-animal exercise created by Hua Tuo (Photo/Liu Qinli)