The Earliest Gymnastical Painting

In ancient times, Chinese people had already started to cure arthrosis (joint disease) with dance or movement. In the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC), people gradually summarized dao yin shu (medical gymnastics), tu na shu (breathing techniques), and other physical activities to prevent and cure the disease of people.

In 1974, at the Ma-Wang-Dui Tombs in Changsha of Central China's Hunan Province, China's archaeologists found a dao yin picture. It was China's earliest extant painting of healthy movement, created at the end of 3th century BC. The picture shows more than 40 gymnastic movements, which include four aspects in medical gymnastics: breathing movement, body movement, instrumental movement, and the relationship between medical gymnastics and arthrosis curing.