The Eight Brocades: Names and Learning Resources

A map for one documented sequence

This companion follows the numbered Chinese headings on HKU’s health-qigong e-learning page. The short English phrases after each Chinese name are this site’s navigation aids, not standardized translations or movement instructions. Manchester’s English labels are included separately so you can find its corresponding tutorial.

HKU places preparation before the eight and closing after them; those are not extra numbered brocades. Matching these eight titles between the resources does not prove identical technique, timing or teaching cues. Choose a complete teaching resource before using this index.

The eight names, in source order

1. Two hands support the sky. Manchester label: Two Hands Hold up the Heavens. Tutorial 1.

2. Draw the bow to either side. Manchester label: Drawing the Bow to Shoot the Eagle. Tutorial 1.

3. Raise one hand. Manchester label: Separate Heaven and Earth. Tutorial 2.

4. Look behind. Manchester label: Wise Owl Gazes Backwards. Tutorial 2.

5. Sway the head and tail. Manchester label: Sway the Head and Shake the Tail. Tutorial 3.

6. Both hands reach toward the feet. Manchester label: Two Hands Hold the Feet to Strengthen the Kidneys and Waist. Tutorial 3.

7. Clench the fists and gaze. Manchester label: Clench the Fists and Glare Fiercely. Tutorial 4.

8. Rise and settle on the heels. Manchester label: Bouncing on the Toes. Tutorial 4.

How to find the lesson you need

On HKU’s e-learning page, locate the Chinese numbered heading and the clip beside it. There is a full-demonstration link at the top, followed by preparation, the individual movements and closing. Use that structure when you need context before or after a movement. The page’s written action notes are teaching material; this name index does not reproduce them as a substitute.

On Manchester’s article, Tutorial 1 covers 1–2, Tutorial 2 covers 3–4, Tutorial 3 covers 5–6, and Tutorial 4 covers 7–8. For example, if you remember “Wise Owl” but want its Chinese title, use entry 4 and then Tutorial 2. If a video link fails, return to the institution’s landing page and look for its current link; do not assume an unrelated repost is the same lesson.

Read historical health language as historical language

The full Chinese titles preserve traditional ideas. San jiao, spleen-and-stomach wording, and kidney wording refer to traditional Chinese medicine concepts and organ systems. These words are part of the names, not a measurement of digestive or kidney function. “Five strains and seven injuries” is traditional language of strain and injury; it is not a list of modern diagnoses that this page has verified. “Removing heart fire” should not be read as an instruction to treat heart disease.

Most strikingly, “dispel a hundred illnesses” expresses the historical claim that many illnesses disappear. Preserving the phrase helps readers identify the eighth lesson; it is not a promise of disease prevention or cure. Manchester’s long English title for movement 6 also includes “Strengthen the Kidneys and Waist”: that is a resource label, not a clinical conclusion endorsed here.

Names vary; do not make a new routine from them

HKU and Manchester use different Chinese characters for “clench the fists” in the seventh heading. Both original spellings are retained separately below. Short English names may omit traditional organ language entirely, as with “Separate Heaven and Earth,” so search using both the Chinese title and the teaching institution when an English name produces ambiguous results.

The list helps find and discuss a lesson. It cannot tell you how far to bend, how to breathe, how many times to repeat, or how to adapt the sequence for an injury. Use Getting Started With Baduanjin to choose instruction, then bring a specific question to the teacher. All videos remain external resources; TCM Compass claims no ownership or teaching partnership.

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