The interaction between the five animals from the Five Animals Qigong and the Wood Fire Earth Metal Water (木火土金水) of the Five Elements (五行) have traditionally not been explained with a unified theory. Even now, there exist many different opinions on this question, but by considering each character of the five animals, the following can be summarized.

① Deer (鹿) :
Another name for the deer is Ban-Long (★1). Dragons are attributed to the easterly direction, east belongs under Wood (木), and is the liver in terms of human body organs. What is more, deer antlers grow rapidly during the spring, which the deer signifies for its assigned role over the spring time energy for developmental growth.

② Bird (鳥) :
Birds fly in the sky. As the fire rises to the sky, birds use their wings to fly through the skies. Birds are attributed to the southerly direction, where in the Five Elements belongs to Fire (火). In terms of color, red which is the heart among the organs. In actuality the hearts of birds are more than twice the size of mammals in terms of percentage to their body size. Therefore, birds are highly efficient in metabolizing oxygen and nutrients to every part of their entire body and organs. That is why in Huatuo's Five Animals Qoigong, movements of birds are focused on strengthening the circulatory system.

③ Monkey (猿) :
Monkeys are wise and smart, closest in form to “humans.” Monkeys never tire of continually moving their limbs, which is deeply related to the activity of the stomach. As the Earth (土) among Five Elements, the gut functions to portend or show signs. Also if the stomach is strong the brain is active in spirit and the will becomes strong. That is why in Huatuo's Five Animals Qigong, monkey movements are emphasized for bringing harmony to the stomach and strengthening the spleen.

④ Tiger (虎) :
The notion of pairing the Westerly direction with the white tiger is very old. Tigers belong under Metal (金), and among the organs the lung also belongs to the Metal (金) under Five Elements. Tiger movements mainly improve lung function and increase vitality (氣力).

⑤ Bear (熊) :
Among the Five Elements “the color black”belongs to Water (水), and to the kidney under the organs. And among the five animals the bear alone hibernates in the winter. Such traits of the bear agree with the idea of “winter requires storage.” Looking at the various Daoyin exercises which imitate the appearance of the bear, the upper body is fixed to the movement of the lower body, to make the whole body to move through the waist from the lower body. That is why the bear movement necessarily considers it important to strengthen the kidney function.

(★1) a dragon that does not soar into the sky lingering on the ground