The term Liù Zì Jué first appears in the book On Caring for the Health of the Mind and Prolonging the Life Span written by Tao Hongjing of the Southern and Northern dynasties (420–589).
No body movements accompanied the Liù Zì Jué exercises until the Ming dynasty (1386–1644) when Hu Wenhuan and Gao Lian wrote books on the subject.
For instance, they both included in their books the summary of Liù Zì Jué for dispelling diseases and prolonging the life span, which combines controlled breathing with physical exercises.
The theoretical basis of the Liù Zì Jué exercises is in line with the ancient theories intrinsic to traditional Chinese medicine of the Five Elements and the Five Solid Viscera.
They tend to be on common ground on such issues as mouth forms and pronunciation methods, and the direction of body movements and mind follow the inner circulation law of the meridians.