Chinese Acrobatics

Chinese acrobatics was already an independent and highly skilled art some 2,000 years ago. As early as the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), there appeared rudiments of acrobatics. By the time of the Han Dynasty (221 BC-220 AD), the acrobatic art or "Hundred Plays" further developed both in contents and varieties. According to the poem entitled "To the Western Capital" written by Zheng Heng, a Han Dynasty scholar, and stone- engravings unearthed at Yinan County of Shandong Province in 1954, there were superb performances with music accompaniment on the acrobatic stage of two thousand years ago, such as "Pole Climbing", "Rope-Walking (the present day Tight-Wire Feats)", "Fish Turned into Dragon (the present day Conjuring)", "Five Tables (like the present Balance on Chairs)". In the Tang Dynasty, the most thriving period in the history of Chinese ancient culture, the number of acrobats greatly increased and their performing skills much improved.