Chinese Acrobatics

China Acrobatics

The Chinese acrobatics has a long history and rich national flavor. It is one of the art forms most popular among the Chinese people. In a broad sense, acrobatics is the collective name of various kinds of feats. In the primitive society, acrobatics was closely related with music and dance, and became dominant of cultures at that time.

In the Variety Show of the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) and performances in the imperial court of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), acrobatics was very prosperous just like music and dance. After the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties, acrobatics together with classical dances were looked down upon. However, some superb feats of the previous dynasties were still handed down to the later generations and got much improvement. Chinese acrobatic art spread to overseas and enjoyed a good reputation at the late years of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and the early years of the Republic of China (1912-1949).

In the Qin Dynasty (221-207BC), Jiaodi Drama (a drama that incorporates an ancient wrestling skill), originally popular among ordinary people, was introduced to the imperial court. Jiaodi Drama developed into a variety show of various music-dance acrobatics, including juggling sword, handstands, walking on the robe, feats on horseback, climbing poles, fighting with animals, and so on in the Han Dynasty.

Historical records show that Han Emperor Wudi (r.140-86BC) held a grand banquet and largess awarding ceremony in the spring of 108BC. Large-scale acrobatics performances were staged in the event, including various variety show feats and performances of foreign acrobats. Exotic feats made the acrobatics in the Han Dynasty more developed and colorful.

In the Tang Dynasty (618-907), acrobatics was prevalent in the imperial court and among ordinary people as well. Royal families not only appreciated acrobatics during banquets but also had acrobatics performances in processions of high officials. An Outing of Lady of the Song, a mural in the Dunhuang Mogao Grottos, was one of the examples.

The acrobatics in the Tang Dynasty was not as developed as that in the Han Dynasty, and some programs in the Jiaoti Variety Show were eliminated, but those programs left enjoyed surprising development and took on new characteristics.

In the Song Dynasty (960-1279), acrobatics moved from the imperial court to ordinary people, and the performing form and program contents witnessed profound changes. The emergence of Cheng's and Zhu's idealist philosophy and the prevalence of feudal ethics made the acrobatic art that came from ordinary people and was close to real life receive repulsion. Except some variety show items used in military trainings and performances in ceremonies in imperial court, most acrobatics programs were used by acrobats in vagabondism as a way of living.

This change made some large-scale programs disappear, while various small-scale programs and programs performed by families or individuals came into being. Juggling skills saw unprecedented development, and some fine works that show feats of waist, leg or head emerged.

In the Ming (1638-1644) and Qing dynasties, acrobatics was still a way of living for some people. Programs performed by individuals, father and son, master and apprentice, saw much development, and there formed many small-scale serial acrobatic performances, retaining many traditional feats.

Chinese acrobatics form their unique artistic characteristics: (1) much attention to the training of waist, leg and head feats; (2) stability in dangerous movements, quietness in actions; (3) producing something strange out of something plain; (4) attention to both heavy and light, hard and soft skills. For instance, Juggling Objects with the Feet involves objects of varying weight, including heavy objects like wine jar, wood block, ladder, gong and drum, and even quick, and light objects like parasols made of thin silk; (5) combination of much strength and spry and light somersault skills; and (6) good adaptability.

All these artistic characteristics help form the unique charm of Chinese acrobatics. In recent years, Chinese acrobats won prizes in many international competitions, and China was internationally recognized as the No.1 Country of Acrobatics.

Certainly the most accessible and exciting of the traditional Chinese entertainments, acrobatics covers everything from gymnastics to magic tricks and juggling. Professional acrobats have existed in China for two thousand years. Ancient stone carvings, earthen pottery and early written works trace the ancestry of today's spectacular acts to an era long since vanished.

It was during the Han Dynasty, more than two thousand years ago, that the Chinese saw the first acrobats, magicians, and jugglers. Acrobatics, with amazing skill ?of strength and impossible balance, developed out of the annual village harvest celebrations. Chinese farmers and village craftsmen, with relatively little to do over the long winter decided to spend their time improving their societal positions by becoming acrobats. They practiced the art form with just about anything they could find around the house and farm, i.e. cups, saucers, tables, chairs plates, and etc. Even their own bodies, with which they formed human walls and pyramids. Every year in the fall the village's peasants would join in the village to share in a celebration of a bountiful harvest, a sort of Chinese Thanksgiving. It was at this time that the common people would show off their skills by performing fun and exciting feats of daring and strength using household tools and common items found around the farm and workshop. Building on the traditional performances, today's artists have added new techniques and spectacular stunts thrilling audiences around the globe. Highly skilled, rigorously trained, and superbly talented, these performers follow an unbroken tradition since 700 BC.

Hoop diving has its origins during the harvest time when the field workers used a tool shaped like a large tambourine. These large hoops with a woven mesh bottom were used to shake and divide the grain from the leaves and stems. It became a tradition to challenge each other to see who could dive through these hoops and to see how many or how tall a stack could they dive through.

Similarly, the pottery maker would learn to juggle and spin his wares. Spinning a pot to make it uniformly round and smooth is a natural action of the potter. However, when he adds to this a few tricks of juggling and tossing high into the air, he becomes a local hero performing a thrilling feat.

'Climbing to the top of a tall stack of chairs', 'the spinning of plates on the end of a long bamboo stick', 'balancing small wooden benches on the head', 'flipping bowls with your feet', 'climbing tall poses and long leather straps', these and most other traditional Chinese acrobatic acts derived from the lifelong skills of the village peasant, river sailor and local craftsman.

Children learned skills from their fathers and grandfathers before they were ofschool age. The tradition of Chinese acrobatics is therefore one that has been passed down from generation to generation to become the feats of strength, balance and grace that comprise this unique tradition of China. Like traveling European Gypsies, the great acrobatic families of China would entertain the city rulers and the village people at ceremonial carnivals and public theaters. Today there remain only a few brothers and sisters of the famous old acrobatic families. They have now organized China's traditional entertainments into professional acrobatic troupes with formal academies for training young promising entertainers. Still today China has an annual competition for the acrobatic academies.

In Beijing, acrobatics attracts even more foreign tourists than Beijing Opera does. There is no language barrier and everybody knows what is going on. Boys and girls in traditional costumes perform bicycle stunts, foot juggling, balancing acts, diabolo play, swing stunts and other feats.

Cups Rolling:
This performance needs acrobats to have very strong and flexible corporeity. The program has been introduced to Japan, France, and Korea for many times and got high appraise from foreign friends.

Board Swinging:
Acrobats need to cooperate with each other well to complete this performance. Since its Beijing public show in 2001, this program has been improved and very welcome among audiences.

Plate Spinning:
Since it is a very difficult program performed by a group of girls, this performance has been shown many times during visit to Russia, Bulgaria and Bolivia and loved by audiences there.

Calvaria Skills:
It won the Golden Mum Prize for the first National Acrobatics Competition In China in 2001. This program has been introduced to Beijing for several years and got approval from experts and industry.

Hoop Diving:
This combines the masculine of man and difficult skills. No matter when and where it is shown, people like it very much.

Silk Suspending:
It is a new program performed in the air. It reflects the perfect integration of power and beauty. Because of its high difficulty, since it was first introduced, audiences have been loving it.

Bicycle Skills:
This is a large-scale female group performance reflecting the strength and skills of acrobats. When it is performed in US, Korea, France and Russia, people liked it very much.

Diabolo:
It indicates the breeziness and loveliness of kids. During performances in Korea in 2001 and 2003, it was very welcome by Korean people.

Lion Dancing:
This program reflects the tradition and culture of China. The skills, culture and tradition of it make audience a feeling of esthetics.

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