Chinese people made outstanding contributions to world civilization during the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD). Emperor Wudi, the fifth ruler of the Han Dynasty, was a talented man with an affinity for variety shows. According to Records of the History by Sima Qian, Emperor Wudi invited a number of foreigners to a sumptuous banquet in 108BC in order to extol the virtues of his empire's vast territory and abundant resource. The guests were presented beautiful gifts and entertained with variety shows featuring music and dance, acrobatics, wrestling, performances by men disguised as rare animals and wild animal acts. A point well worth mentioning is that envoys from Parthia (today's Iran) brought artists from Alexandria, Egypt, to China to perform at the banquet. Their performances included knife swallowing, fire spitting, man slaughtering and horsemanship. The magnificent performances and grand dinner party enabled Emperor Wudi to deeply impress his foreign guests with the power and prosperity of his empire. In addition, he successfully achieved his political goal of convincing countries in the Western Regions to enter into friendly ties with the Han and form an alliance against powerful Hun nomads.

Acrobatics as a performing art took shape and grew during the early years of the Han Dynasty, while variety arts centered on acrobatics emerged during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220).

The basic classification of the highly skilled art form of both Han Dynasty and modern acrobatics remains the same and is a unique phenomenon rarely seen in performing arts in other countries. Han Dynasty acrobatics were divided into the following categories as evidenced by wall paintings, painted bricks and stone carvings dating back to the Han period:

Variety Show, a brick painting discovered in a Han tomb in Anqiu County, Shandong Province

(1) Items requiring strength. In a narrow sense, this particular classification refers to wrestling which occupied an important position in variety arts during Han times. Han paintings and stone carvings not only depict men wrestling men, but also men battling animals and animals themselves locked in fierce combat. Professional wild animal fighters in ancient China were known as Xiangren. Archeologists unearthed one particular Han tomb in Nanyang County, Henan Province, and discovered more than 20 stone carvings depicting Xiangren battling bulls, tigers and rhinoceroses. Pole Balancing is another item that requires unusual strength. A painting unearthed in a Han tomb in Anqiu County, Shandong Province, shows 10 acrobats performing various stunts on a long pole held by a single man.     

Handstands, a stone carving dating to the Han Dynasty

(2) Handstands. Performing handstands was an important component of Chinese acrobatics during the Han Dynasty and remains so even today. The skill requires extraordinary agility and proficiency at somersaulting techniques, as well as excellent flexibility. Numerous brick paintings and stone carvings depict Han acrobats performing handstands and headstands. The example shown here was found in the ancestral shrine of the Wu family in Jiaxiang County, Shandong Province. 

Juggling Balls and Swords at a Feat, a brick painting found in a Han tomb in Sichuan Province

(3) Juggling. One commonplace component of Han Dynasty acrobatics was juggling, with jugglers highly proficient at using balls, swords and wheels. The most representative brick painting depicting Han juggling -- Juggling Balls and Swords at a Feast -- was unearthed in Sichuan Province.

(4) Aerial stunts. Pole climbing, tightrope walking and performing on poles erected on carts are recorded in documents and depicted in pictures dating back to the Han period. Two types of pole climbing were common in Han times -- one performed on the ground and the other on a moving cart. Bai Xi Tu shows a young performer somersaulting from one pole to another. The stunt is still performed in China.

(5) Horsemanship and animal acts. The earliest records of horsemanship and feats performed on horseback are found in historic Han texts and in on salt and iron, a work created by Huan Kuan during the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-8AD). A stone engraving Bai Xi Tu discovered in Yinan County, Shandong Province, provides a vivid picture of three acrobats performing feats of skill and daring on horseback. The work depicts one horse as a dragon. Han horsemen not only demonstrated skill in controlling their mounts, but also incorporated martial arts and dance movements in their routines. One particular painting depicts two horsemen -- one wielding a trident and the other brandishing a ceremonial flag. A carving found on a stone tower on Shaoshi Peak, Songshan Mountain, in Dengfen County, Henan Province, depicts two horsemen-one performing a handstand and the other a dance routine on horseback.

One Han Dynasty stone engraving found in the Temple of Confucius in Linzi, Shandong Province, depicts a group of horsemen performing stunts. It portrays a man riding a horse followed by a horse-drawn chariot. Three persons leap towards the rider from the chariot one after another, one stretches. Out his arms to reach the rider and succeeds in catching hold of his hand, another takes hold of the tail of the horse with one hand and the third is still on his flight in the air. Aside from the charioteer, all the others in the chariot are engaged in performance. Close behind the fast running chariot is a man who is making efforts to jump onto it.

All performances depicted in Han paintings and carvings provided a good foundation for the development of horsemanship and aerial stunts in later centuries.

Han brick paintings and stone engravings also depict acts performed by wild animals such as elephants, tigers, deer and snakes. Representative examples include Taming Animals and Fighting a Snake found in a Han tomb in Ninghai, Zhejiang Province, and Snake Charming by Boat-People discovered in the ancestral shrine of the Wu family in Jiaxiang, Shandong Province.

(6) The art of magic. The Han Dynasty marked the beginning of exchanges in the art of magic between China and the Western Regions and countries in the West. Chinese magic performances during the period can be divided into two types. The type patronized by the royal family and the nobility included performances by men disguised as legendary giant animals and required both a large number of performers and massive props.