Walking on Stilts

Cai Gaoqiao, or walking on stilts, is a celebratory folk dance. Performers strap on two long stilts, making them easily visible to audience members, and perform on a "moving stage," by freely walking.

The practice can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 B.C.) and has been called a variety of names throughout its history. During the Song Dynasty (960-1279) it was known as "Taqiao;" it was called "Gaoqiao" during the Qing Dynasty. In Beijing, the performances are called "Gaoqiao meeting" and "Za Gaojiao" in the Huanghe River valley region.

Performers dress as characters from popular stories and perform to the music of the suona horn, a woodwind instrument. They act out scenes from operas like "Nao Tiangong" ("Havoc in heavenly palace"), and "Shui Man Jinshan" ("The flood of Jinshan"). Performers wear stilts of different heights according to their roles. For example, in the opera "Shui Man Jinshan," the performer playing Fa Hai wears stilts 4-feet-tall, while the actor playing the Buddhist novice wears 2.5-feet-tall stilts.

Ancient History

According to most scholars, stilt-walking was originally related to totem worship and inshore fishing in ancient times. According to the book "The tale of Danzhu" by historicist Sun Zuoyun, the Danzhu clan in the period of Yao and Shun worshiped cranes, and imitated the bird's movements by performing the gaoqiao dance in sacrificial offerings.

The ancient book "The Classic of Mountains and Rivers," recorded that fishermen used stilts as a tool in shallow water, a custom preserved by the Jing ethnic group in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Various Kinds

Most stilts used today are made from wood. There are "double stilts" and "single stilt" performances. Single stilts are typically held by performers so they can move freely, while double stilts are tied on to the performer. Performances can be for civil ("Wenqiao") and martial ("Wuqiao") purposes. The former stresses appearance and amusement, while the latter emphasizes individual skill.

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