The Oldest Performance Art in China
Traditional Chinese magic has a sizable repertoire known for its superb
skill, with "The Immortal Growth Beans," "Auspicious Abundance," and "A Chain of
Rings" accepted as masterpieces by the world's magic circles.
Fourth, Chinese acrobats can juggle both light and heavy objects with
dexterity, particularly with their feet (especially by females lying on a
special platform). The artists manipulate a variety of objects ranging from wine
buckets, porcelain
jars, tables, ladders, poles, planks, drums, and gongs to silk umbrellas
and people weighing more than 100 pounds. They can also turn heavy items like
wooden tables and slippery porcelain jars so fast that one can barely recognize
the object being juggled.
Acrobats in the past showed their techniques by juggling heavy objects.
Today, however, they stress both light and heavy objects. Acrobats juggling
light objects such as paper
umbrellas or colored rugs must have a good understanding of the buoyancy and
resistance of the air beforehand to perform well.
Acrobats practicing jar tricks often lose a patch of hair due to the fact
that heavy jars thrown high typically land on the same spot. However, their hair
will grow back once they gain skill in landing jars on their heads with the
slightest effort.
Traditional conjurers must undergo hard training before they can skillfully
manipulate hundreds of pounds of objects hidden beneath their loose gowns. The
new item "Beating Gongs and Drums" in which acrobats juggle and play percussion
instruments simultaneously has raised the art of juggling to a new level. The
spirit of continually forging ahead characteristic of acrobatic artists has
provided great encouragement to mankind.
Fifth, Chinese acrobatics features the combination of great physical strength
and quick and nimble somersaults. It requires an unusual amount of physical
strength on the part of the performer supporting a pyramid, as the Tang
Dynasty acrobat who, records indicate, balanced a long pole on his head
while 18 people performed aerial stunts.
A lacquer painting on a bow dating from the Tang Dynasty, which is now housed
in Japan as a national treasure, shows a man supporting a long pole on his head
with six people performing aerial stunts. A contemporary veteran acrobat showed
great strength by using his hands and feet to lift four stone barbells and eight
people weighing over 1000 pounds.
Other items such as "Drawing Strong Bows" and "Wielding
a Heavy, Long-shaft Broadsword" also require unusual physical strength.
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