Sword Dance

Otherwise known as sword tool dance, sword dance is a Han people's folk dance popular in the Han and Tang Dynasties.

Starting from the Han Dynasty, the sword played a less important role as a weapon and was more commonly used in dance. The most well known dance in which the sword was used as a main performance tool was Sword Dance. In the Tang Dynasty, Sword Dance became more popular and involved fairly high skills. The great poet Du Fu of the Tang Dynasty recalled the dance scene in his poem On Seeing a Pupil of Madame Gongsun Dance the Sword. It is said that great cursive script calligraphers Zhang Xu and Huai Su of the Tang Dynasty achieved significant progress in their calligraphy skills after seeing Madame Gongsun's Sword Dance.

In the dance, single, double or dagger swords may be used. The single sword usually has tassels that can be as long as one meter. The tassels also dance in the process, adding lots of luster to the performance. The movements of Sword Dance are elegant, with heroic bearing and abundant variations. The postures can be roughly divided into the two types of "standing sword" and "moving sword". The "standing sword" is characterized by swift movements and statue-like standing position and the "moving sword" is focused on continuing movements that are even and tenacious, just like floating clouds and flowing water.

In operatic dances of modern China, the great Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang created the sword dance in the play Farewell My Concubine based on Taiji swordplay. And the sword dances in dance dramas of Dagger Society and Stealing Immortal Herbs feature both solo and group dances of different styles. Sword Dance is part of classical dance repertoire retained in modern Chinese dances.