Chinese Acrobats
Study Guide

Question: What do spaghetti, a wheelbarrow, a compass, paper, gunpowder, and acrobatics have in common?

Answer: Believe it or not, the correct answer is not "absolutely nothing," but rather, "China."

All of the items above were in fact invented in China.
For example, the first recorded use of gunpowder by the military was during a period of Chinese history many, many years ago known as the Five Dynasties. They simply set it on fire and threw it, and the resulting fiery explosion was enough to send their enemies running the other direction.

And it was several thousand years before that in a period known as the Qin Dynasty, that something we use every day without thinking much about was first invented: paper.

In fact, the Chinese take great pride in what are known as "the four inventions," the compass, gunpowder, paper, and printing. And well they should be proud! These inventions transformed sea transport, warfare and literacy -- not just in China but all over the world.

If you think spaghetti is Italian, think again. Spaghetti originated in China. And the next time you are in a hardware store and pass a wheelbarrow, remind yourself that it was invented in China too.

Although we have put to use many of the things the Chinese people have invented, there are a couple of things that are very different from what we are used to. The Chinese calendar is much different from ours.When our calendar shows us that the year is 2000 AD, theirs will show the year 4698. Obviously, their calendar is several thousand years older. The other thing which is very different is the language, including the alphabet (which they call characters).

Which leaves one last thing to talk about -- acrobatics. It was during the Han Dynasty, more than two thousand years ago, that the Chinese saw the first acrobats, magicians, and jugglers. It is not certain exactly how acrobatics came into existence, but their acts were so successful for the royalty that they were soon performing at ceremonial carnivals and public theaters alike.

Meanwhile, Chinese farmers with relatively little to do over the long, non-productive winter decided to spend their time improving their societal positions by becoming acrobats. They practiced the art form with just about anything that wasn't nailed down -- cups, saucers, tables, chairs, plates on rods, even their own bodies, with which they formed human walls and pyramids.

Children learned the skills from their fathers and grandfathers before they were of school age. The tradition of Chinese acrobats is therefore one which has been passed down for centuries, for generations and generations.

Obviously, immense athletic ability and a keen sense of timing are vital to the acrobats, but so is the oriental philosophy, Chi Kung, which teaches one to use the mind and the body in perfect harmony with each other.

While a thorough knowledge of Chi Kung is not a pre-requisite for acrobats performing with modern-day circuses, they might be interested to know that their profession has its roots in a 2000 year old tradition that began in China. Indeed, China is considered to be the birthplace of the modern day circus.

Obviously the Chinese Acrobats you see in the performance you are attending are not 2000 years old, but the balanced magical program they'll perform for you is much like acts first put on for royalty more than 2000 years ago. 

The student guide asks students to compare the performance they will see with circus performances they may have seen in the past. Discussion might include what things are different, what is similar, and how students feel the Chinese tradition contributed to modern-day circus performances.

The guide also contains a time line detailing the rise of acrobatics in China. It suggests that students choose one of the many historical periods, known as dynasties, to do a brief report on, and further fill in the time line in terms of other discoveries originating in China including: gunpowder, wheelbarrows and spaghetti.

That Chinese acrobatic troupes tend to be members of the same family lends itself nicely to a discussion of traditions. Students are asked to identify traditions in their own homes, as well as offer their thoughts on why they think Chinese acrobatics is truly a family affair.

Students are also asked to swing their imaginations into action by writing down the most spectacular acrobatic feat they can think of, and share the idea with a classmate who can draw a picture of the stunt described.

The fact that acrobats begin training at such a young age could stimulate an interesting discussion on career preparation. What do students want to be? What sort of special training will they require to reach their individual goals? Have them interview a parent or friend to find out how he or she trained for his or her profession, asking what kind of training was involved, how long it took, and the like.

Lastly, the rather amazing performance you will see is bound to spark some interest in the rich history of a country that, although it contains one quarter of the world's population, sill "remains a mystery to us," in the words of Alastaire Clayre. Clayre is the author of The Heart of the Dragon, a book that inspired an award-winning twelve part series that has aired on public television.