Li Tien-k'uei, a professor at National Taiwan University who has studied Chinese opera for quite some time, says, "From many wall paintings and carvings we can see that even before the Han dynasty (206 B.C.-219 A.D.), there was a dance performed with a kerchief. The idea of water sleeve dancing which appeared in the Sung (960-1279) and the Yuan (1277-1367) probably stemmed from there."
「從許多出土的壁畫、雕刻畫裡，可以看出中國在漢代以前便有『巾舞』，宋元以後戲曲中的水袖運用觀念，大概就淵源於此」，研究戲曲多年的師範大學教授李殿魁說。