Such entertainment as dragon dances, lion dances, rope walking, walking on stilts, sword-swallowing, fire-spitting and braving a sharp sword with one's bare chest all had their origins in different periods of Chinese history.
根據後漢張衡「兩京賦」的記載，漢朝的技藝有「曼衍」、「尋橦」、「跳丸」、「扛鼎」、「衝狹」、「燕濯」、「角觝」等等，也就是今天的舞龍舞獅，走索踩蹺、吞刀吐火，胸突銛鋒。