Chinese water sleeve dance is a typical sort of Chinese classical and folk dance, as well as the foundation of today’s Chinese Ribbon Dance. In ancient China, People used to wear a kind of clothes with big baggy sleeves, which was known as Han Fu (汉服). An image of Hanfu – a type of traditional Chinese attire worn during the Han dynasty.

Wearing this long silky traditional attire led naturally to spontaneous flowing dance movements and the development of Chinese water sleeve dance. Many literary records about this dance form can be found in Chinese historical documents. Instances of an early form of long silk dance known as Bo Wu (帗舞) appeared as far as the Rites of the Zhou (周礼), Six Small Dances during the Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC – 256 BC).

This dance form played a vital role in ancient sacrificial ceremonies and is also regarded as the origin of Chinese water sleeve and long silk dance. Some stone portraits from Han Dynasty (202 BC ~ 8 AD) show rich images of early Chinese folk dancers with long silks elegantly formed into different shapes.