Poles with attached flags were originally used as ceremonial objects in processions and not as props in acrobatics. Guards carrying the flags preceded members of the royal family or the nobility when they emerged from their residences. The Tang Dynasty set great store by the martial arts, with bannermen of the guard usually juggling flagpoles in order to strengthen their arms. Over time, acrobatic artists enhanced juggling techniques, made flagpoles more attractive and created the unique item known asFlagpole Jugging, which is still performed today.
Great progress was made in horsemanship and the art of magic during the Tang Dynasty. Performances not only featured men many other performing arts and developed into an art that in many cases seemed to defy human ability.
Both court and folk acrobatics flourished during the Tang Dynasty. Folk acrobats performing on street corners and squares performing stunts on horseback, but also tricks performed by horses. Acrobatics in the Tang Dynasty assimilated techniques from or in circuses sometimes and attracted several thousand spectators. Large circuses were concentrated around the Ci'en Temple in the capital city of Chang'an, with smaller performance venues scattered near the Qinglong Temple.
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