In ancient China, the royal families liked to enjoy music and dances very much, also they used this kind of entertainment to celebrate some important days. Thus it gave the chance for the development of court music. The most famous period is the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) with its “zuobuji” and “libuji”. It is said that “zuobuji” (sitting and dancing) was called the name because all performers sat while performing in the court.

Usually, 3 to 12 dancers danced to the ensemble of the traditional Chinese stringed and woodwind instruments. It included the longevity music, heaven-gifted music, dragon music and the dances of some minor groups. “libuji” (standing and dancing) was another kind f court music and dances, which was so called because all performers stood while performing in the court. It started early in the reign of Tang Dynasty, and in the middle of Tang Dynasty, new music and dances were created on the basis of the old ones.

All together, “libuji” included comfort music and dances, peace music and others. Usually there were about 64-180 persons in the dance, looking grand and imposing. Both of them declined after the riot (755-757 AD) in the Tang Dynasty. You can only see them through the modern people’s imitation.