唐代是中國舞蹈的高峰期。當時的舞蹈可分為健舞與軟舞兩種。軟舞的舞姿柔美，通常是一種娛樂表演。健舞則顯得健康許多，可被視為一種以運動為目的的舞蹈。在集合六朝宮體詩之大成的〈玉臺新詠〉一書中， 大
部分的舞蹈場面都是柔美的軟舞。到了唐代，我們可以從〈全唐詩〉之中發現許多精彩的健舞場面，其中杜甫的〈觀公孫大娘舞劍器行〉就是一例。舞者在傳統中國的社會地位不高。史書記載， 孔子曾與當時所謂的優人發生街突，孔子稱他們焚惑諸侯。甚至因為齊人送女樂于季桓子，桓于三日不朝，憤而離職。然而，孔教並不是始終主宰中國文化，尤其在國家分裂的時代以及外族佔領時期。而南北朝時期就是屬於這種階段。以娛樂為主要目標的軟舞，提醒世人，舞蹈藉由肢體傳達性的訊息。 Chinese dance reached its high peak in the T'ang dynasty when Chinese and foreign choreographers practiced their dancing skills in one of the greatest empires in world history. The dance contained two categories, one was named ruan wu 軟舞, the soft or delicate dance usually performed for entertaining purposes, and the other was chien wu 健舞, more akin to a health exercise but practiced as a sport. In the poetry anthology of Palace Style Poetry 宮體詩, Yu-t'ai hsin-yung 玉臺新詠compiled in late Six Dynasties, ruan wu predominated the poetic imagery of dance. Chien wu 健舞 appeared in the Complete T'ang Poetry, Ch 'uan T'ang shih 全唐詩 which included the famous A Song of Dagger dancing 觀公孫大娘舞劍器行 by Tu Fu. According to historic records there were conflicts breaking out between Confucius and entertaining dancers. Confucius accused them of leading the feudal lords astray. However Confucian values have not always been linked strongly with Chinese Civilization, especially when civil wars took place or during the non-Chinese tribes' occupations of which the Northern and Southern Dynasties was one of these episodes. Thus ruan wu often appeared in Palace Style Poetry, creating imageries, and perpetuated the awareness that sexuality and dance share the same instrument-the human body.
