Spear dance is a folk dance performed by guards of honor in temple fairs during the olden days. It is said to commemorate Qi Jiguang, an anti-Japanese pirate general of the Ming Dynasty.

During that time, local people set up a militia to fight against Japanese pirates. The militia used a spear-like weapon developed by Qi, called “Langxian”. When the Japanese pirates were finally expelled, people went into the street to celebrate victory with the spears in hand. Later, it became a common practice that dozens of agile and brave men would dance with spears at temple fairs held in late March or early April every year. It was performed to pray for the spirit of Qi to protect the local place and drive out evil spirits.

During the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1851-1864) period, the spear dance was adopted as a means of troop training, along with shield dance, sharp knife dance, sword dance, and sparrow dance. When the Taiping army failed, folk people combined the dances with musical accompaniment that mimicking the scenes of the soldiers charging into the enemy camp. It then became a part of the parade ceremonies at the temple fairs.

The spear dance was mainly performed by local farmers and fishermen. They established associations with shield dance and knife dance performers. Their associations are named after the local place or families, such as Banqiao Shi’s Spear Dance Association and Xinhu Lin’s Spear Dance Association -- although members of the associations do not necessarily come from the Shi or Lin families. These associations practice martial arts and present performances at temple fairs and street parades, like guards of honor protecting the deities. They played an important role in retaining the folk custom of the spear dance.