In ancient China, drums were initially¹ used in the army and beating drums was a signal of marching on. Later on, drums began to be used in folk performance as a percussion² instrument for controlling the rhythm. Gradually，drums became a kind of accompanying musical instrument and drumbeating an independent singing and dancing form. Among the traditional folk drum dances in China,the colored drum and waist drum dances are the two most representative types.

在中国古代，鼓最初用于军队，敲锣打鼓是冲锋的信号。后来，鼓开始被用于民间表演作为一种控制节奏的击打乐器。渐渐地，鼓成为一种伴乐器和有独立的歌唱和舞蹈的形式。其中在中国传统的民间鼓舞蹈，彩色鼓和腰鼓舞蹈是两个最有代表性的类型。