The Chinese linking rings: a history of magic’s great metal mystery

TL;DR: The linking rings are solid-looking metal rings that a magician links into chains and then pulls apart again. The earliest known written explanation is in an eighteenth-century Japanese book, and the trick reached Paris stages in 1841 with a French conjuror called Philippe. Since then, routines have shrunk from big sets of eight or more rings to elegant versions with just three.

What does the audience see?

Steel rings, each one apparently solid. The audience may even handle some of them. Then, one by one, the rings pass through each other as if the metal were smoke, forming chains, knots and shapes, and come apart again just as easily.

Professor Hoffmann put it well in Modern Magic (1876): the rings are “found to be solid and separate,” yet at the performer’s will they link “in chains of two, three, or more.” Maskelyne and Devant, in Our Magic (1911), held it up as an example of a really good plot: “solid metal rings that are linked and unlinked at will.” That one-line plot is a big reason the trick has lasted.

Are the linking rings really Chinese?

Nobody knows for sure. The trick has been called the Chinese rings for well over a century, and writers in the 1800s treated it as a trick from the East. Lionel Weatherly and J. N. Maskelyne, in The Supernatural? (1891), list the “Chinese rings” among tricks “of Eastern origin” that Western conjurors had adopted.

Others were less sure. Edwin Sachs, in Sleight of Hand (1877), shrugged the question off: “Whether originally Chinese or not, is of little moment.” Modern historians are just as careful. Jamy Ian Swiss, writing for Magicana, suggests the trick is probably neither Chinese nor ancient, and that the true origin could be Japanese, Chinese or Western.

Where does the recorded history start?

The earliest known written explanation of the rings is in a Japanese book called Hōkasen, a collection of street-performing tricks. It describes a routine called “The Iron Rings,” which is clearly the linking rings. Magic historian Max Maven wrote about it in Genii magazine in May 2016, alongside a translation by Dan Sherer.

The exact year needs a small asterisk. Wikipedia and Magicana date the book to 1764, while Sherer’s own write-up gives 1784. Either way, it puts written evidence for the rings in the eighteenth century, well before they show up on European stages.

Who brought the rings to European stages?

A Frenchman known as Philippe (born Philippe Talon). Robert-Houdin tells the story in his Memoirs: Philippe was a confectioner turned conjuror, touring Britain, when a Chinese performer in Dublin taught him the goldfish trick “as well as the ‘rings.’” Houdini’s The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin (1908) and Henry Ridgely Evans’s The Old and the New Magic (1906) tell the same story, though Houdini says it happened in Edinburgh or Dublin.

Philippe came to Paris in the summer of 1841 and performed at the Salle Montesquieu. Robert-Houdin, who saw him, describes him taking up rings “about eight inches in diameter,” twisting them into chains and knots, and then blowing on them so they fell apart at his feet. His verdict: “This trick produced a charming illusion.” Albert Hopkins, in Magic: Stage Illusions and Scientific Diversions (1897), goes further and calls Philippe the first European performer to present the Chinese rings.

If you enjoy this period, our post on who Robert-Houdin was covers the man who wrote it all down, and why his memoirs need reading with care.

How did the routine develop?

Here are the milestones where at least two sources agree.

When	What happened
1700s	Hōkasen describes “The Iron Rings,” the earliest known written explanation.
1841	Philippe presents the rings in Paris, ending with the rings falling apart at his feet.
1876	Hoffmann’s Modern Magic describes the trick in English and notes that sets sold by magic dealers ranged from six to twelve rings.
Around 1900	Chinese magician Ching Ling Foo performs the rings on his Western tours, as does his rival Chung Ling Soo, who was really an American named William Robinson.
1958	Dai Vernon’s six-ring Symphony of the Rings is published, a routine Magicana calls the most influential of all.
1973	Richard Ross wins the FISM Grand Prix in Paris with a slow, quiet routine built mainly around three rings.

The direction of travel is clear. Early performers used big sets and lots of linking. Later performers cut the number of rings and slowed everything down, so each link lands as its own moment. Hoffmann was already pushing that way in 1876, warning that too many passes bore the audience and advising: “The effect should be as though the rings melted into and out of one another.” That is still good advice.

Why don’t we explain how it works?

Because the secret is the trick. Old books did print it, and you can read Hoffmann’s full explanation in our free copy if you want the history of the method. But a blog post that tips it to anyone searching would spoil the rings for audiences, so we stick to what the audience sees and where the trick came from.

What we can say is that the rings are more about handling than hardware. The sound of steel, the pace, and how you let people look at them all matter, which is why the sets below come with teaching.

How can you start with the linking rings today?

Pick a size that matches where you perform. These are the sets we would look at first:

• Wonderful Linking Rings by Axel Hecklau: an eight-ring stage set, each ring 11.8 inches across, in lightweight aluminum alloy. It includes a 40-minute online tutorial from Hecklau, a FISM award winner.
• 4″ Linking Rings from TCC: a close-up version with four rings of about 10.5 cm, a soft bag and a basic video guide.
• Modern Magic by Professor Hoffmann: free ebook, with his 1876 chapter on the Chinese rings.
• Memoirs of Robert-Houdin: free ebook, with his eyewitness account of Philippe’s show.

The rings sit alongside the cups and balls as one of magic’s great survivors. Our history of the cups and balls tells that story, and you can browse more big-room pieces in our stage magic collection.

Sources: Modern Magic, Professor Hoffmann (1876), pp. 401 to 408; Memoirs of Robert-Houdin (1860 edition), pp. 168 to 171; The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin, Harry Houdini (1908); The Old and the New Magic, Henry Ridgely Evans (1906), p. 162; Magic: Stage Illusions and Scientific Diversions, Albert A. Hopkins (1897), p. 10; Sleight of Hand, Edwin T. Sachs (1877), p. 296; The Supernatural?, Weatherly and Maskelyne (1891); Our Magic, Maskelyne and Devant (1911), p. 453; Wikipedia: Chinese linking rings; Magicpedia: Linking Rings; Magicana: Take Two, The Linking Rings; Dan Sherer: Hōkasen translation; Magicpedia: Richard Ross; Wikipedia: Chung Ling Soo.

Frequently asked questions

Why are they called Chinese linking rings?

Writers in the 1800s treated the trick as one from the East, and the French conjuror Philippe said he learned it from a Chinese performer. Historians are not sure the trick actually began in China. The earliest known written explanation is in a Japanese book from the 1700s.

How old is the linking rings trick?

The earliest known written explanation is in the Japanese book Hōkasen, dated 1764 in some sources and 1784 by its translator. The trick was on Paris stages by 1841.

How many rings are in a linking rings set?

It varies. Professor Hoffmann wrote in 1876 that sets ranged from six to twelve rings, and eight is still a common size. Many modern routines use fewer, and some well-known ones use just three.

Are the linking rings good for beginners?

They are a classic for a reason, but they reward practice. Choose a set that comes with teaching, start with a short routine, and focus on smooth, slow handling rather than lots of moves.