October 29, 1982

''DURING the 5,000 years of our history, dance has never been separated from life: you take the tail of the ox and you dance with it. And each of China's 56 nationalities has many distinctive forms of dance. Dance in China is like a flower nursery, with a hundred different flowers blossoming through time.'' The speaker was Hu Zhihou, a member of the troupe from China that will perform on Sunday in ''Music and Dance of the Silk Route,'' an unusual program of Asian folk music and dance, in the Asia Society's Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium. The troupe, sponsored by the society in cooperation with the Chinese People's Association for Friendship With Foreign Countries, will perform at the society's auditorium through Wednesday. Mr. Hu is a noted player of the guanzi, a bamboo reed pipe that dates back more than a thousand years. Now one of China's most popular instruments, the guanzi was introduced to the Xinjiang region of China by Persian merchants traveling the silk route through Central Asia, a major commercial route established toward the end of the second century B.C., and used most heavily in the fifth and sixth centuries of our era.

Two suitors pursue a pure-hearted young waitress: a police inspector, who treats her with respect, and a bully, who forces her into an intimate relationship. Pressed to choose between them, she becomes a symbol of courage. It happens in ''Valentina,'' a 1981 film playing today and tomorrow at the start of a two-week festival of new Soviet films at the Carnegie Hall Cinema, Seventh Avenue, near 57th Street. A total of 16 films will be presented. Admission is $5. Information: 757-2131. 'VILLAGE' ANTIQUES SHOW Standing eight inches high, a hand-made altar of silver and gold with precious stones, which is thought to come from Mexico and was used for worship at home, will be one of the unusual items offered at the 39th annual Greenwich Village Antiques Show and Sale. It is on today and tomorrow from 1 to 10 P.M. and Sunday from 1 to 7 at Greenwich House, 27 Barrow Street, one block below Sheridan Square. A wide variety of objects, including jewelry and furniture, will fill three floors of the building, and an expert will appraise heirlooms for $10 each today and tomorrow from 4 to 10 P.M. Admission is $3.50. The event is a benefit for the Greenwich House Settlement. Information: 242-4140.

Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger urged voters to reject ballot resolutions calling for a freeze on nuclear weapons. Page A22. WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 - Nuclear weapons planners foresee a new generation of arms in which the heat, radiation or blast effects of a nuclear explosion can be used far more selectively than those of existing weapons, according to scientists and Administration officials. Although the weapons are still in the conceptual stage, officials say that a decision to proceed with development could be made in a decade or less.

Mayor Koch, faced with opposition on the Board of Estimate to his plan to build a large incinerator in the old Brooklyn Navy Yard, withdrew two proposed contracts yesterday and accused Comptroller Harrison J. Goldin of sabotaging the plan for ''political benefits.'' Mr. Koch's actions came after he failed in nearly two days of attempts to persuade Mr. Goldin, Carol Bellamy, the City Council President, and the five Borough Presidents to approve contracts of up to $560,000 for preliminary work on the project, which the Mayor said was essential to compensate for a shortage of dump space. The aim of the plant, which was expected to cost $226 million, was to convert 3,000 tons of garbage each day to steam, which would be sold to Consolidated Edison. The utility, in turn, would sell the steam to commercial customers in lower Manhattan.

Lewis E. Lehrman, the Republican-Conservative candidate for Governor, sharply criticized the national Republican Party's strategy in the 1982 elections today and said the nation's high unemployment rate had made his campaign more difficult. Mr. Lehrman's comments came in response to reporters' questions in an interview on an airplane going from Rochester to New York City. ''I believe the Reagan Administration should be making a major effort to show clearly how we are going to rebuild the economy and create 20 million jobs in the next 10 years,'' he said. Mr. Lehrman also challenged the Republican Party's slogan for the 1982 elections, ''Stay the course.'' The slogan is designed to encourage voters to give President Reagan's economic policies a chance to work, but Mr. Lehrman said the campaign failed to convey an Administration plan to end unemployment.