会动的风筝，让童年梦想飞上天 | Dynamic Kite Maker

张天伟今年八十一岁，因为制作能通过风力自己动起来的“动态风筝”而闻名。

Zhang Tianwei, 81 years old, is a famous kate artisan. His kites are known all over China because they are anything else than ordinary.

张家可以说是风筝世家，张天伟的父亲当年在西安风筝界非常有名。和父亲一样，张天伟从小热爱风筝。“小时候我在书上看到一个风筝，是两只公鸡斗架，书里没有说具体你怎么斗，但这种风筝让我感觉非常惊奇、非常了不起，就产生了创制动态风筝的念头。”

The Zhang family has been making kites for several generations, and Zhang Tianwei's father was a famous kite artisan in Xi'an, so Zhang grew up in an environment that only fostered a little boy's natural love for kites. "When I was a kid, a read in a book about a kite that consisted of two roosters. The wind made it look as if they were fighting with each other in the air. There weren't many details, but I was amazed and inspired and wanted to make kites that could move too." 

所谓的动态风筝，可以理解为给传统风筝加上以风力为动能的机械传动系统。当时的张天伟，还不具备制作这种风筝的条件。

Dynamic kites are traditional kites installed with a wind-powered mechanical transmission device. As a kid, Zhang was not able to make things like that. 

后来，张天伟学会了修表，在木螺厂为机床的各种零件制作木头模型，之后又在电器厂负责机械改造。多年的实践经验，让他得以实现童年梦想。

However, growing up, Zhang was studying how to repair watches. Then he worked in a screw factory to make wooden models for all kinds of machine tool parts. Later, he was in charge of modifying mechanics in an electric application factory. Years of working experience gave him the possibility to let his childhood dream come true.

要制作一个动态风筝，需要先设想好它要怎么做，然后画图纸。“我一般画一个正视图，一个侧视图。如果有问题，在图纸上把问题95%都解决，做的时候就能一次成功。”

To make a dynamic kite, Zhang needs to picture its moves in his mind first and put them on the blueprint. "Normally, I draw a front view and a side view. I solve 95 percent of the problems so that there would be no need to rework it."

为了减轻重量，张天伟一般用铝合金制作齿轮。拿一个身边常见易拉罐，剪成细丝后用钳子弯曲，就能做成一个齿轮。齿轮和竹子做的连杆共同构成风筝的传动系统，做好后，将这套系统和风筝的轮廓连接起来，裱糊、绘画，最终制成。复杂的动态风筝，还要区分一级传动和二级传动，可以让不同部位做出去不同动作。

To lighten the weight, Zhang uses aluminum alloy to make the gears. He cuts aluminum cans into strips and bends them with pliers. The levers and the connection rods make of bamboo make up the transmission device of the kites. Then he attaches the device with the frame of the kite, pastes the paper and paints the patterns to finish his work. Complicated dynamic kites need several stages of transmission to allow different parts to make different moves. 

比较简单的动态风筝大概需要一至两个月完成。大型风筝的工期，则可长达一年零三个月。

Zhang can finish a simple dynamic kite in one to two months. Big kites can take him as long as one year and three months.

虽然风筝只是兴趣爱好，张天伟也丝毫不懈怠，走路睡觉都在思考做风筝时遇到的问题。哪怕是从外面看不到的内部结构，也做得一丝不苟。有时候，他做的风筝卖掉了或者被收藏了，需要重新做一个，他绝不满足于做个一模一样的，一定会进行改进。

Although making kites is just a hobby, Zhang treats everything seriously. He is thinking about how to solve the problems he encountered during the manufacturing process whatever he does. Zhang makes every single part with precision, even the invisible ones. When some of his works are bought or collected by others and he needs to make another one, he always upgrades them rather than making a simple copy. 

作为陕西省非遗传承人，张天伟觉得自己做的动态风筝是西安文化的代表之一。“我希望更多年轻人能喜欢这个东西。我自己从来不保守。人家问我一点事情，我就说十次，恨不得把所有技巧都告诉别人。欢迎年轻人把它传承下去。”

As the inheritor of intangible cultural heritage in Xi'an, Zhang sees his kites as one of the cultural icons of the city. "I hope more young people can fall in love with dynamic kites. I'm not a conservative person. If people come to ask me about my techniques, I tell them everything I know and teach them. I hope young people can help me pass on my craft." 

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