The Qingming Festival is a traditional Chinese festival, which usually occurs around April 5. In early April, the earth rejuvenates and every creature lives life with renewed vigor. In addition to ancestor worship and tomb sweeping, the Chinese often go on outings and fly kites to enjoy nature in spring. On this occasion, let’s explore kite culture together!
In contemporary China, kite-flying is a highly popular sport and form of entertainment. Kites are moderately priced, from a few yuan to several dozen, while kite-flying can be enjoyed in many locales. Any open and flat outdoor place with stable wind makes an ideal venue.
In modern times, with nylon cloth and other fabrics mounted on carbon-rod skeletons, common kites are generally factory-made through such processes as spray painting, cutting, sewing, and assembling. They are easy to make, durable, and airworthy. The most common ones are the triangular type, but luminous kites and other specialty kites are seen more and more these days.
According to legend, the earliest kite “Muyuan” was invented by Mozi and Luban in the Spring and Autumn Period (B.C.770-B.C.476), originally intended for military purposes, such as communication, reconnaissance, and flight over dangerous spots. After the invention of papermaking techniques in the Han Dynasty (B.C.202-A.D.220), paper kites appeared, and gradually became a form of folk entertainment. In the Five Dynasties Period (907-960), a bamboo whistle was attached to the gadget before flying, which made a sound when flying that resembled the one made by a traditional Chinese string instrument, the zheng. As a result, kites were named “fengzheng” (lit. zheng played by the wind).
Chinese traditional kites are generally made of paper, silk and other fabrics mounted on a skeleton of bamboo strips by craftsmen through the processes of tying, pasting, and painting. The painting often depicts legendary figures, birds, beasts, fish and insects, etc. and is highly ornamental.
Over thousands of years, the differences in regional culture, production technology, and flying skills, have nurtured a rich variety of kites. In terms of style, there are Beijing, Tianjin, Weifang, Nantong and Lhasa kites, and the types includes fixed-wing, soft-wing, three dimensional, and centipede-like.
Weifang City is located in the middle of the Shandong Peninsula, adjoining the Bohai Bay in the north and the Yellow Sea in the south. It has windy springs with little rain, and the wind direction is constant without much fluctuation. The unique geographical environment has contributed to its prosperous kite industry.
Weifang kites became fashionable in the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). At first, they were intended for self-entertainment or as gifts for relatives and friends only, then they gradually became commodities. By the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1736-1796) in the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912), kite production had become an important local handicraft industry. With the changes of the times, the kite-making craftsmanship and kite-flying skills of Weifang have become legendary, earning the city widespread acclaim and the honorable title “the capital of kites.”
In 1984, the First Weifang International Kite Festival was held in Weifang City, and attended by 18 kite groups from 11 countries and regions, including the United States, Britain, and Germany. Since then, the fair has been held in April, for 38 consecutive years.
In recent decades, Weifang has made considerable innovations in the shape, color, movement and sound of kites by combining traditional techniques with creative uses of electronics, machinery, remote controls, and other new technologies.
Itching to have a try after learning all the basics of kites? In the following material, there is a “kite-making class” (with coloring paper of kite designs of varying degrees of difficulty attached). Let’s make a kite together!