Blog #5 Chinese Kite Making
Blog #5
Chinese Kite Making and its History
Welcome back! Today we will be going over kite making in China and it's history.
The kite is an invention native to China, with the earliest kite dating back to the Warring States Period, or 475-221 B.C. The original kites, called mutual, were made out of wood but the invention of paper changed this.
Kites were first used for militaristic purposes. Some functions included measuring distances, useful when transporting large armies across harsh terrain. They calculated wind readings and were a form of communication between armies.
These kites were large in size to carry men up to spy on the enemy and to disperse propaganda leaflets. Laing Dynasty Emperor Wudi used the kite method to send out an S.O.S. when surrounded by rebel troops under You Jing.
The frames of the kites are made from bamboo rods and were a pivotal step in ensuring the kite stayed functioning. Thicker rods were used as the main vertical rod to provide strength while thinner rods created the decorative elements of the design. Twisted Chinese paper was used as binding material.
There are four general types of Chinese kites, centipede, hard-wing, soft-wing and flat. Centipede kites are the most popular with a design of a centipede body and a dragon head. Hard-winged kites are used to represent winged animals. Soft-winged kites have rigid upper rims and flat kites are the simple diamond shaped kites popular in Western culture.
Common figures in Chinese kites are dragons, eagles, symmetrical fish and flying tigers.Red is often found on all kites due to the color's association with good luck.
The kite got its popular name fengzheng, wind Zheng, due to its ringing noise similar to the Chinese Zheng instrument.
It was told flying a kite and releasing it would ward off bad luck and illness. However, if you picked up a kite that belong to another this would bring bad luck.
Fun Fact: The longest airborne kite was 6,000 meters long! It was flown at an International Kite Festival and broke the Guiness World Record.
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