Sharp County record., 1881-05-19
KITE FLYING IN CHINA.

"a hllt-llluC 1OL Jul NLAANS - 49, -
hand, and, as so few persons have an
Sopportunity of seeing for themselves the
queer kites and customs OF the Chinese,
Ia short article on the subject will prob
ably interest our boy and girl readers:
In the first place, the kite-owners and
''hyers are not boys; but dignihed Of
fcials, well-to-do merchants, and often
gray haired grandfathers, who vie with
each other in getting up the largest
and quaintest specimens OF the CERT
!,olqnt, while the children are only spec
| tators.
But then these kites are very marvelS
of skill, made in every imaginable form,
of immense size, and all sorts of ma
terials that can possibly be made avail
able for the purpose, besides having
very often a sort of musical attachment,
that sends forth a buzzing, whirring
sound, as the kite flies through the air.
This has given rise to the name tung-
chanq. or "wind harpsichOrd," by
which stately appellation these queer
"Celestials' often designate their kites.
But they have also another name in
China for this fayorite toy-cbe-yao,
which means "kite," a bird very
Numerous in Northern China, and very
useful as street scayenger, in gather
inc I'D the garbage of lanes and fields
on the outskirts of large cities. The
gentle, gliding motion of these birds
has, no doubt, suggested the synonym
of their paper namesakeS; just as the
bows have named their kites, incur own
and other English-speaking countries,
after the self-same bird. and probably
the reason is identical on both sides the
water.
Chinese kites vary in length from
thirty feet to tiny playthings for the
children to learn on, of only a few
inches; and they are composed various
ly of oiled silk, tough mulberry paper,
grass-cloth and gold and tissue paper,
pasted over delicate frames of bam-
boo. In form. the kites represent pal
aces, pagOdas, birds, beasts, butterflies,
fish, wheels, baskets of flowers, trees
loaded with fruit, and sundry other de-
vices. Some are in the form Of enOr-
kors dragons, serpents, or centipedes;
while others are the very fac Stna5leS OF
vultures, eagles and hawks, and often
there will be a regular ''pitched battle .
between several of these monsters,
resulting usually in the destruction OF
all engaged, the peculiar motion of the
different animals being so perfectly i'm
itated that one almost holds his breath
in horror, as they writhe and plunge in
mid-air, Just above his head. Another
favorite device is to have several hawks
attached to central hoop, over which
they hover, or are pulled in and out,
by separate cords, as if contending ovel
a quarry.
Occasionally a castle is seen, with
spires and turrets, arched windows
and vaulted dome, all lighted by small
tapers, that soon burn down and sci
fire to the airy structure. For a mo
ment the exhibit is grandly beautiful
and then this literal "castle in the
air." with all its glory, goes out in ut
| ter darkness. Sometimes an enormous
kite is made up of large number oI
small ones, each of which looks like g
/ domino block, with a rush four or five
feet long fastened to each end Of these
small ones, while the whole are held
together by a common stem. Even the
human species is occasionally repre-.
sented in the multifarious category Of
oriental kites | remember one al
Bangkok, the capital Of Siam, in which
q queer sort of aerial game was per.
formed with a corps of eight actors
all of which were simply kites! Or
rather, there were seven actors, and
the eighth kite was gorgeou,
castle, built of transparent oiled
silk, over a framework OF fine wire, anC
the fair edifce was brilliantly lighted by
wax tapers. Within the castle was g
/ lovely maiden; and two demons, one O.
whom was mounted on a huge dragon
paused before the door, upon which the
lady fed through the open roof, fol
/ lowed by her two attendants. The two
! demons pursued and the dragon looked
several times as ii about to swallow thu
maiden; but presently both demons anC
dragons were thrown with violence t
the earth by a glittering angel, whC
had suddenly come to the rescue. Thel
the castle blew up and fell as a pile o
ashes on the sward, while the ange
bore away the beautiful lady and boil
were lost in the distance. So endeC
this game of kites, in which there ap
peared no living actor; demons, dragon
angel and ladies being ingeniousl,
guided in their various movements b,
the hand that held the strings of thes,
queer specimens of the cerJ-U0lant
Kites are in vogue only at one seasol
of the year, and then the whole popula
tion turn out cB DlHSse, to celebrate thi
annual festival of kite-hying. whicl
dates back thousands of years; and
curious legend processes to account TO
its origin. This legend says that
wise seer warned friend of his t,
sc5s c his fTJTTSU UI q UUT TdIT Uay, TaKInl
his wife and children with him, and no
to return until night, in order that the,
might escape the doom of impendin,
calamity. The man obeyed the iniunC
tion, fed to the hills with his Who'll
fHmily and spent the day in kitc-hying
When he returned, at nightfall, he foun
that the death-angel had passed owe
his dwelling, and every one of hi
domestic animals lay stark and stii