Evening star., 1907-07-28

depicted The likenesses of various an,-
mails and Insects more or less believed to
be creatures of good luck rather than evil,
such as frogs fishes. fireflies. butterflies
owls, hawks. gigantic centipedes, bats,
mytholical beings. beautiful women, etc,
form the designs OF most OF them.
One Of the novel and Ingenious types
Of bamboo. with a silk string fastened to
the top. In flying the wind strikes the
string and plays upon 1t like an aeolian
harp, producing a pleasing and loud tone.
One of the musical kites. according to Chi
nese military traditions, was once employed
most effectively as a decoy. Chinese gen.
eral. at war against an invading force, sent
up one Of these musical kites with lighted
lanterns attached. 1t scared over the camp
of the enemy. who. hearing the strange
music, thought the object was alive. Imme-
diately all the arrows were shot at the mys.
terlous shape In the air. After the soldiers
had wasted their ammunition the Chinese
general charged upon them and they were
easily put to rout
A Centipede Kite.
A great number OF the kites are con-
structed to represent theatrical scenes and
favortte heroes OF ancient and modern
dramas. In most cases. excepting those OF
the women, the faces are covered with
long bearded, grotesQue masks. Probably
the most wonderful and Ingenious achieves
ment OF n Chinese kitemaker Is designed to
represent n gigantic centipede. This Is ur.
questionably the longest and most fantastic
amusement device that has ever bsen con-
structed for aerial flight. From head to
tail 1t measures nearly forty feet. and 10
made to fold up accordion-like. AS will be
seen the fierce large head Of the creature,
with long protruding horns. huge eyes and
gaping mouth. forms the front OF tho kite.
This Is the gem and marvel OF the whole
collection, and entirely new to the eyes OF
the western world. Two Views Of this
showing a near glimpse Of the head and ths
kite stretched out at full length for flight.
are shown.
The construction Of this kite is as follows;
Extending from head to tail and consus
tuting the body portion are series os
bamboo sticks running crosswise to the
center. to which are fastened twenty-five
or more pasteboard disks a foot or more N
diameter These are painted in circles OF
black, yellow and white, representing ina
all-seeing eyes of this NEUROLOGICAL crea-
ture. a tail portion of narrow strips Is ar
ranged to the last piece OF bamboo. by
mechanical contriyance the curved pieces
of pasteboard forming the eyes are made
to revolve by the wind while the kite IS
being flown.
Seen In the air. with It's serpentine-like
motion its huge glarns eyes, swiftly twirl-
Ing in their sockets. the effect is said to oe
astonishingly realistic, producing quite an
aWe-inspiring scene to the Chinese mind,
at least While being flown cord is at
tached to three more points Of Its length,
in order to keep ii under control In a
strong wind several men are required to
hold the reel. Undoubtedly we have here
one of the first and most ancient patterns
of flying machines. thousands Of years old.
Kite Warfare.
Many of the kites are flown without tails
though a number have lighted candles and
lanterns attached. These are flown at
night. and produce a weird and spectacu-
lar sight. One Of the peculiar types Is tho
fighting kite. This is about five feet long
and cross-shaped. the two ends termlnat-
ing IN sharp points. For this aerial war
fare SILK cords or strings are used, which
have been dipped their entire length in fish
glue and a prepare ton of powdered glass
or porcelain The kites are sent up. and
the moment the strings are crossed the
battle begins When half dozen or more
become entangled. the sport sometimes
lasts nearly day Money is frequently
wagered on the result and special matches
are arranged by experts In kite lighting.
On the 18th OF the First month IL is Gus
tomary to write in Chinese characters on
kites a wish to the effect that the years
misfortunes may be carried away with
them Mothers write II for their children,
with their names and dates of birth. The
letters are placed along the bamboo frame,
SO that they may not be seen by any one
who might be tempted to pick the kite up.
Bows tie a piece OF sulphur paper to the
string of such a kite. which they light
goes up In the air the string will burn
through and the kite fall No one will ever
touch q lost kite. Kites are said TO have
been known in China early the third
{. b-ing us ID first for military
signals From China they were introduced
into Europe at the end Of the seven eenth
century.