The Chinese kite: two thousand years in the wind

A dot of colour rises into the spring sky, pulled by an almost invisible string. On closer look, the dot becomes a butterfly with immense wings, or a dragon whose rings undulate over dozens of metres. Below, a child runs, head raised, laughing. This game of air and silk, one of the oldest in the world, was born in China two millennia ago: it is the kite.

The Chinese kite, or fengzheng, ranks among the oldest inventions of China still alive today. By turns a military tool, a ritual object, a craftsman's feat and a child's game, it crosses the dynasties without losing any of its grace. To understand it is to follow a string stretched between ancient science and popular poetry.

A twice-millennial invention#

The kite is a Chinese invention whose origin goes back more than two thousand years. Tradition attributes it to figures of antiquity such as the philosopher Mozi and the legendary craftsman Lu Ban, who are said to have made the first flying devices of wood. With the invention of silk and then of paper, the kite grew lighter and more democratic: a bamboo frame, a sail of silk or paper, it became accessible to the greatest number.

This precedence makes the kite one of China's great contributions to the world heritage of techniques. Long before becoming a leisure activity, it was an object of ingenuity, testifying to an early mastery of aerodynamics and light materials.

Before amusing children, the kite was a matter for engineers and strategists: a piece of sky put to the service of humankind.

From battlefield to festival sky#

The first uses of the kite were military. Chinese armies used it for long-distance signalling, to measure distances or estimate the range of a shot, sometimes to transmit messages over enemy lines. Light, silent, visible from afar, the flying device found on the battlefield a very concrete usefulness.

Over the centuries, the kite left war for festival. It became a popular art and a leisure prized by all classes, from scholars to peasants. Craftsmen vied in imagination: kites in the shape of birds, of butterflies, of fish, and above all of dragons or articulated centipedes, whose long body of linked rings undulates spectacularly in the wind.

Weifang, capital of the kite#

One city embodies this art more than any other: Weifang, in Shandong province, nicknamed the "world capital of the kite." The region perpetuates a centuries-old craft of manufacture, and the city hosts each spring an international festival that attracts enthusiasts from around the world. There one sees gigantic creations rise, the fruit of a craft of extreme precision.

To make a beautiful Chinese kite demands a double talent: that of the engineer, for balance and lift, and that of the painter, to adorn the sail with traditional motifs — symbols of happiness, longevity or prosperity. The object is at once a flying machine and a work of art.

Cutting the string, cutting bad luck#

The kite carries in China a symbolic charge. A custom has it that in spring, notably around the Qingming festival, a kite is flown very high, then the string is cut: the device then carries away with it, it is said, the accumulated illness and bad luck, which are let fly off into the distance. The gesture, at once playful and apotropaic, blends the game and the wish.

From China, the art of the kite spread to Korea, Japan and, by the trade routes, as far as the West. Everywhere, it kept this double nature of game and symbol. To discover it is to hold between one's fingers a string two thousand years long — and to learn Chinese is to be able to read the wishes painted on the sail, understand why the wind "sings" and grasp the meaning of a gesture that entrusts its hopes to the sky.

FAQ#

Who invented the kite? The kite is a Chinese invention more than two thousand years old. Tradition attributes it to ancient figures such as the philosopher Mozi and the craftsman Lu Ban. The first models were of wood, before the use of silk and then of paper.

What does the word fengzheng mean? Fengzheng (风筝) literally means "the zither of the wind": feng (风) means "wind" and zheng (筝) designates a stringed instrument. The name comes from the small whistles or taut strings that were fixed to kites so that they would produce a sound in the wind.

What were kites used for in ancient China? Their first uses were military: long-distance signalling, measuring distances, transmitting messages over enemy lines. It was only later that the kite became a leisure activity and a popular art.

What is the capital of the kite in China? The city of Weifang, in Shandong province, is nicknamed the world capital of the kite. It perpetuates a centuries-old craft and hosts each spring a great international kite festival.

Photo credits: the images used in this article come from Pexels and Unsplash and are royalty-free.