Chapter 14 kite talk

There is a saying in Taiwan: "September 9, kites are flying all over the sky." In addition to respecting the elderly, climbing high and appreciating chrysanthemums, the Double Ninth Festival is about flying kites.After the Lantern Festival and before the Qingming Festival in the Mainland, when the wind is sunny and the willows are green and the wind direction is stable, it is time to fly a kite in the suburbs to vent out the mold that has been depressed in the heart all winter, and naturally feel better physically and mentally, and all diseases will be eliminated.Rope skipping, shuttlecock kicking, and kite flying are all outdoor healthy entertainment, and adults will not prohibit them.After the Qingming Festival, the seasonal wind comes, the wind blows from the northwest, and the yellow sand covers the sky. If you want to fly a kite, you have to wait for the next year!When I first came to Taiwan, I saw people flying kites in the Tamsui River during the Double Ninth Festival. I thought it was very strange. Why do spring things come to autumn?It was only later that I realized that it was entirely related to the monsoon.Autumn is here in Taiwan, the scenery is beautiful, and the cool breeze is just blowing. It is a good time to fly kites.Yichun in the Mainland and Yiqiu in Taiwan are completely different due to the different wind directions.

When did China have kites? The oldest legend is that Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty and Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, fought in Gaixia. Gao, put them into the sky above Chu Camp.The flutes and Qiangdi played all the songs of Chu. The Chu army thought that the Han army had already won the land of Chu. Not convinced enough.Li Ye of the following five dynasties was a romantic emperor who was greedy for joy. He was bored in the palace and let his concubines and maids come up with their own ingenuity. They used bamboo paper as materials to paste all kinds of phoenixes, kites and geese. The wind is thought to be a joy, and a bamboo flute is tied on the back of the bird, which makes a sound when it blows against the wind, so it is called a "kite".Before that, the iron horses that were originally set up between the eaves of the halls and pavilions sounded in the wind, and they were called "kites" when they were knocked on golden stones. Later, they became a special term for paper kites.In addition, it can be seen in historical records that Xiao Yan, Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty in the Northern and Southern Dynasties was besieged in Taicheng, and he once flew a kite to ask for help. According to historical records, the most conservative estimate is that the Chinese invented kite flying as early as 1,500 to 600 years ago. up.

Every year when the river thaws and the new willows spit out green, the elder brothers start flying kites. The location is in the long alley in the palace, with a wide view, no trees blocking the area, and the ground is flat.Kites are made by special workers employed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The best ones are black pot bottoms, sand geese, and thin legs. This kind of kite can fly with a flick. Although the style is old, brothers don’t use fake hands. Just let it go.As for Fushou, Double Happiness, Qixing, Bagua, Zhushapan, Laoshouxing, Baxianren and other human-shaped three-dimensional large-scale rows, bamboo poles must be shaken first and then placed, and small threads cannot be used, and old strings should be used instead. Get up, get up to the strong wind, and stabilize at the high altitude before handing over to the brothers to pull the rope and release the line!Near the imperial city, there lived some idle and frivolous youths. As soon as they saw the inner court kites soaring into the sky, they immediately invited strong and strong people called "diggers" to tie old strings dipped in glass sand to sharp-edged steel darts. , near the Tongzi River (there is a moat outside the Forbidden City, and people in Peking call it the Tongzi River), aiming at the target, throwing the dart, putting on a kite and pulling it twice, the kite was pulled over.Isn't this method of plundering a big treason in the imperial era?Because of the customs in the palace, the kites that have been flown must be let go. It is said that the kites are not born in the new year, so that they can disperse disasters and avoid diseases. ?

The kites tied by the palace are not only exquisite and elegant, but also the old strings used to fly the kites are also special products. If you dig them out and sell them to rich princes and friends without playing them yourself, you can really get a good price!The masters of kite paste in Beiping are all in Liulichang, Di'anmen, Xuanwumen, Pingzemen, etc., some are amateurs, some are professional.One of the masters is called "Kite Ruizi", and his kite stall is located at the entrance of Jinshifang Street. They have a saying: "Keep it for a year, sell it for a spring." Kite Ruizi is engaged in making kites for nine months a year. Designing new pattern kites, manufacturing string carts, bow strings, gongs and drums racks are always in short supply.Xie Youmin, a historian studying in France, saw the French kite competition in Paris. He was delighted to see Lie Xin, and planned to invite Ruizi to Paris to participate in the competition.Because of his old age and infirmity, Ruizi was afraid of traveling far away, so he introduced his favorite student Ding Siba (who lives in Niujie outside Xuanwumen) to go there the next year.Ding Siba made a big dragonfly in the Paris competition, with wings that can flap, tail that can swing, eyes that can turn over, and a seven-string bow on his back, and put it in the sky. Even more jade foil jingle, Qiong Yinyao played, the ladies who participated in the competition were dumbfounded, and they were all amazed.According to Ding Siba’s description of the competition when he returned to China, he said: There were more than 40 countries that signed up for the Paris Kite Competition, and nearly half of them quit in the face of difficulties. In the end, only 21 countries participated in the finals.After he arrived in France, he discovered a kind of deer grass in the suburbs of Paris, which is tough, smooth, and extremely elastic, stronger than the skeleton of a kite made of ordinary bamboo skin and rattan.So he made a four-foot row of lanterns, lit nine candles in the interlayer, and placed them high in the sky, especially at night when the stars are gathered and the rays of the sun are flowing green, which is confusing and dazzling.As a result of the review, China won the first place, and India won the runner-up.Chile's Yunlong Guwei could have been ranked third, but he was not able to win the prize because of his dragon form.It turns out that the international competition is the same as the Chinese custom. Kites should not be tied into a dragon shape. China says that sticking dragon-shaped kites is easy to cause fires. Westerners say that there will be super earthquakes.

Since China won the championship in that international kite competition, following the "July 7th" Anti-Japanese War, there was a series of disasters, and China has not participated in all international kite competitions. In recent years, Taiwan has tried its best to promote outdoor activities that are beneficial to the body and mind. On October 7, 1980, a Zunqin Cup Kite Invitational Tournament was held under the Fuhe Bridge in Taipei City. A total of 2670 masters from Taiwan, Korea, Singapore and Japan participated.Among the participating kites was an eagle flying in the air, which was spotted by a pilot of a Singapore Airlines flight. He thought it was really a hawk at first, fearing that it would collide, so he hurried up, only to realize that it was a paper kite. How realistic is the craftsmanship.The rules of the competition are mainly based on animal shapes. I remember that the phoenix with colorful colors, the butterfly covered with brocade and twisted gold, the fierce tiger with a majestic posture, the centipede with a curvy snake, and the plane with a duck and a crane all won special prizes, which raised everyone's enthusiasm. interest in kiting.

This year, the two kite associations of Taiwan Province and Taipei City have chosen to hold them at the Fuhe Qiaotai Stadium on October 18th. I heard that this year, special attention has been paid to creating performances, such as flying with missiles, jumping out of parachutes, and thirty-six mandarin ducks and other novel kite performances. It's a pity that the author missed the opportunity to feast my eyes, and the newspapers did not publish the news. I think that there is a kite association and the competition is held every year.