Wei Yongzhen

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Wei Yongzhen, Female, Unspecified, from Nankai, Tianjin, is a third-batch national representative bearer of Kite Making Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-88). The tradition is documented in Nankai, Tianjin. Within the regional tradition and school record of Kite Making Craftsmanship in Nankai, Tianjin: Kites are divided into two types: hard-wing and soft-wing. The "Wei-brand" kites come in integral and combined types, and functionally are divided into three categories: decorative, flying, and flying-cum-decorative. In the Han dynasty, bamboo strips were used to frame bird-and-fowl-shaped skeletons, papered over and called "paper yuan" (paper kite). Weifang in Shandong is a traditional producing area of Chinese kites. Zheng Banqiao, the county magistrate of Weixian (today's Weifang City, Shandong) in the Qing dynasty, described the grand spectacle of kite flying in Weixian in his poems, with lines such as "paper flowers like snow fill the sky in flight" and "let the butterflies vie to welcome spring's return." In the eighteenth year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing dynasty (1892), Wei Yuantai, the founder of the "Wei-brand" kites, established the "Wei-brand Changqingzhai Decoration Shop" at the Tianjin Drum Tower.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

She is a national representative bearer of Kite Making Craftsmanship (Tianjin Wei Kite Making Technique), a third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. She is a kite making technician. From childhood she learned kite making from her father Wei Shenxing; later, through the study of science and culture, she combined the flat scattered-perspective technique of Chinese painting and the blending of mineral and plant colours with the pattern painting and colour formulation of kite making, remedying the shortcomings of a family tradition transmitted only by eye, feel, word of mouth and heart. Since 1986 she has founded economic and technical entities of various kinds and trained a professional technical team, providing practical support for the development of the craft and creating employment for society. Within the documented technical tradition of Kite Making Craftsmanship in Nankai, Tianjin: Kite making has a long history in China, its origin traceable to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Mozi and Lu Ban made bird-and-fowl-shaped devices of wood that could fly when launched, called "wooden yuan" (wooden kite). Later, bamboo whistles and bowstrings were added to the paper kite; when flown, the wind caused the whistle to sound and the string to sing, a pleasant sound like a zither being plucked, and thus it was called "fengzheng" (wind zither, i.e. kite). China's kites are mainly produced in Beijing, Tianjin, Nantong in Jiangsu, Weifang in Shandong, Lhasa in Tibet, and elsewhere. The frame of a hard-wing kite cannot be taken apart and bears wind strongly; the frame of a soft-wing kite can be disassembled and boxed for easy storage and carrying, and when flown its parts can move freely — for example, the dragon-head centipede kite's dragon head can turn its eyes and flex its claws, a bird-shaped kite can spread its wings and soar among the clouds, and a goldfish-shaped kite can slowly swim wagging its head and tail, and so on. Besides these, there are also three-dimensional kites such as palace lanterns and flower baskets. The kite-making craft gathers many manual skills into one, consisting of framing the skeleton, papering and painting; of these, framing the skeleton is the most critical — if the skeleton is poorly framed, the kite cannot fly. For papering, besides silk gauze and thin silk, a tough wind-resistant cotton paper is commonly used. Painting is also very important in kite making; many finely painted kites have been collected as works of art. A little peach gum may be added to the painting pigments to make the colours brighter and at the same time provide moisture resistance. Flying kites is a traditional Chinese folk custom, beneficial to physical health. At the Qingming Festival, the wind blows upward, making it an excellent season for kite flying. At present, inheriting the kite-making technique is of great significance for protecting folk handicrafts, enriching people's cultural life, and improving the health of the broad masses. Over more than seventy years of artistic practice, Wei Yuantai combined the carpenter's techniques of drilled tenons and mortises, the coppersmith's technique of copper-hoop joining, and Tianjin folk painting methods, applying them to kite making, and produced foldable, collapsible soft-wing kites, thereby earning the title "Kite Wei." The kites made by Kite Wei have a unique artistic style — varied forms, lifelike painting, stable flight, superb special effects, and easy portability — and are deeply loved by people. The Kite Wei making technique is transmitted within the Wei family, passed from founder Wei Yuantai to the second generation Wei Shenxing, and from him to the third generation Wei Yongchang and Wei Yongzhen, handed down through the generations and carefully preserved. The Tianjin Kite Wei making technique comprises eight major process steps — conception, design, material selection, framing, painting, papering, test flying and final assembly; every kite is entirely handmade, using high-grade real silk fabric and top-quality moso bamboo, and the finished kites can be unfolded, folded, and thus conveniently collected, mailed and transported. Kites come in varying sizes: a giant kite may reach over a hundred metres, while a small one is only the size of a matchbox. Kite Wei's forms include figures, objects and animals, and also carry special effects such as transformation and sound. After more than a century of transmission through several generations, the Tianjin Kite Wei making technique shows great advantages in craftsmanship and painting, possesses unique historical and cultural value, and is an important subject for the study of folklore and folk craft history. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Archival process-step record": The Tianjin Kite Wei making technique comprises eight major process steps — conception, design, material selection, framing, painting, papering, test flying and final assembly; every kite is entirely handmade, using high-grade real silk fabric and top-quality moso bamboo, and the finished kites can be unfolded, folded, and thus conveniently collected, mailed and transported.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

Female, Han ethnicity, born in May 1943, died in October 2010, a native of Tianjin.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Wei Yongzhen · National Representative Bearer Archive