Kite Making Craftsmanship

01 · Historical Records

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." From the first-generation founder Ha Guoliang to the fourth-generation inheritor Ha Yiqi, the Beijing Ha-family kite-making technique has been transmitted within the family.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

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 Xinjiang, 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. "Fengzheng Ha" is the short name for the Ha family, a renowned Beijing kite-making lineage; its history of making kites can be traced back to the late Qing dynasty, over 160 years to this day. The Ha family's ancestral home is Guoziwa Village, Hejian County, Hebei Province; the family came to Beijing because an ancestor passed the military top examination. Later the family fortunes declined, and to make a living the Has opened two shops in Liulichang, Beijing, selling kites exclusively. According to the "Gazetteer of Liulichang," "the Ha-brand kites were at Renwei Temple, north of the road in the middle of Liulichang, and in recent decades the kites made and sold by the Ha brand have been the most renowned." The Beijing Ha-family kite-making technique stresses the four arts of "framing, papering, painting and flying." The Beijing Ha-family kite-making technique draws on the strengths of many, achieving a perfect combination of technique and art in the kite's frame structure and painting, and forming a unique style. It uses select materials, with well-proportioned shapes, rigorous joinery, an elegant appearance, full composition — intricate yet orderly, simple yet rich. The finished kites have bright colours, a steady and dignified look, strong colour contrast, and such features as withstanding strong winds, taking off quickly, and flying both high and steady. As times evolve, people's cultural and recreational habits keep changing, the custom of flying kites has gradually faded, and this precious folk craft of the Beijing Ha-family kite-making technique is slowly being forgotten.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Kites are divided into two types: hard-wing and soft-wing. In terms of structure and adaptability to wind, kites can be divided into seven major categories: hard-wing, soft-wing, hard-flat, soft-flat, string, para-wing and three-dimensional.

Other submitting regions for the same item: Kite Making Craftsmanship · Kite Making Craftsmanship · Kite Making Craftsmanship · Kite Making Craftsmanship · Kite Making Craftsmanship · Kite Making Craftsmanship.

04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Weifang now holds a kite festival every year to promote traditional kite culture. The Ha-family kites are exquisite works of art with a certain collectible value, and also provide important reference material for the study of folk handicrafts and folk art. At present, this technique faces the problem of having no successors and the craft being lost, and urgent attention from the relevant quarters is needed. Ha Yiqi (per the official archives of the associated inheritor): male, Hui ethnicity, born in March 1954, a native of Beijing. A representative inheritor of the fourth national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage item "Kite-making Technique (Beijing Ha-family Kite-making Technique)." A first-grade folk craft master of Beijing, and a research fellow of folk art creation at the China Art Research Institute. He inherits and develops the Ha-family kite technique, with select materials, distinctive shapes and bright colours. His works have been exhibited in more than thirty countries including Germany, France and the United States, and collected by foreign museums such as the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, a French museum, and the Osaka Municipal Museum of Ethnography in Japan. He authored "Chinese Ha-family Kites," "The Art of Chinese Ha-family Kites," and "Painting Manual of Chinese Ha-family Kites." He trained five apprentices including Wang Ning and Ha Xin. Kong Lingmin (per the official archives of the associated inheritor): male, Han ethnicity, born in November 1947, a native of Beijing. A representative inheritor of the fifth national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage item "Kite-making Technique (Beijing Kite-making Technique)." Since 1960 he has learned the kite-making craft from his father Kong Xiangze; the kites he frames are finely crafted, of many varieties, and combine form and spirit, closely tied to the life of the times, with more than forty kinds such as the five-dragon swallow and the paired swallows. He founded a kite factory for the disabled, helped open kite craft workshops in rural areas, transmitted the kite-making technique, and contributed to promoting employment for persons with disabilities and rural residents. His works have won many awards domestically and been exhibited in Japan, Greece, the United States and other countries; with his father Kong Xiangze and son Kong Bingzhang he co-authored "The Kite Art of Cao Xueqin."

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

• Guo Chengyi 01-0197
• Han Fuling 03-1345
• Wei Yongzhen 03-1346
• Hayiqi 04-1867
• Fei Baoling 04-1868
• Wei Guoqiu 04-1869
• Kong Lingmin 05-2781
• Zhang Xiaodong 05-2782
• Yang Hongwei

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Kite Making Craftsmanship (Haidian, Beijing) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Hayiqi · National Representative Bearer Archive
3. Kong Lingmin · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗