1、1Folklore Flying High in WeifangWEIFANG InternationalKite Festival is from oneangle a renowned folkloricactivity in China, and fromanother, a grand Internatlonal eventin kite folklore. Beginning in 1984, theevent has been conducted annually everyApril in Weifang, Shandong Province onChinas east coas
2、t. This year is the 28thsession of this pageant. More tban any other place Weifangreminds us of kite folklore traditions.The city has a long history of kite making, and is widely admired for its sophisticated workmanship of all the processesinvolved: framing the bamboo skeleton,pasting it with paper
3、 to flesh out a beautiful form, and painting the plain kite inbeautiful colors to give it an animatedimage when the thing flies. All these aredone with a know-how to make the kiteeasy to fly. In the 1950s, Weifang kiteswere sold on overseas markets, celebrated for flying high in the skies of over 20
4、foreign countries and regions. On April 1,1988 the Presidium of the Fifth WeifangInternational Kite Festival voted Weifang into the “Kite City of the World,“and decided to collect the 10 championkites selected from around the world 2andhouse them in the Weifang Kite Museumas permanent souvenirs. Dur
5、ing the annual international kitefestival, Weifang hosts a variety of activities for participants to explore other aspects of local folklore and culture besideskite making and flying competitions andcraftsmanship exchange. Weifang hashealthy highway and railway arteriesand airline connection, so whi
6、le it attracts abundant kite producers and flyingenthusiasts, the event also draws regular tourists to do other things besidesindulge their curiosity in the myriad oflittle creatures flying in the colorful sky. The History of Kites The secrets of the true origin of kitesand kite flying have been bur
7、ied by time.Folklore has it that the tradition of kiteflying is founded in remembrance of thedead. According to mythology, on Qingming Festival (around April 5, the traditional day of paying homage to the dead),the closed door to the nether world of thedead will open; so people fly kites thatthey be
8、lieve will traverse the realms of thedead to send their love and grief over theirloss. Another folk belief is that spring isthe time of life reawakening; people canrelease 3the bad luck and misfortune accumulated during the previous year by flying a kite in spring. Custom requires thestring that pul
9、ls the kite be cut to let thekite go, and with it go all the bad luck andevil spirits that have harassed the family.So, no one should pick up a fallen kite andall the bad things it carries. The earliest historical reference tokites in Chinese records is one madefrom wood. Sometime during the 4thor 5
10、th century B.C., the famous Chinesephilosopher Mozi spent three yearsbuilding a wooden bird, which couldstay aloft for a whole day. One of his students, a prestigious master carpenter in Chinese history called Lu Ban, emulatedhis technique; he cut bamboo into thinsticks, smoothed their surface,and h
11、eated them over fire toget the shape he wanted. Hisfinished bamboo bird couldfly continuously for threedays. This was the prototypeof the kite. In the Eastern HanDynasty, Cai Lun (a.61-121)invented papermaking, andpeople began to make paperkites; they called them “paperbirds.“ Weifang is famed for i
12、tshandicraft tradition, and itskite making also has a longhistory. Originally, the tradeonly involved artisans whomade kites as a means of livelihood. Later, men of lettersand artists also developed aninterest in the folk 4art and applied their intelligence and skills to kitedesigning and painting,
13、adding a tinctureof studied elegance and sophisticationto the folk craft. Changes of dynastiesfurther galvanized the development ofkite making, as imperial kite makers of aterminated dynasty fled the capital andstarted their new lives in Weifang, bringing their tastes, standards and expertiseto loca
14、l crafts traditions. The Weifang kite enjoys a reputationfor exquisite craftsmanship. Artisans usethree-year-old Mao bamboos that arestraight and have smooth veins. The process of splitting, trimming, scraping andheating create structures as straight as arrows and so elastic that they wrap arounda f
15、inger. Kite frames made this way arelight, stable and flexible. Weifang kitescome in several varieties: soft-winged,hard-winged, train and cylindrical kites. Kite shops are everywhere in the city,but the best known is certainly the Sanguan Pavilion that sells the Tang Kite.The Tang family started th
16、is businessaround 1628 in the late Ming Dynasty.Its current proprietor is Tang Yanshou.The family trade is distinguished for itshard-winged kites, whose broad spansallow an easy lilac. The “Double Swallows“design of Tang Yanshou is acclaimed asan extraordinary masterpiece. 5Dueling Kites As an inter
17、nationalized event of theproud folk tradition, the Weifang International Kite Festival attracts numerousChinese and foreign kite masters everyyear. The tantalizing stunts and spectacles of competing kites amuse thousandsof visitors, as well as their distinctivemodels, colors, styles and the flying t
18、echniques perfected in different countries. The organizer has elevated the occasion from a folk amusement to a concurrent formal sporting event. This yearmarks the 7th World Kite Championship,attended by teams from dozens of countries and regions, including the U.S. andGreat Britain. Meanwhile, “Wor
19、ld KiteMisses“ from various countries make anappearance in this grand event, promoting friendship among locals, competitorsand visitors with their beauty, kindnessand charm. One of the competitions is the Sinoforeign Sport Kite Event which luresthousands of kite fans and rivals fromaround the world
20、flying aero-dynamic kites of various shapes. The kite mostsymbolic of Weifang is a massive trainkite with a dragons 6head and a centipedes body. It is actually composed ofsingle kites joined into a train by strings.When flying, the tail and body have togo up first to generate a lift powerfulenough t
21、o pull up the big dragons head.The single kites and their connectionsmust be designed according to aerodynamic principles if the monster is tosoar and remain buoyant in the sly. Suchkites are usually about 3o meters long,but this year a too-meter-long dragonheaded centipede took to the sky in fronto
22、f astonished spectators. What festival is complete without anextravaganza and traditional weddingceremony performance? Weifangs ineludes the parade of the marriage sedan,worshipping heaven and earth, crosscupped wine ceremony, and of courseentering the bridal chamber: it replicatesthe traditional ma
23、rriage ceremony. Visitors can also experience rural life by staying in alocal village cottage and enjoying local meals, customs andlifestyle. Savor the Folklore YanKjiabn Village is a majorkite producer in Weifang. Itskites sport vivid images andsoar elegantly. Moreover, theyare decorated distinctiv
24、ely using the woodblock 7printingtechnique of the village, a tradition that appeared on the firstlist of Chinas Intangible Cultural Heritage. Yangjiabu is located in Weifangs Hanting District and haseasy road and rail access; it isadjacent to both the Jinan-Qingdao Expressway and the Jiao-.Ji Railwa
25、y. As youenter the village, the antique shoppinglanes and extraordinarily splendid folkart come into view. Woodblock New Year prints and kitesare the cultural heritage of the village.They are showcased at the Yangjiabu FolkArt Grand Park, where visitors call learntheir history and production techniq
26、ues. The park comprises several siheyuan-courtyards of classic architecture-thatare divided into several sections devotedto kite making, woodblock engraving andprinting, and other arts and crafts. Visitors can try their hand at kite making, orthey can just fly kites and take cable earsto simply enjo
27、y the beautiful pastoralviews. Yangjiabu woodblock New Yearsprints have a 600-year-old history. Theyare characterized by sharply contrasting colors and beautiful lineal depictionsthat create exaggerated, imaginativeand witty images. The motifs are mainlymythological with references to ancientsuperst
28、itions. There is also an 8abundanceof genre prints. This village is also a major birthplaceof kite making, which has paired up withits woodblock print technique; so itskites can be art works or toys, dependingon whether you hang them on the wallor fly them; they come in six categoriestotaling over 6
29、0 varieties. Kite Museum As the home of the kite, the WeifangKite Museum is a must-see for visitors,Located at No. 66, Xingzheng Street, Kuiwen District, it is a huge edifice totaling a floor space of 8,100 square meters.Its design borrows from the monstrous dragon-headed centipede kite-aceramic bod
30、y running the full length ofthe roof ridge. The roof is covered withpeacock-blue glazed tiles, serving as abackdrop for the dragon, as if flying inthe sky. The museum has a collection ofover 1,000 masterpieces, judged by boththeir workmanship and flying skills, inaddition to some 3oo photos or dupli
31、cates of antique kites. The museum is composed of eight exhibition halls, devoted to the history andculture of kites, their old and current useand functions, masterpieces from Weifang and other parts of 9the country andworld, the Weifang International KiteFestival, kite folldore, and a kite cinelna.
32、 Strolling in the museum, you will feelkeenly the powerful embrace of a passionate and dynamic folklore as you indulgeyourself in a fascination for both giganticartistic wonders and their no less impressive miniature cousins whose details canonly be discerned with a magnifying glass.The museum presents a living culture thatharks back to a remote past and extendsinto a boundless future.
