_KITE FLYING_
Kite-flying, which since the earliest ages has been popular in China, is,
without possible contradiction, the game which best exercises the bodies
of children. The boy runs back, comes, goes, pulls at the string, winds
it up, inhales the fresh air with all his lung-power, and develops his
strength and his skill at one and the same time.
In Northern and Central China it is in the spring that this pastime is
indulged in; in the south it is in the autumn. Our kites, as a rule, are
much larger than those used in Europe, and we designate their sizes by
the number of pieces of paper that have been used in their manufacture.
Thus we speak of “two-paper,” “three-paper,” and “thirty-two-paper”
kites. The last are very much taller than a man.
The form varies very much. Our “paper eagles,” as we call them, are made
in every conceivable shape—butterflies, beetles, birds of the most varied
sizes and species, monstrous dragons, are all in turn modelled in the
manufacture of these charming toys.
The strings vary, according to the size of the kite, in thickness from
the finest thread to cord often several millimètres thick. In the season,
the sky is clouded with these artificial birds, casting fantastic shadows
as they float in the ethereal blue.
It is said that, one day, a player having to absent himself for a
moment, tied the string of his kite to the cradle in which his child was
sleeping. When he came back he found that his kite had got away, carrying
the cradle and the child with it. Neither were ever seen or heard of
again.
The very large kites do not always carry children away, but, on the
other hand, they often are very quarrelsome beings. The kites which are
intended for the purpose of aerial warfare can be recognised by the
colour of the paper that they are made of. One can thus see at once what
is the character—pacific or bellicose—of each new comer. Often, the two
possessors of the fighting kites cannot see each other, but only the two
kites they are fighting with. Each child tries by skilful manœuvring of
the string to get his kite behind that of his adversary, and hook it on
to the other. When he has done this, he draws his string in, and, if he
is the stronger, is able to bring both kites down to the ground, cuts
the string of the enemy’s kite, patches up its wounds, and adds it to
his collection. Other kites are more peaceful, devoted as they are to
music—the civilising art. A bow, crossed by several parallel chords, is
fastened to the three strings which cross the face of the flying-machine,
and the wind, playing through these cords, causes them to vibrate,
giving the music of the Æolian harp. Some children get to be very skilful
at this game, and it is really an interesting sight to see them vieing in
force and ruse with each other to obtain these never bloody victories.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]