A Brief Introduction of Chinese Kites

中国风筝简介

Kites (feng zheng),known in ancient China as zhiyuan (paper kites) or muyao (wooden kites) ’fall into two major groups—the Southern Group and the Northern Group. In South China,kites are usually called yaozi (harrier) or banyao (wooden harrier)，while in North China they are known as muyuan (wooden hawk) ,fengyuan (wind hawk) or feiyuan (flying hawk). As a folk art,the Chinese kite is usually made of painted silk on a bamboo frame,with a silk string attached to it. Of all the art forms in the Chinese culture, kites are one of the well-known handicraft arts beaming¹ with national characteristics, and kite-flying has become a favorite pastime² among the people.

风筝在中国古代被称为纸鸢（纸风筝）或木鸢（木制的风筝），可分为两大类，南派和北派。在中国南方，风筝通常被称为鹞子（鹞）或半鹞（木鹞），而在中国北方，他们被称为木鸢（木鹰），风鸢（风鹰）或飞鸢（飞鹰）。作为一种民间艺术，中国的风筝一般用丝绸画粘贴在竹框上制成，用一根丝线作为它的弦。在中国文化中所有的艺术形式，风筝是具有民族特色的著名的手工艺品之一，放风筝在人民群众中已成为一个最受欢迎的消遣。