Weightless weekends

I’m always amazed by how much of a dedicated following kites have in China. Kites are a children’s pastime in India, and kite fights the ultimate competitive sport for some. There is esoteric school-kid knowledge about how to coat the string with ground glass, saw at another fighter’s string in the air, escape traps, create them, which kept some friends fired up. But most people outgrow them as they grow up. Budgets being limited to a school child’s allowance, Indian kites have not grown beyond basic paper squares stabilized by a tail, and the cane spinneret has certainly not evolved since my childhood. So when I saw the sleek gadget that the man in the featured photo holds in his gloved hand, I was entranced.

But then, on further thought, this evolution is natural. Kite flying is a big thing in China too, but here it is an adult pastime as well. The money available for innovation and attention paid to kites is a different magnitude. The kites are large and can be complicated. I watched a group of enthusiasts gather in the garden in Nanjing which used to be the Ming palace six centuries ago. They came with their big kites, heavy gloves, and other paraphernalia. I watched as they put together the equipment. Telescopic metal frames, and lightweight fabric for the kites, comfortable spinnerets, nice gloves, a little game of cards (always a must in China), and then they were ready to fill the sky with darting and colourful shapes.

Chinese tradition says that kites were invented by two Confucian scholars, Mo Zi and Lu Ban, in the time of the Warring States (5th to 3rd century BCE). Tang-era (7th to 10th century CE) stories talk of flying kites for pleasure, and Ming-era (14th to 17th century CE) documents talk of the art form that kites had become. I was happy to dedicate a little part of my afternoon to watching an ancient Chinese custom.