Kites have been flown in China for more than 2,000 years, mostly for fun but also for useful purposes. Kites have summoned help for besieged emperors and have carried lights aloft to show a tortuous way. Flutes have been affixed to kites to turn them into musical instruments. The kite in fact may be known as feng cheng, or a string instrument played by the wind. Kites come in all shapes and sizes but with a preference for bigness and animal figures. Spring is the kite flying season in Taiwan. Children of the countryside gather in the fields, careful to see that strings do not touch a rooftop. That would be bad luck. City youngsters can always find a park or empty lot.
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Insects and birds are preferred models for Chinese kites. The centipede is one of the favorites. Hard to get into the air, it is easy to manage once aloft. Butterfly and big bird kites are common. There also are doll-like human figures and heavenly bodies. Materials are bamboo for the frame, paper and silk. Those who enter competition are expected to make their own kites. Boys are often interested in kite fighting.
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Kites are made in Taiwan commercially for domestic consumption and export. A cottage industry has grown up to supply manufacturers. One group may make frames and another the paper or silk mounting, while a third specializes in decoration. Most exports go to the United States, where they are flown at rock festivals as well as by children. The commercialization of kites has had one unhappy result. In Taiwan as elsewhere, not so many small fry toil at kite making as well as getting the contraption into the air.