Published on : 07/10/2024
The 9th day of the 9th lunar month is the Chung Yeung Festival in China (it is October 11, 2024）, and it is traditional in the Guangdong region to climb mountains or worship ancestors' graves.
In the Greater Bay Area, in addition to mountain climbing, people in Huizhou have another must-do tradition during Chung Yeung Festival, which is kite-flying. This ritual has endured for thousands of years in Huizhou just because of one reason. Do you know what is it?
Huizhou kite flying ritual since the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
Flying kites is an important tradition for the people of Huizhou during the Chung Yeung Festival. A Huizhou folk song goes: "The 9th day of the 9th month is Chung Yeung; flying kites, wish the line to be long."
People in Huizhou traditionally come together on this festive day to make kites of their own and fly them together, making it one of the most lively times of the year.
People in Guangdong usually write and pronoun "paper kites" in Chinese as 紙鳶 (zhiyao) or 風箏 (fengzheng), but it is not the same in Huizhou. They insist on writing as 紙鷂 (pronoun the same as zhiyao), which has a lot to do with the history of Huizhou.
The term "paper kite (紙鷂)" was used before the Five Dynasties period to refer to kites. It is referred to as "紙鳶" in the north and as "鷂子 or 紙鷂" in the south.
It was not until after the Five Dynasties period that the term "風箏" gradually became more universally used. In fact, Huizhou's "紙鷂" is a continuation of the ancient name before the Five Dynasties.
Huizhou's Chung Yeung Festival has the most suitable weather for kite flying
In many places, Chung Yeung Festival is mostly about mountain climbing, ancestor worshiping and bless praying, but why is it that the traditional custom in Huizhou is kite flying?
Apparently, it has a lot to do with Huizhou's geographical climate.
Traditionally, people in the north of China fly kites during Ching Ming Festival, while Huizhou does so during Chung Yeung Festival.
This is because the wind in Huizhou is moderate and it doesn't often rain during this period, making it the perfect time to fly kites.
As a result, people in Huizhou will climb mountains and fly kites during Chung Yeung Festival, which has become a unique custom in Huizhou.
Huizhou's kite is unique tailless, highlight on its symmetry
Huizhou's kites are vying for uniqueness and everyone takes much effort to make them.
When making a kite, the key is to ensure it is symmetrical and the center folding lines of the paper needs to be handled properly to ensure both sides are balanced.
The next important thing is to make a very long tail, as a long tail can catch the wind, allowing the kite to flutter in the wind.
However, not all kites have long tails.
The people of Huizhou have invented a kite with no tail, made by simply supporting a large square-sized paper with one straight and one curved stick, and named it as "Old lady's kite (阿婆鷂)". This type of kite is especially stable and steady when flown.
When flying kites, people in Huizhou also enjoy finding ways to "cut off" other people's kites for fun. The more competitive ones will attach hidden mechanisms to their kites to cut the opponent's thread or use a long thread to wrap around the tail of another kite and then give it a strong pull to bring the kite down.
Huizhou flies kites to drive away bad luck and release good luck
Traditionally, people in Huizhou believe that flying kites is a way to "drive away bad luck". The higher and farther the kite flies, the farther the bad luck flies away.
They also try to snap the long line in the air to make the "bad luck" go away forever.
On the contrary, there is a completely different view that people in Huizhou believe that flying kites holds the meaning of "releasing auspiciousness" and "releasing good luck".
The kite must not be severed but protected in all possible ways because if it is severed, then "luck" and "good fortune" will go with it. Regardless of the interpretation, people are all hoping for a happy life through kite flying.
Now, flying kites is still a primary tradition for the Chung Yeung Festival in Huizhou.
Every year at this time, many kite enthusiasts will fly a variety of kites in large parks in the city like Binjiang Park (a waterfront park) or the Sports Park.
In a word, it has become one of the liveliest festival activities in Huizhou throughout the year.
Read More: The changes of Chung Yeung customs