China is believed to be the birthplace of the kite. The earliest written evidence dates back to 196 B.C. E.  The Double Nine Festival started in the Northern Sung Dynasty (A.D. 960-1126).  On the ninth day of the ninth month families come together to fly kites to scare away evil spirits.

A story of the origin of this festival tells of a man called Haun Ching.  A fortuneteller told Huan that on the ninth day of the ninth month a calamity would befall his household.   To secure his family’s safety, he followed the fortune teller’s advice to drink chrysanthemum wine and fly kites.  Having done what he was told, he returned home to find all of his farm animals sick, but his family was safe.  In remembrance of the event, people continue to travel to the hills, taking their kites.  People believed that they avoided a whole year’s bad luck by flying kites.

China has five famous kite flying regions.  Beijing, Weifeng, Tianjin, Nanton, and Jiangnan.  Feng zheng(wind harp) and Zhi yuan(paper kite) are the terms for Chinese

kites.

Hosking, Wayne: Asian Kites, Asian Arts & Crafts for Creative Kids