The children returned early from school and were busy releasing paper kites in the east wind. In early summer, the breeze is warm, the ten-mile causeway of Fenhe Park is green and grassy, and various kites of various shapes are flying in the sky. As long as Yang Yuanheng, the representative inheritor of the traditional kite production process of the provincial intangible cultural heritage Jinyuan, appeared with the kite, it attracted the most amazing eyes.
Different from the kites made by the industrial assembly line, the kites hand-made by the master of special kites Yang Yuanheng are not only quite beautiful in appearance, but also innovatively integrated into mechanical principles, which can flutter their wings, blink their eyes, and make various sounds, which is breathtaking.
Walking into Yang Yuanheng's studio, as soon as you enter the door, there are bundles of green bamboo. "This is sent from Sichuan by friends from other places, and it is the raw material for making kites!" Yang Yuanheng said with a smile.
In the two rooms of the studio, hundreds of kites, planers, hammers, scissors, and other carpenter's utensils are dazzling on the table, in the boxes, and on the walls.
"Jinyuan kites have a long history of development, and they have become one of the carriers of information in the Spring and Autumn Period. After the advent of papermaking, Jin Yuan had an artist who specialized in kite painting. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Jinyuan was famous for many categories of kites such as hard wings, soft wings, dragons, and boards, integrating aerodynamics, arts and crafts, meteorology, etc. Jinyuan kite, showing the long history and unique cultural characteristics of Taiyuan......" mentioned Jinyuan kite, Yang Yuanheng told the story.
Yang Yuanheng, who was born in a family of carpenters, inherited his father's skillful skills, and after having a daughter, Yang Yuanheng often made kites for children to play. The eagle kite he made was beautiful and mighty, flying majestically in the sky, which made his young daughter "scream" for a long time. Since then, Yang Yuanheng has completely fallen in love with handmade kites and learned from teachers everywhere. With talent and hard work, his kite-making skills soon stood out and became the representative inheritor of Jinyuan's traditional kite-making technology.
The dragon kite he made has eyebrows, eyes, and beard moving in unison, and the dragon ball in his mouth can "purr" and turn even more. The eagle kite has sharp eyes and tail feathers that open and close freely. And the "mechanism" of all this is behind the kite, only to see a wooden gear bite each other, forming a linkage shaft, pulling a hair and moving the whole body. These gears are all made of bamboo and wood, and then wound with stainless steel wire, which is very delicate.
When making kites, Yang Yuanheng also incorporated a large number of traditional cultural elements, and a kite is a well-known folklore or allusion.
Taken from the "Legend of the White Snake" in the white lady stealing the Ganoderma lucidum grass of the Ganoderma lucidum kite, delicate and cute, a mouth Lingzhi, hoofs and running deer, the top of the erection of a rattan bow, when flying can make a "buzzing" sound in the wind, known as one of the "world's top ten kites".
Guan Gong's kite is made into a dignified, upright image of Guan Gong, and the kite flies in mid-air to attract attention and make people evocative.
A Chinese dragon, only the dragon's head is half a meter wide, the dragon body is nearly 100 meters, looking up, hovering in the air to show the proud posture of the dragon soaring all over the world.
The most common swallow kites are divided into multiple categories here, such as baby swallows, fat swallows, thin swallows, winged swallows, and old swallows. Fat Yan represents a man with lofty spirits, Thin Yan is a tender woman, Biyi Yan is a loving couple, Doll Yan is a cute little doll, and Old Yan is a kind old man.
Treasure bottles, eagles, palace lanterns, cabbage, elephants, dragonflies, butterflies, grasshoppers, centipedes...... Everything can be turned into a kite in Yang Yuanheng's studio.
The birth of a kite needs to go through more than a dozen processes such as conception, material selection, strip cutting, tie-making, cutting, pasting, painting, and test flight. Many of the small parts need to be split and planed, baked with an alcohol lamp, and then placed in the oven for a week. To this end, Yang Yuanheng also invented a special oven for kites. These brightly coloured, life-like kites embody the essence of traditional carpenter's craftsmanship.
For Yang Yuanheng, kites have become a part of his life. Yang Yuanheng has won nearly 200 awards in various kite competitions at home and abroad, and he also serves as the vice chairman of the Shanxi Kite Association and is a referee of national kite competitions. With the increasing frequency of participating in domestic and international kite competitions, Yang Yuanheng will make more and more kite styles, such as hard-winged kites, soft-winged kites, string kites, plate kites, gong and drum kites, and mechanical dynamic kites...... The idea of kite making has also become more integrated, open and diverse.
In order to pass on the skills of kite making, in recent years, Yang Yuanheng has accepted apprentices and carried out inheritance activities in various schools without reservation. "I hope our intangible cultural heritage kites will fly higher and more steadily!" Yang Yuanheng is full of expectations.
Source: Jinyuan District Rong Media Center