Brief introduction of Nantong banyan kite

Nantong is one of the four major kite producing areas in China, which is unique in China. The harrier is huge and flat as a plate, based on a hexagon, and its structure is a series of star-shaped Nantong kites through combination changes. The harrier style is simple in appearance and meticulous in painting. It is equipped with dozens or even hundreds of outposts of different sizes. When flying, different sounds are made and combined into a magnificent symphony in the air, which is like a group of planes sweeping through the air and deafening, such as the surging rivers and seas. Nantong's modeling kite, represented by Rugao, integrates lanterns, paintings and kites. Compared with Beipai kite, it is more exquisite, flexible and beautiful.

China's two major kite schools, the Southern Kite and the Northern Kite, enjoy a long-standing reputation in the world. Nantong is the main producing area of kites in the south. Among the many varieties of kites in Nantong, whistle kite (also known as whistle kite) is the most distinctive. Shaokou harrier integrates carving, binding, calligraphy, painting and embroidery. , exquisite workmanship. It is not only a treasure of Han handicraft art with great ornamental and collection value, but also stable and beautiful in flight. Whistles of various tones vibrate harmoniously and rhythmically, just like an aerial beauty with good sound and beauty. With infinite charm, it accompanies the releaser to shuttle between heaven and earth, enjoying the myriad fun that man and nature complement each other.

The ancients used bamboo silk as the string on a paper kite, and the wind blew loudly, like the sound of a kite, hence the name kite. It is no exaggeration to say that in the world of kites, the Nantong Shaokou Ficus is a rare and veritable artistic treasure with both sound and shape. Her carving, tying, painting and making have condensed the wisdom of kite lovers in the past dynasties on this river and sea plain, and accumulated their hard work for more than 1000 years and practical knowledge gained from the natural wind between heaven and earth. Kites with kites are bigger than kites, and kites with small kites are bigger than kites. The shapes are divided into square, rectangle, hexagon, octagon and hexagon. After the screening of kite lovers, the beautiful, symmetrical and stable seven-star kite has become the best choice to equip the whistle. For example, a seven-star kite more than three meters high is equipped with 180 large and medium-sized whistles, and the largest whistle can hold 60 kilograms of water. The kite cloth is painted with dragonflies, flowers, utensils, ancient figures, etc. Its air noise has a clear rhythm, a long tone and a huge volume. Another example is the "seven-star harrier", which is 90 cm high and weighs 250 grams. It is equipped with a small whistle with a ring of11,and the smallest whistle is only the size of a soybean. With silk as the material, there are meticulous figure paintings such as Zhao Jun leaving the village, Mulan joining the army and Tiannv scattering flowers. Two camellias with part-time jobs have two very interesting short plays. First: "A kite is a zither that sounds by wind. No matter how beautiful a silent person is, it is also like Sargam's liftoff. How can it be more exciting than a hundred sounds, like Yue Xian's deafening and interesting? " The second type is: self-carving, self-tying, self-painting, self-writing, unprecedented and unprecedented, and truly feel the kites sent by Heaven and Earth in the south. The binding technology of harrier is quite harsh. First, choose the bamboo with solid texture and good elasticity in the south of the Yangtze River or the local superior old bamboo. The thickness depends on the size of the kite. Bake it straight with low fire, polish it with sandpaper and varnish it to prevent insects from eating. Choose a sunny and dry day to tie it, so that the rope can be tightened. Tie it symmetrically, evenly up and down, left and right, and with the same weight. It means that the fineness and elasticity of the left and right bones must be completely consistent to ensure the balance of the harrier in strong wind. After the skeleton of the harrier is tied, sew it with silk embroidered in advance according to the size, and then use wax thread or thin rope with elasticity removed as the lead. Five to twelve leads have appropriate angles of attack up and down, are symmetrical left and right, and the length is appropriate to the size of the kite. The two tails of the harrier, also called the tail guard, are about fifteen times the height of the harrier and seven-tenths of the total weight of the whistle after assembly. It is usually made of straw rope with loose texture, thick top and thin bottom, and even left and right. The tail can float on both sides under the harrier, and the two are not entangled with each other. When the kite flies fast, the soft and buoyant tail flies in the air, like a frightened snake flashing. There are more than ten skills and dozens of essentials before and after binding. These exquisite techniques are honed by the people, so that the standard sentry harrier, regardless of its size, can withstand the wind force above level 5 in the air. Even in the gale of seven or eight, even if the trees on the ground shake the wheat very low, it can still be hung at an altitude of hundreds of meters, and its stability is beyond the reach of ordinary pictographic kites. She provided reliable conditions for assembling audio equipment-a complete set of whistles.

Ball whistle mouth is collectively called "mouth", which usually includes gourd and fruit shell (white fruit shell, chestnut shell, longan shell, etc. ) Silkworm cocoons are made by soaking in tung oil. Because these materials are light, brittle and hard, the "mouth" made is round and loud. In order to make "mouths" of various sizes, Nantong kite artists have cultivated several kinds of gourds, the small inner diameter is only one centimeter, and the large inner diameter can reach more than 50 centimeters. These gourds of different sizes are made into hundreds of shapes and various sound "mouths", which provide a material basis for people to combine skillfully and reasonably on the board harrier. Harrier has a certain weight because it is loaded with a full set of audio equipment, so it has certain requirements for wind power when flying. The big kite needs more than six winds, and the small kite also needs five winds to take off stably and make normal sounds, which is in contrast with the meteorological conditions that kites sent from North China and silent kites all over the world usually only need one to five winds. Today, there are still many kite lovers in Nantong, and there are more than a thousand people who inherit their skills, including "Shaokou" sculptors and painters. But at present, the masters who can write, draw and carve have studied for more than half a century, and the small kite exhibition hall and kite association are non-governmental organizations, which are basically in a state of self-abandonment.

Fortunately, on May 20th, 2006, Nantong Banyan Kite was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. On June 5, 2007, Guo of Nantong City, Jiangsu Province was recognized as the representative inheritor of this cultural heritage project by the Ministry of Culture, and was included in the list of 226 representative inheritors of the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects, which was affirmed and protected.