Kite-flying, which since the earliest ages has been popular in China, is, without possible contradiction, the game which best exercises the bodies of children. The boy runs back, comes, goes, pulls at the string, winds it up, inhales the fresh air with all his lung-power, and develops his strength and his skill at one and the same time.

In Northern and Central China it is in the spring that this pastime is indulged in; in the south it is in the autumn. Our kites, as a rule, are much larger than those used in Europe, and we designate their sizes by the number of pieces of paper that have been used in their manufacture. Thus we speak of “two-paper,” “three-paper,” and “thirty-two-paper” kites. The last are very much taller than a man.

The form varies very much. Our “paper eagles,” as we call them, are made in every conceivable shape—butterflies, beetles, birds of the most varied sizes and species, monstrous dragons, are all in turn modelled in the manufacture of these charming toys.

The strings vary, according to the size of the kite, in thickness from the finest thread to cord often several millimÈtres thick. In the season, the sky is clouded with these artificial birds, casting fantastic shadows as they float in the ethereal blue.

It is said that, one day, a player having to absent himself for a moment, tied the string of his kite to the cradle in which his child was sleeping. When he came back he found that his kite had got away, carrying the cradle and the child with it. Neither were ever seen or heard of again.

The very large kites do not always carry children away, but, on the other hand, they often are very quarrelsome beings. The kites which are intended for the purpose of aerial warfare can be recognised by the colour of the paper that they are made of. One can thus see at once what is the character—pacific or bellicose—of each new comer. Often, the two possessors of the fighting kites cannot see each other, but only the two kites they are fighting with. Each child tries by skilful manoeuvring of the string to get his kite behind that of his adversary, and hook it on to the other. When he has done this, he draws his string in, and, if he is the stronger, is able to bring both kites down to the ground, cuts the string of the enemy’s kite, patches up its wounds, and adds it to his collection. Other kites are more peaceful, devoted as they are to music—the civilising art. A bow, crossed by several parallel chords, is fastened to the three strings which cross the face of the flying-machine, and the wind, playing through these cords, causes them to vibrate, giving the music of the Æolian harp. Some children get to be very skilful at this game, and it is really an interesting sight to see them vieing in force and ruse with each other to obtain these never bloody victories.