Fengzheng
Fengzheng is a kind of folk toy as well as a handicraft. It is made from slender slips of bamboo as the frame with thin paper plastered and a long thread to fly with. It flies into the sky with wind.
However, fengzheng in its earliest stage did not look like what we see today, and it was not invented for amusement. It is said that Lu Ban was the inventor, who lived in the Spring and Autumn Period(770-476 B. C.). Enlightened from the sparrow hawk spiraling in the sky, Lu Ban made one with bamboo and called it "bamboo sparrow", which was said to have remained "flying in the air for three days". This was actually the earliest fengzheng.
When paper was invented, It replaced bamboo to make a lighter fengzheng, which was named "paper bird" at that time. According to historical records, emperor Liangwu of the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-589 A. D.)used a Fengzheng to send his message for help when he was besieged in a city.
In the Song Dynasty(960-1270AD),people loaded gunpowder on Fengzheng.To assault the enemy is by tying a piece of kindling insence on the fuse and flying it into the sky above the enemy camp, where it exploded and caused chaos. Then they took the advantage to launch an attack and defeat the enemy.It is thus evident that Fengzheng was originally made for military use.It was from the Tang Dynasty on(618-907AD) that Fengzheng gradually became a toy for entertainment. But at that time,this entertainment was limited to the children of no ability and the rich.
Getting bored with the silent Fengzheng,they tied a bamboo whistle on it.When they flew Fengzheng in the air,the wind blew the whistle and made a sound much like that produced by Zheng, an ancient musical instrument,which was very pleasant to the ear. People then vividly named it Fengzheng---Wind Musical Instrument.Only after the Northern Song Dynasty(960-1127AD), was the paper Fengzheng increasingly made.And from then on, it turned from the entertainment for the rich into a popular one among the ordinary people.
