Kites
   
 

This descendant of the Last Emperor's kitemaker excels in the ancient craft of hand-painted kites. Many designs are traditional; both the shapes and symbols prescribed according to centuries-old patterns. The kite below right is in the shape of a man, with dragon heads on the lower "legs" and "arms" to represent "knees" and "elbows". This ancient discipline draws much of its symbolic imagery from Chinese cosmology. For example, the central fire (below left) symbolizes "Qi" energy while the "Qian" trigrams either side of it represent heaven and the principle of authority.

 
     
     
 
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