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Fengzheng
风筝
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.
风筝既是民间玩具又是手工艺品。它由薄竹片做骨架和薄纸糊成，需要用长线随风放飞。
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.).
早期的风筝与我们今天看到的有很大不同，也不是用来娱乐的。相传，生活在春秋战国时期（公元前770-474年）的鲁班是风筝的发明者。
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.
鲁班以鸟为形，削竹为料，制成了叫做“木鸢”的风筝雏形，上天三日不下。这就是最早的风筝。
When paper was invented, It replaced bamboo to make a lighter fengzheng, which was named "paper bird" at that time.
造纸术的发明，使制作风筝的竹料进化成了纸质，这种新发明更轻的风筝在当时被叫做“纸鸢”。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.
据史书记载，在南北朝，梁武帝被侯景围困于台城就是通过风筝把救援信送出城外。
In the Song Dynasty(960-1270AD),people loaded gunpowder on Fengzheng.
在宋朝（公元90-1270年），人们往风筝上加上火药，
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.
他们是这样用风筝进攻敌人的: 在风筝尾端不过绑上引火线，然后把风筝放飞到敌人的营地，这样爆炸后就会引起敌人营地的骚乱。
Then they took the advantage to launch an attack and defeat the enemy.It is thus evident that Fengzheng was originally made for military use.
随后他们抢尽先机，发动进攻，打败敌人。由此可以证明，最早的风筝是用在军事上的。
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.
风筝是在唐朝（公元618-907年）开始逐渐成为娱乐工具的。但那时，这种娱乐仅限于不能自理或者有钱人家的孩子。
Getting bored with the silent Fengzheng,they tied a bamboo whistle on it.
如果觉得闷闷的风筝无聊，他们还会在竹骨上绑一个哨子。
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.
这样当风筝放飞时，风吹响哨子，发出类似“筝”（一种古代悦耳的乐器）的声音。随后人们才正式称它为“风筝”--风中的乐器，。
Only after the Northern Song Dynasty(960-1127AD), was the paper Fengzheng increasingly made.
直到北宋时期（公元960-1127年），人们才大量制作风筝。
And from then on, it turned from the entertainment for the rich into a popular one among the ordinary people.
也就是从那时候起，风筝才从富贵人家的专宠变为大众娱乐的玩具。
