The Chinese say there should never be more than three strings to bridle or harness; this bridle has two strings to the head of the dragon, and three strings to the harness. The harness consists of the three strings running from one end of the kite to the other. The Chinese dragon kite usually, if not always, has circular disks for the body of the monster. Fig. 111 shows a beautiful kite hung on the wall for decorative purposes and shows the design on the individual sections, while Fig. 112 shows the same kite held by boys on the lawn. The lighter portion on the disk is green with gilt scales, while the darker portion is scarlet. The head is all colors, with red mouth, white teeth, eyes that revolve with little mirrors thereon to flash the sunlight. The framework for the head is shown in Fig. 113. While the framework for each circular disk, Fig. 114, is just a band of bamboo, with a light strip of bamboo to which the peacock feathers are attached as balancers, the disks are covered with Chinese paper and decorated. The disks are 10” and the balancer sticks 30”. The feathers are lashed to the balancer sticks. The discs are 12” apart. The last disc has streamers of ribbon or tissue paper. This kite flies well and sways about like an immense brightly colored caterpillar up in the air. [Illustration: FIG. 114.] The dragon kite, Fig. 115, was very beautiful and flew high in the air. The colors were pink and white. Instead of feathers for balancers, tufts of tissue paper were used. A special balancer was used for the whole kite in the form of a hollow ball. Small reed or bamboo was used for the skeleton, and this was covered with tissue paper. See it hanging below the kite’s head in the picture. The various sections are covered with different colored papers. The heads differ, but otherwise the kites are quite similar in construction. [Illustration: FIG. 115.] CHAPTER VII. DECORATION OF KITES. Kites may be decorated in three general ways. Piece work in covering; overlaying, called aplaca; and brush work. The decoration of kites presents some unique problems. The great distances at which the decorations are to be seen force a study of the carrying qualities of colors. [Illustration: FIG. 116.] The star kite is probably the best for decoration, as the spacing falls in easier relationships than some of the other forms. In the kite shown in Fig. 116 the covering is applied so as to give a decorative effect, and it showed up splendidly in the air. The colors did not stand out as well as might be expected, however, and while high in the air it was nearly overlooked by the judges. When brought nearer it received the first prize. Another way of combining colors is to make one half one color and the other half another, giving a light and shade effect to each point, Fig. 117.