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Wang Chi Feng is a master kite-builder, a craftsman who has been making wind-born marvels since he was six years old and learning at the knee of his father, who was taught by his father, who was an artisan to the last emperor. During the Cultural Revolution, Mr. Wang was forced to move to Mongolia to become a horse wrangler. Otherwise, he has never done anything but make kites.
I'm standing in his shop, a large room that faces a narrow alleyway in one of Beijing's "hutongs," those old, single family dwellings built around an interior courtyard that are fast disappearing. The walls of the shop are covered with Mr. Wang's work. There are kites shaped like butterflies, swallows, dragonflies and centipedes. There are kites that stretch all the way across the ceiling of the shop and kites that are so small they can fit into a regular size envelope.
Mr. Wang, who gives his age as 58, is bending over a small kerosene flame at his workbench, slowly bending a thin piece of bamboo. His patience is infinite, born out of years of perfecting his craftsmanship.
"The most difficult part of making a kite," he says, never taking his eye off the flame, "is making the skeleton."
In time -- anywhere from five to seven days -- Mr. Wang will finish this kite and, depending on who ordered it, ship it out from his shop.
Kite-making, like so many other artisan skills, is slowly dying out in China and Mr. Wang is clearly one of the last upholders of a tradition that began, according to legend, more than 2000 years ago, when kites were used mainly for war. Generals would send messages up in the air, painted on kites -- some even sent soldiers up in the air to spy on the enemy from afar. In later years, as warfare became more sophisticated, kites became a kind of banner to announce the type and strength of the forces below.
But China isn't the only country to have found many uses for kites. Even in the early days of the US, Benjamin Franklin famously flew a kite in a thunderstorm to prove that lightning was electricity.
After bending several pieces of finely-cut bamboo into the skeleton of the kite, Mr. Wang will take some traditional Chinese ink paint and make elaborate designs on silk, which will then be cut to fit the skeleton. Such is his skill, honed after all these years, that he seldom works from a drawing or blueprint, unless it is a special order. He knows exactly what length to cut the bamboo and exactly how to cut the silk to fit it.
He will then fit the silk, in the shape of wings for birds or insects, for example, to the bamboo skeleton with glue or thin silk thread. In smaller kites, the frames are sometimes held together by splitting the ends of the bamboo and interlocking the pieces. And, as with so many things Chinese, different designs can mean different things. But in the old days, one rule was inviolable: The dragon kites could only be built for and used by the royal family.
Mr. Wang now makes a living demonstrating kite-making on cruise ships that come to China. He's even got a video of himself flying a kite off the back deck of one of the ships, the kite twisting lazily in the wind, and a hawk circling the kite, as if not quite knowing what to make of it. But he clearly loves the building process, and he at last sees a chance to pass his skills down to the next generation.
"My daughter is learning kite making," he announces proudly, "and she loves this art." His daughter, who is 29 and his only child, has come late to the family business, but she will apparently carry on the tradition begun by her great-grandfather and all those who came before him.
Meanwhile, since it's too cold to go outside and actually fly a kite -- and too crowded in the warren of buildings and telephone wires strung overhead -- Mr. Wang chooses to give me a kite-flying lesson indoors. He picks up a hawk-like kite with a wing span of about three feet, backs up to one side of the room and gently pushes the big bird into the air.
It floats across the room, landing gently on the floor next to the space heater.
"An eagle does not need the wind to stay aloft," he says proudly, smiling.
He promptly sets to work making another kite, this time in the shape of a dragon, the sort of beast his grandfather made fly for the emperor long ago.
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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) ? A spokesman for Muhammad Ali says the former heavyweight champion is "well, happy and carrying on with his daily routine" after being treated for dehydration last month.
Spokesman Craig Bankey says in a statement released Friday that Ali was treated Nov. 19, five days after the funeral of Joe Frazier, whom he fought in three epic fights.
Bankey says Ali is home in Scottsdale.
He adds that "early reports were blown out of proportion." Star magazine reported Ali had been hospitalized last month.
Jeanie Kahnke, a spokeswoman for the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, says she spoke with Ali's wife, Lonnie, by phone Friday morning and that "he was right next to her asking for breakfast and that he was doing good."
Ali, who turns 70 in January, was last seen in public at Frazier's funeral.
Ali long has suffered from Parkinson's Syndrome, which can be caused by taking too many blows to the head.
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The Huawei Ascend II ($179.99) is an update to the Huawei Ascend (3 stars) for Cricket Wireless. The Ascend was a decent budget Android smartphone, but this refresh appears to offer only modest improvements.
The Ascend II is an entry-level Android device. It features a 3.5-inch, 320-by-480-pixel glass capacitive touch screen, a standard resolution for lower end smartphones. It runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). The 600MHz ARM 11 Qualcomm processor is definitely on the slow side, but you should still be able to run most of the 250,000+ apps currently available in the Android Market.
The Ascend II features a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, which is an improvement over the original's 2.5mm jack. That makes it much easier to find a pair of compatible headphones. Additionally, the Ascend's 3.2-megapixel camera has been stepped up to 5 megapixels, but there's still no flash. It also features 160MB of internal memory, along with a 2GB microSD card, expandable to 32GB.
The Ascend II runs on Cricket's 3G network, which works on the 850-, 1,900-, and 1,700-MHz bands, depending upon your location. Coverage is somewhat limited, so make sure to check the maps at?http://www.mycricket.com/coverage/maps/wireless before buying in.
The Huawei Ascend II may be a good budget phone for some, but this modest update means there's no reason to update your current Android device.?
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ASHEVILLE, N.C. ? The Rev. Billy Graham was admitted to a hospital Wednesday near his home in western North Carolina to be tested for pneumonia after suffering from congestion, a cough and a slight fever, his spokesman said.
The 93-year-old evangelist was taken to Mission Hospital in Asheville, spokesman A. Larry Ross said. His personal physician, Dr. Lucian Rice, said he was in stable condition.
A news release issued by the hospital said Graham was alert, smiling and waving to staff as he entered the hospital. Ross said Graham was admitted for observation and treatment and likely would spend the night there.
Ross said Graham was in good spirits after undergoing a full afternoon of medical tests. His daughter, Gigi, visited him after dinner for prayer and Bible reading, Ross said. As the two watched television in the hospital room, Ross said they found a replay of Graham's 1973 crusade in St. Louis.
For six decades, Graham led a worldwide crusade-based ministry that packed stadiums with believers and allowed him to counsel every U.S. president since Harry Truman. His most recent book, "Nearing Home," was published last month.
In recent years, age-related conditions such as macular degeneration and hearing loss have kept Graham at his home in Montreat, about 20 miles east of Asheville.
He was last hospitalized in May, when he spent five days at the same hospital for pneumonia. In October 2008, Graham was hospitalized after he tripped and fell over one of his dogs. Earlier that same year, he had elective surgery on a shunt that controls excess fluid on his brain. The shunt was first installed in 2000 and drains fluid through a small tube, relieving excess pressure that can cause symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease.
Graham has also suffered from prostate cancer and was hospitalized in 2007 for nearly two weeks after experiencing intestinal bleeding. His wife, Ruth Bell Graham, died in June 2007.
Graham rarely appears in public now. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association is run by Graham's son, Franklin.
___
Online:
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association: http://www.billygraham.org/
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MADISON, Wis. ? The toughest opponent Tommy Thompson may have to overcome in next year's U.S. Senate race is Tommy Thompson himself.
The former Wisconsin governor and U.S. Cabinet secretary was set to formally launch his Senate bid with a rally Thursday, 13 years since he last appeared on a ballot.
Early in the campaign, Thompson has found himself under criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike over his shifting position on President Barack Obama's health care reform law. And conservatives in his party say his record as governor and as President George W. Bush's first health and human services secretary was far too moderate.
"The world has changed since he was elected to office," said Chris Chocola, the president of the conservative Club for Growth, which has endorsed one of his opponents, former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann. "Now we're talking about how much less we'll spend rather than how much more we'll spend."
The growth in state spending and the size of government during his 14 years as governor are being cast as a liability by Thompson's rivals, and his consensus-building approach to politics seems almost quaint in the current bitterly partisan political environment.
But Thompson has some things the two more conservative GOP candidates in the race don't: More than 40 years in public life, unparalleled name recognition, and a vast reservoir of good will.
"It's going to be a very bloody, divisive primary where most of the fire is focused on Thompson and his big spending record and flip flopping on issues," said Matt Canter, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
The seat, which has been in Democratic hands since 1957, is opening due to Herb Kohl's retirement. A victory in Wisconsin would be a major pickup for Republicans looking to regain control of the Senate.
One of those challenging Thompson is Jeff Fitzgerald, the conservative speaker of the Wisconsin state Assembly, who helped shepherd through the Legislature Gov. Scott Walker's proposal attacking union rights. The other is Neumann, who has the support of both the Club for Growth and U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, a South Carolina Republican who is a favorite among tea party conservatives.
The only Democrat running is U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, a liberal from Madison.
Fitzgerald said his recent record delivering on the conservative agenda sets him apart from Thompson and Neumann.
"I'm kind of the outside guy, the dark horse," Fitzgerald said. "I have the clear cut message that I just delivered on these promises."
Fitzgerald said Thompson's former statements in support of health care reform are a liability.
"I think he's got a problem with that with our base," Fitzgerald said.
Neumann said repealing Obama's health care reform package is one of the top issues with conservative voters and his call for repealing it has been the most consistent message from Republican candidates.
Thompson declined to be interviewed but instead sent an email statement defending his conservative credentials, citing welfare reform and implementation of school choice programs.
"People said I was too conservative to run for governor," Thompson said in the email. "I won and we sparked a successful conservative revolution right here in Wisconsin."
The biggest issue Thompson's had to deal with in the nascent campaign, and one that could be pivotal as he tries to survive a Republican primary, is his position on Obama's health care reform law.
Thompson initially spoke favorably of the law and the need for health care reform, while also raising concerns about some parts of Obama's proposal, including the mandate forcing people to buy health insurance.
As it was working its way through Congress, Thompson called Obama's proposal "another important step" toward achieving health care reform. But he also raised concerns about certain parts of the plan, including the mandate forcing people to buy health insurance.
He now favors repeal of the law, saying it wasn't the right solution.
Thompson reiterated in his email that he was committed to repealing the Obama health care reforms.
Thompson was the strongest Republican advocate for the law at the time it was being debated, said Canter with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Obama himself even mentioned Thompson in 2009 as a supporter of health care reform, even though most congressional Republicans oppose it.
By now arguing for repeal, Thompson is "catering to what's in his best political interests," Canter said.
Thompson is facing a problem common to candidates who run for election after long absences from office, said Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College. Often the issues of the day and the focus of a party's agenda shift if there's a long gap between runs, he said.
"In the 1990s this country was in a time of great prosperity, and at least the federal budget was in surplus," he said. "It's a completely different situation now."
Thompson, who was first elected to the state Assembly in 1966 and was elected governor four times starting in 1986, has cultivated a base of supporters that is unlikely to leave him, while Fitzgerald and Neumann are fighting over largely the same pool of more conservative voters, said University of Wisconsin political science professor Charles Franklin.
"That divides the more conservative wing of the party which is probably to Thompson's benefit in a three-way race," Franklin said. "Anything he does to divide the competition is probably good."
___________
Henry C. Jackson in Washington contributed to this report.
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