What is the purpose of the eagle kite in the rice field?
Listen to what Wang Guixian has to say:
On August 12, 20 days before the rice harvest, the rice ears were full! Apart from typhoons, the biggest threat is bird damage! On the Chianan Plain, 99% of the first-crop rice has already been harvested, leaving only our paddy field still holding plump grain. Doves and sparrows all flew over, an army pressing in, a dense black mass. Master Guixian said, if you do not control bird damage, 'in mild cases one third, in serious cases two thirds, and in the worst case the entire rice crop is wiped out!'
'Before the rice is harvested, birds affect how much of the crop you get in, but before the rice sends up its ears, sparrows will fly into the field to help catch insects.' Master Guixian believes that birds are part of nature and make their own contribution. 'Depending on the crop season, birds are both harmful and beneficial!' He does not want to use pesticide to poison birds, bird nets to catch birds, or firecrackers to scare birds off. There must be some way to drive the birds away, he thought.
Seizing a lull in the rain, Master Guixian carried a bamboo pole on his right shoulder and clutched a bundle of kites in his left hand as he walked into the middle of the field. 'Xian-e, what are you messing around with again?' 'Hawks are fierce; when small birds run into one, they flee if they can. I set hawk kites up in the field, and when the southwest wind blows and the hawk bursts out of the field in that instant, the small birds are startled and flee without a trace, and that achieves the effect of driving them off.' To actually use this trick! The eccentric master is so creative! So talented!
Riding the southwest wind, seven hawk kites in the field patrol their own territories. Sometimes the wind turns strong, and the hawk kites dive sharply, then climb, then dive again... The strong wind slaps their wings, making a whoosh! whoosh! whoosh! sound, and sure enough, no birds are to be seen.
'Wow! What beautiful hawk kites!' the children shouted excitedly; some people stopped to photograph the rare sight of the paddy field, and others sneered at him: 'Just put up bird nets and wipe them all out, why go to all that trouble?' Master Guixian does not mind. He believes this method saves money, does not harm birds, and does not impact the environment. Still, for nearly three jia of paddy field, putting up hawk kites everywhere is just too much work. Born in the seventh lunar month, he mocks himself as sneaky and crafty, and he wonders again: is there an even easier way?