Pigeon whistles first appeared during the Chinese Northern Song Dynasty, which lasted from 960 to 1127, when they were used by the attacking Western Xia Kingdom as military signals. During the Southern Song Dynasty, from 1127 to 1279, they had spread to the general population, and by the Qing Dynasty, which peacefully endured from 1644 to 1911, soldiers in Beijing had leisure time and were granted money from the government, allowing them to have more time with their hobbies, which included making pigeon whistles.

Over time, as pigeon whistle making became more common in Beijing, the whistles became increasingly detailed, and a culture rose up around them. Raising pigeons for the purpose of adorning them with whistles became more commonplace, referred to as “circling pigeons.” Whistles were designed differently within pigeon flocks, creating harmonies whenever the birds flew together, and the performance of one’s pigeons commanded respect within the community. Craftsmen would engrave the characters of their name into their whistles, four of which were very famous during the Qing Dynasty, and four of which were famous during the time of the Republic of China, which was from 1912 to 1949.  The Beijing pigeon whistle market was decently active until the rise of the People’s Republic of China in the 1950s, as increasing urbanization into modernity has led to the decline of circling pigeons, rendering most pigeon whistles as relics of the past.

When tied to the base of the four center feathers of a pigeon’s tail, the openings of the whistle should face forward, and the whistle mouth splits below the tail feathers and can be held in place with a wire. This keeps the whistle stable when filled with air and attached to a flying pigeon.