Kite History

• The kite dates back to 770 - 221 BC during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty of ancient China. The first of these kites was called Mu Yuan, or wooden kite, and was first referenced in the texts of ancient Chinese philosopher Mu Zi. Mu Zi reportedly spent three years building a light wooden kite capable of lifting a man. The original purpose of the kite was strictly utilitarian.
  
  

Military Uses

• Early kites were used for military functions. The ancient Chinese created kites to carry a man into the air to fly above an opposing army and fire arrows down upon them. Kites were also used to send messages between an army's divisions. A Han dynasty general flew a kite over the walls of a besieged city to determine how far his army would need to tunnel past its defenses.
  
  

Types of Chinese Kites

• Kites in ancient China were first constructed from light wood such as bamboo. They were modeled after birds whose wings and natural ability to fly seemed only logical. Later, kites were modeled after, and decorated as, many different animals. As kites became more common and a means of pleasure rather than military device, they were made from silk and paper. In many cases, these were the familiar, flat, diamond-shaped kites. Paper was used by those who could not afford silk, and this made their use more universal.
  
  

Other Uses of Kites

• After the use of kites in China became more common, their function also changed. Wooden flutes were attached to kites to create music as wind blew through the flutes. Kites were used in religious ceremonies and to alleviate illness and bad luck. People believed that flying a kite that represented some misfortune and releasing it would also mean releasing the misfortune from their life. In writing about his travels in China, Marco Polo wrote of the attaching of a sailor to a large kite that was flown from the rear of a ship. If the kite flew high and straight, sailors believed the next voyage on that ship would go well.