About 2,800 years ago, during the Zhou Dynasty, the Chinese developed kites using silk fabric for sail material, high-tensile-strength silk for the flying line, and bamboo for a strong, lightweight framework. There are some who credit the invention of the kite to the fifth century BCE Chinese philosophers Mozi and Lu Ban. According to some traditions, the actual idea for the kite came from a Chinese farmer who had tied his hat to a string to keep it from blowing away in a strong wind. There are also reports that the idea for the kite came from Chinese officials who wanted to make a banner more visible and strengthened it with a bamboo frame. Still other accounts say that the idea of the Chinese kite came from observing the sails of fishing boats.
The Chinese used kites for a number of different things. With regard to military uses, the Chinese used kites for signaling devices. By outfitting kites with bells and flutes, they would howl and sing in the wind and frighten their enemies. Bamboo pipes would sound random musical notes as the wind gathered momentum.
About 200 BCE, the Chinese General Han Hsin of the Han Dynasty used a kite to measure the distance to the city he wanted to attack. With this information, he was able to dig a tunnel into the city which bypassed the city’s defenses and provided his army with a victory.
There are also reports of “man lifter” kites which were able to hoist an observer aloft to spy and report on the movements of enemy troops. According to the book of Han Fei Zi, Lu Ban, described as a master of joinery, constructed a Wooden-Black-Eard-Kite (a man lifting kite) which was used to lift an observer above the city of WeiFang during the period of the Warring Empires (475 to 221 BCE) to observe any enemy troops.
There are also reports that large kites were used in wartime to carry warriors armed with bows and arrows aloft so that they could fire down on the enemy.
The earliest Chinese kites tended to be flat and rectangular. The flat kites were constructed within a single plane and were made using a rigid bamboo frame. This type of kite was relatively easy to fly. Flat kites often had long tails which would give them in-flight stability.
Tailless kites incorporated a stabilizing bowline. The Chinese decorated their kites with mythological motifs and legendary figures. Tortoises, cranes, and peaches were used to symbolize long life; the bat symbolized good luck; butterflies and flowers were symbols of harmony; a dragon design represented power and prosperity. With regard to Chinese spirituality, kites were used in religious ceremonies and they were flown to ward off bad luck and to bring prosperity. The higher a kite flew the greater prosperity it would bring.
About a thousand years after the first kites appeared, paper began to be used instead of silk. It was during the Tang Dynasty (618 to 907 CE) that kites began to be used as a toy or an instrument of pleasure. Following this, kite making became an art form with elaborate and colorful decorations.
During the thirteenth century, the European explorer Marco Polo reported that shipping merchants would tie someone, usually a drunk, to a large kite and then launch the kite with the attached drunk. If the kite went high and straight it was seen as an omen of a quick and prosperous voyage. On the other hand, if it crashed or didn’t fly well, they would not set sail.
The early Chinese kites also included the heron kite which was a bird kite with wings and legs that imitated the movements of the bird.
From China the kite diffused to other areas of the world. In Thailand, the people would send up kites made from woven leaves in an attempt to attract the northeast winds which would bring them the annual monsoon rains.
In the seventeenth century, European traders (English, Dutch, Portuguese) encountered kites and brought them back to Europe. The colorful Chinese kites reminded the English of a bird of prey—the kite—so they gave this name to the Chinese flying device.