Kite
China is the homeland of the kite (also known as paper hawk), the oldest heavier-than-air craft that gains lift from the wind. It is believed that the kite was invented some 3,000 years ago by Lu Ban (also known as Gongshu Ban, c.507 BC-c. 444 BC), a Chinese master carpenter of the Lu state in the Spring and Autumn Period. It was said that Lu Ban made a magpie out of bamboo
pieces, which could fly. The master carpenter was also the first to use the kite in military reconnaissance. A historical record said "Gongshu Ban made a wooden hawk and used it in reconnaissance of the Song city." In AD 549 a rebellion force surrounded the palace of Emperor Wudi of the Southern Liang Dynasty. The maids of honor in the palace "made a paper hawk and flied it to tell imperial troops about the emergency." That was the beginning of using kites in transmitting military information.
The Chinese name for kite, feng zheng (feng means wind and zheng, a musical instrument similar to zither), was attributed to Li Ye, a minister of Emperor Yindi of the Han Dynasty. Minister Li flied a paper hawk on a string inside the palace, and he installed a bamboo flute on the head of the paper hawk, which produced a sound like the zither when the wind blew through it. The device was thus named feng zheng. In the Ming Dynasty the Ming troops made a crow-shape kite filled with gunpowder, and used it to bomb enemy camps. At that time the kite was also used to measure the velocity of winds. British historian of science Joseph Needham listed the kite among major discoveries of the Chinese. In the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C., it was recorded on a sign that the earliest flying craft were the Chinese kite and rocket.
The kite shifted from military purposes to entertainment in the mid Tang Dynasty. A Tang poet wrote about children "flying paper hawks." In the Song Dynasty flying kites became very popular. Emperor Huizong not only advocated the pastime, but also presided over the compilation of A Collection of Kites from the Xuanhe Years. In very early times kites were introduced to other countries in Asia, the Arab countries, and other parts of the world, as a popular artifact and toy. But in Europe, it was in 1589 that scientist Giacomo Della Porta first mentioned the kite in a book. Now the annual international kites fair in Weifang of Shandong Province, east China, attracts kite fans from all parts of the world. |
