The Kite in China
3 min readThe kite，a Chinese invention，has been praised as the forerunner of the modern aeroplane.
In the pavilion of aircraft of the National Aeronautics and Space Museum，Washington，D.C.，a plaque says，”the earliest aircraft are the kites and missiles of China.”
The earliest Chinese kites were made of wood and called Mu Yuan（wooden kites）；they date as far back as the Warring States Period，more than two millennia ago.
After the invention of paper，kites began to be made of this new material，called Zhi Yuan（paper kites）.
Instead of being playthings，early kites were used for military purposes.Historical records say they were large in size；some were powerful enough to carry men up in the air to observe enemy movements，and others were used to scatter propaganda leaflets over hostile forces.According to The Records of Strange Events，an ancient book，when Xiao Yan（464-549），Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty，was surrounded at Taicheng（later Nanjing）by the rebel troops，it was by means Picture 12-10Flying Kites of a kite that he sent out an SOS message for outside help.
During the Tang Dynasty，people began to fix on kites some bamboo strips which，when high in the air，would vibrate and ring in the breeze like a Zheng（a stringed instrument）.Since then，the popular Chinese name for the kite has become Feng Zheng（wind Zheng）.The kites made today in certain localities are fixed with silk strings or rubber bands to produce pleasant ringing in the wind.
It was also believed，for instance，during the Qing Dynasty，that flying a kite and then letting it go，apart from the pleasure in itself，might send off one’s bad luck and illness.
Consequently it would bring bad luck if one should pick up a kite lost by other people，which may be dismissed as superstition.
Certain enthusiasts enjoy flying kites during the night.They hang small colored lanterns on the line with candles burning inside，which go up high in the air to decorate the night sky with strings of glimmering lights，greatly adding to the fun.
Chinese kites fall into two major categories:those with detachable wings and those with fixed wings.The former can be taken apart and packed in boxes.Easy to carry，they make good presents.The second category refers to those with fixed，non-detachable frames；they fly better and higher，given a steady wind.Classified by designs and other specifications，there are no fewer than 300 varieties，including human figures，fish，insects，birds，animals and written characters.In size，they range from 304 meters to just 30 centimeters across.
It is no easy job to make a kite that one can be proud of.For the frame，the right kind of bamboo must be selected.It should be thick and strong for a kite of large dimensions in order to withstand the wind pressure.For miniature kites，on the other hand，thin bamboo strips are to be used.
The second step in the making of a kite is the covering of the frame.This is normally done with paper，sometimes with silk.Silk kites are more durable and generally of higher artistic value.
Painting the kite（the third step）may be done in either of two ways.For mass produced kites，pre-printed paper is used to cover the frames.Custom-made kites are painted manually after covering.Many of the designs bear messages of good luck；a pine tree and a crane，for example，signify longevity，bats and peaches wish you good fortune and a long life，and so on.
