Chinese Kites Blog

Brief History of Chinese Kites

It is generally agreed that the first kites appeared approximately 2,800 years ago in China. The materials used for these original Chinese kites were whatever was readily available for the construction at the time – strong and lightweight bamboo for the framework, colorful and patterned silk material for the kite sail itself, and fine-spun, extremely strong, braided silk strands for the flying lines.

However, author Clive Hart in conjunction with renowned kite expert Tal Streeter, maintain that Chinese kites existed long before this time. They maintain that the first Chinese kites were the invention of two 5^th Century BC Chinese philosophers – Mozi and Lu Ban.

By approximately 550 AD, the kites being flown in China were primarily now being made with colorful paper for the sails, rather than silk, and it was in fact recorded that a paper kite was used as a message for a rescue mission.

Ancient Chinese sources also list many other uses of kites – communication for military operations, different methods of signaling, actually lifting men from the ground, testing the wind and measuring distances are just some examples.

The earliest records indicate that the first Chinese kites had frameworks were flat, rather than bowed (which is more common today) and usually square, rectangular, or diamond shaped.

As kite construction and design progressed, tailless kites evolved which incorporated a stabilizing bowline, with the kites being decorated with mythological motifs and legendary figures, some were even fitted with strings and whistles to make musical sounds whilst flying.

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