Kites
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- Date Submitted: 04/01/2014 01:24 PM
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Early History of Kites
The earliest kites, which date from the Warring States Period (BCE 475-221) of the Eastern Zhou (BCE 770-221) Dynasty, were made of wood, and were called mu yuan (wooden kite). Mention of this prototype kite – the "wooden bird" referred to above – stems from an ancient Mozi text (Mozi (BCE 470-391 circa) was a philosopher who lived a century later than Confucius (BCE 551-479) and who opposed the teachings of both Confucianism and Taoism/Daoism... Mohism, or the teaching of Mozi, seems to have been a belief system before its time, for it strikes one as being a thoroughly modern philosophy today) that was documented by another Chinese philosopher – and man of many parts – who was also a contemporary of Mozi, Lu Ban.
Another source indicates that a paper kite, the zhi yuan, was used as an emergency warning device a millenium later, when the kite was flown in order to appeal for help when the city-state of Nanjing was under seige by Hou Jing (CE ???-552), a Northern and Southern (CE 386-588) Dynasties general who served the Northern Wei (CE 386-533), the Eastern Wei (CE 534-549) and the Liang (CE 502-556) Dynasties, and who was mostly renowned for his exceeding cruelty (he was eventually murdered by his own men during a retreat, who perhaps performed the deed in the hope of being shown leniency by the pursuing enemy).
It was not until the Tang (CE 618-907) Dynasty that lighter kites made of first silk and then paper (bamboo was a common material used for the ribs) made their appearance. It was at this time that the kite came to transcend its humble military, or functional, origins, becoming a toy, or an instrument of pleasure. It was not long before artisans began to compete in creating the most artistic, the most acrobatic, etc., kites. During the Ming (CE 1368-1644) and Qing(CE 1644-1911) Dynasties, kite making and flying had become an art form, being the object of elaborate and colorful decorations in the form of birds, flowers,...
The earliest kites, which date from the Warring States Period (BCE 475-221) of the Eastern Zhou (BCE 770-221) Dynasty, were made of wood, and were called mu yuan (wooden kite). Mention of this prototype kite – the "wooden bird" referred to above – stems from an ancient Mozi text (Mozi (BCE 470-391 circa) was a philosopher who lived a century later than Confucius (BCE 551-479) and who opposed the teachings of both Confucianism and Taoism/Daoism... Mohism, or the teaching of Mozi, seems to have been a belief system before its time, for it strikes one as being a thoroughly modern philosophy today) that was documented by another Chinese philosopher – and man of many parts – who was also a contemporary of Mozi, Lu Ban.
Another source indicates that a paper kite, the zhi yuan, was used as an emergency warning device a millenium later, when the kite was flown in order to appeal for help when the city-state of Nanjing was under seige by Hou Jing (CE ???-552), a Northern and Southern (CE 386-588) Dynasties general who served the Northern Wei (CE 386-533), the Eastern Wei (CE 534-549) and the Liang (CE 502-556) Dynasties, and who was mostly renowned for his exceeding cruelty (he was eventually murdered by his own men during a retreat, who perhaps performed the deed in the hope of being shown leniency by the pursuing enemy).
It was not until the Tang (CE 618-907) Dynasty that lighter kites made of first silk and then paper (bamboo was a common material used for the ribs) made their appearance. It was at this time that the kite came to transcend its humble military, or functional, origins, becoming a toy, or an instrument of pleasure. It was not long before artisans began to compete in creating the most artistic, the most acrobatic, etc., kites. During the Ming (CE 1368-1644) and Qing(CE 1644-1911) Dynasties, kite making and flying had become an art form, being the object of elaborate and colorful decorations in the form of birds, flowers,...