A Short History Of Kites - From China To Asia

Nowadays, we think of the kite as a child's plaything, but this isn't the case. There are a huge variety of kites used for many purposes, even by the armed forces! There are kites used in competition, racing, associated sports such as snow-kiting, and also for very practical uses, such as carrying provisions or radio antennae. Although Chinese Kites are a particularly elegant form of modern day kites, China is in fact the kite's country of origin. Kites were first used about 2,800 years ago and the first application was perhaps for the military, as is often the case with any new technology!

Even though there is some evidence that kites were flown in a very basic form in Polynesian countries, it was the Chinese who developed the practice into a truly useful art. These early kites were for the most part rectangular and could be enormous. According to old accounts, they were employed for communications, lifting goods and even men! In the 20th century, the army utilized kites for measuring wind strength, measuring distance and for sending signals between troop locations. They didn't usually have tails, but carried a long bow-line which kept them stable. War kites were illustrated with fearsome motifs, while traditional pictures were used for other variations.

Kites And Science

Benjamin Franklin flew a kite to test his hypothesis about lightning being a form of electricity. We all know he was correct, and barely escaped with his life! During the second half of the 18th century, and up up to 1910, the kite was employed extensively by scientific bodies in many applications, such as aerial photography, communications, carrying men, and experiments in flight - not so distant from the uses engaged in during the kite's humble beginnings!

Nowadays, kites are quick, really light and super responsive to wind and control. The hang-glider is of course the ultimate evolution of this venerable craft, having achieved man's goal of soaring like an eagle and having no line tying him to the ground below.

Kite flying is very popular in Asian countries, sometimes taking the form of 'kite-fighting', when competitors try to snag each others control lines, or take an opponent kite down to earth. These triangular shaped kites don't normally have a tail, as they need to be quick and responsive to out manoeuvre the enemy kite. Across Pakistan and India, kites are flown regularly for festivals and are illustrated with spirits and devils, which provide an entertaining spectacle. There are competitions for aerobatics and height, and even a form of kite dancing! Some countries specialize in musical kites, and flyers attach various objects to the kite tail to produce musical notes - In Vietnam these are pipes, in Bali stringed bows and in Malaysia, a little series of gourds for the wind to blow.

Fighting Kites

This is very popular in some countries in Asia, and more so than in China. Even though its a little difficult to determine who really won a competition, opponents are constantly devising new strategies for defeating an opponent in creative ways. In Pakistan, a familiar practice is to impregnate the kite string with a sticky substance and then pull it through a mixture of coarsely powdered glass. As the string rubs against the opponent's kite string, it behaves like a saw and severs the cord, releasing the kite. Kites in Asia are almost as ornate as the Chinese variiety.


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Peter Bruce is a freelance journalist operating out of Toulouse in France. Subjects covered range from chinese kites to kites in Asia.