Kite History

The exact origin of kiting is unknown to world, but it is believed that kites were flown in China two thousand years ago. Some people believe that a Chinese farmer had tied his hat to a string in order to prevent it from blowing away by strong wind, which was probably the first kite ever flown. Some 200 B.C. when the Chinese General Han Hsin of the Han Dynasty used kite in order to measure the distance that his army has to dig a tunnel so as to reach the city he wanted to attack, and there are written accounts of kite flying by Han. It was one great way to pass the defenses and enter the city, sure enough it was a great formula for victory at that time.

Every country has its own style and purpose of flying kite, in India kiting is a part of a great social festival. People everywhere fly kites from the terrace of their houses; thousands of kites can be seen flying in sky at a time. In India, kiting was famous right from the Mogul period. In Japan, kites were flown to keep evil spirits away and where believed that they bring good luck in production of grain. Kiting is also believed to be one of the hobbies which made many people in Japan go crazy and forget about their work, and so Edo government tried to discourage them from flying kites. Kiting was also used in history for the purpose of theft, one thief used to steal golden statues from a castle.

Kite had played a big role in the Korean revolt in the regime of Silla Dynasty around one thousand and eight hundred years ago. The General of the Army Gim Yu-sin was ordered to attack and diminish the rebels. The troops saw a large shooting star falling from the sky and believed that, if they march to attack rebels the time they were asked to, they will surely lose the battle, and they refused to attack. General of the Army Gim, used a kite, which had a fire ball in it and he flew over the troops, it was believed that if you look at the start which is returning to the heavens, luck will be with you. The troops marched and even defeated the rebels.

There are many stories which demonstrate how and where the kite was used and for what purpose? At some places, kite was flown as a hobby by some people, for some people kite has been a great help in carrying out scientific experiments, some people used kites for very strange purposes like dragging their carriage at a unbelievable speed of 10 to 25 miles per hour, some people used kite as a messenger to post their messages, kites were used extensively for military purpose before introduction of airplanes, some brilliant people used kite for great purposes for example a pilot who has got lost at sea raised the Gibson-Girl Box kite so they could be found. Kite played a major role in helping us understand some of the great aerodynamic principles and today we are able to fly high with the airplanes, parachutes, gliders etc. which uses the same aerodynamic principles. And now a days kiting has also taken a face of a sport, many championships are held for kiting and the winner is rewarded with a good fortune too.

As kiting is famous for its great history, it is also famous for the disasters and accidents those occurred while people enjoy kiting and ignore all other safety measures which are necessary to take. People should take care not to fly kite where there are electric poles with wires going from one pole to another, they should avoid flying kites where the string can cause problem for passersby (many people have undergone serious injuries and even died because of the string cutting their neck or body). There are many such measures which if we take care of, no accident will occur while we are enjoying our favorite sport of kiting.