Editing Kite (section)

== History ==
[[File:Fier Drake (1634 kite woodcut).png|thumb|left|Woodcut print of a kite from John Bate's 1635 book ''[[The Mysteries of Nature and Art]]'' in which the kite is titled ''How to make fire Drakes'']]

In China, the kite has been claimed as the invention of the 5th-century BC Chinese philosophers [[Mozi]] (also Mo Di, or Mo Ti) and [[Lu Ban]] (also Gongshu Ban, or Kungshu Phan). Materials ideal for kite building were readily available including [[silk]] fabric for sail material; fine, high-tensile-strength silk for flying line; and resilient [[bamboo]] for a strong, lightweight framework. By 549 AD, [[paper]] kites were certainly being flown, as it was recorded that in that year a paper kite was used as a message for a rescue mission. Ancient and medieval Chinese sources describe kites being used for measuring distances, testing the wind, lifting men, signaling, and communication for military operations. The earliest known Chinese kites were flat (not bowed) and often rectangular. Later, tailless kites incorporated a stabilizing bowline. Kites were decorated with mythological motifs and legendary figures; some were fitted with strings and whistles to make musical sounds while flying.<ref>[[Joseph Needham|Needham]] (1965), ''Science and Civilisation in China'', p. 576–580</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Sarak|first1=Sim|last2=Yarin|first2=Cheang|title=Khmer Kites|year=2002|publisher=Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts|location=Cambodia|asin=B005VDYAAW}}</ref><ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1907/07/21/104991903.pdf Kite Flying for Fun and Science], 1907, The New York Times.</ref>

[[File:Kite Flying by Suzuki Harunobu (鈴木 春信).jpg|thumb|''Kite Flying'' by [[Suzuki Harunobu]], 1766 ([[Metropolitan Museum of Art]])]]
After its introduction into [[India]], the kite further evolved into the [[fighter kite]], known as the [[patang]] in India, where thousands are flown every year on festivals such as [[Makar Sankranti]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120107/jsp/bihar/story_14974741.jsp#.T7owAkXrqMo |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130813070849/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120107/jsp/bihar/story_14974741.jsp#.T7owAkXrqMo |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 13, 2013 |title=Kite fights to turn skies colourful on Makar Sankranti - Professional flyers to showcase flying skills; food lovers can relish delicacies at snack huts |author=Tripathi, Piyush Kumar |date=7 January 2012 |work= The Telegraph|location=Calcutta, India}}</ref>

Kites were known throughout [[Polynesia]], as far as [[New Zealand]], with the assumption being that the knowledge diffused from China along with the people. Anthropomorphic kites made from cloth and wood were used in religious ceremonies to send prayers to the gods.<ref>{{cite web|last=Tarlton|first=John|title=Ancient Maori Kites|url=http://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues1to40/kites.htm|access-date=19 October 2011|archive-date=15 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015211006/http://www.art-newzealand.com/Issues1to40/kites.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Polynesian kite traditions are used by anthropologists to get an idea of early "primitive" Asian traditions that are believed to have at one time existed in Asia.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.2307/2843932 | issn = 0307-3114 | volume = 61 | pages = 455–491 | last = Chadwick | first = Nora K. | title = The Kite: A Study in Polynesian Tradition | journal = Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute | date = July 1931 | jstor = 2843932 }}</ref>

Kites were late to arrive in [[Europe]], although windsock-like banners were known and used by the Romans. Stories of kites were first brought to Europe by Marco Polo towards the end of the 13th century, and kites were brought back by sailors from [[Japan]] and [[Malaysia]] in the 16th and 17th centuries.<ref name="G-Kites">{{cite web|url=http://www.gombergkites.com/nkm/hist1.html|title=Kite History: A Simple History of Kiting|last=Anon|work=G-Kites|access-date=20 June 2010|archive-date=29 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529022551/http://www.gombergkites.com/nkm/hist1.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Needham (1965), ''Science and Civilisation in China'', p. 580</ref> [[Konrad Kyeser]] described [[dragon kite]]s in ''[[Bellifortis]]'' about 1400 AD.<ref name="ley196112">{{Cite magazine
 |last=Ley
 |first=Willy
 |date=December 1962
 |title=Dragons and Hot-Air Balloons
 |department=For Your Information
 |url=https://archive.org/stream/Galaxy_v20n02_1961-12_modified#page/n9/mode/1up
 |magazine=Galaxy Science Fiction
 |pages=79–89
}}</ref> Although kites were initially regarded as mere curiosities, by the 18th and 19th centuries they were being used as vehicles for scientific research.<ref name="G-Kites" />

[[File:Kinderspiele 1828 Drachensteigen.jpg|thumb|Boys flying a kite. Engraving published in Germany in 1828 by [[Johann Michael Voltz]]|left|220x220px]]In 1752, [[Benjamin Franklin]] published an account of a [[kite experiment]] to prove that [[lightning]] was caused by [[electricity]].

Kites were also instrumental in the research of the [[Wright brothers]], and others, as they developed the first airplane in the late 1800s. Several different designs of [[man-lifting kite]]s were developed. The period from 1860 to about 1910 became the European "golden age of kiting".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.johndobson.info/John's%20Kite%20Site/George/pdfs/Chapter%203.fm.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2018-06-12 |archive-date=2020-06-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630201936/https://www.johndobson.info/John's%20Kite%20Site/George/pdfs/Chapter%203.fm.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In the 20th century, many new kite designs are developed. These included [[William Abner Eddy#Kites|Eddy]]'s tailless diamond, the [[tetrahedral kite]], the [[Rogallo wing]], the [[sled kite]], the [[parafoil]], and [[power kite]]s.<ref name="History of Kites">{{cite web|title=History of Kites|url=http://kites.com/history-of-kites.html|access-date=18 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426232651/http://kites.com/history-of-kites.html|archive-date=26 April 2012|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>  Kites were used for scientific purposes, especially in meteorology, aeronautics, wireless communications and [[kite aerial photography|photography]]. The Rogallo wing was adapted for [[stunt kite]]s and [[hang gliding]] and the parafoil was adapted for [[parachuting]] and [[paragliding]].

The rapid development of mechanically powered aircraft diminished interest in kites. [[World War II]] saw a limited use of kites for military purposes ([[survival radio]], [[Focke Achgelis Fa 330]], [[military radio antenna kites]]).

Kites are now mostly used for recreation. Lightweight synthetic materials ([[ripstop nylon]], [[plastic film]], [[carbon fiber]] tube and rod) are used for kite making. Synthetic rope and cord ([[nylon]], [[polyethylene]], [[kevlar]] and [[dyneema]]) are used as bridle and kite line.