Innovators with their heads in the sky

The gentle spring breeze is upon us, signaling that the season for kite flying has arrived. Evidence of this can be seen at Tian'anmen Square or any other open space in and around the city.

The history of kite flying in China goes back 2,000 years. Legend has it that as early as the late Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), a famous carpenter named Lu Ban made a wooden flying bird, a predecessor of the kite. With the invention of paper in the Eastern Han (AD 25-220) period, the wooden or bamboo frame was pasted with paper, adding balance and aesthetic value to kites.

It is not until the Five Dynasties (AD 907-960) that the Chinese term of kite was recorded in historical materials after a kind of bamboo whistle was stuck to the frame.