The Story of The Origins of The Kite

part of A Brief History of Toys & Games

By
John
(aka Oaky Wood)Ó2005/06

Over 2000 years ago the great Chinese General Han-Hsin had a dire problem…..how to capture the palace, which lay in his path.

The palace was a strong one, well guarded and well provisioned, with ample stores of water and stockpiled food. It was rich too with silks and sandalwood, jewels and silver and golden objects. Much more than all these riches was the fact that this palace was also a strategic stronghold, well placed upon its hilltop position, commanding the vast plains, which lay around it for many miles.

Han-Hsin longed to capture this jewel…….but how?…..

Neither his archers nor his fast mounted cavalry had any effect. The palace seemed impenetrable…..

Han-Hsin sat in his tent and thought……

And thought…..

And thought…..

But he was tired, weary from his efforts, and his thinking. So tired that his mind wandered back, back to the pleasanter days of his youth…..to the days spent in the country, watching the farmers at work in their sun kissed fields.

All of a sudden, Han-Hsin jumped up, the answer was there…of course…its so simple…in the fluttering rags which the farmers used to frighten away the menacing birds.

He thought, that if he was to fasten some rags to a thread, and let the wind fly them away and towards the palace…then he could easily calculate the exact distance from his camp to the palace walls. And that if he dug a tunnel, and passing his most trusted swordsmen into the palace by night…the siege would surely be over.

Yes indeed, that is exactly what he did, Han-Hsin dug the tunnel…and captured the prized palace…and went down in history as the man who invented the humble beginnings of the kite.

The Chinese developed many intricate kite forms ranging from birds to the famous dragons of the Chinese folklore legends. Kites were still made of silks and lightweight materials, but however as the kite making became more and more popular, many were made from rice paper, made very thin and light, when lacquered, it would be similar to very thin plastic compound.

Kites soon traveled along the trade routes of the East through Europe to England, where kite flying became very popular in the Victorian times. The kite remains a very cheap toy for children to make for themselves today…..

By
John
(aka Oaky Wood)Ó2005/06

Oaky Wood was a qualified professional toy maker / designer running his own craft workshops for over 10 years in the UK, and is currently retired through ill health. His main business now is designing and running his own websites The Oakwood Grafix Group http://oakwoodgrafix.co.uk/ and is currently developing “The Corner 4 Women” an eZine for every woman, http://thecorner4women.com and is the resident Agony Uncle, article writer and poet

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