Kites were once called Zhiyuan in North China and Yaozi in South China.The name "Fengzheng" came into use during the Five Dynasties(907---960AD).According to the book Xun Chu Lu by lang Ying of the Ming Dynasty,Li Ye,who lived in the Five Dynasties,used to make and fly kites in the imperial court.He once attached a whistle made of bamboo to the upper part of his kite so that a "zheng" sound was let out when the kite was flying.This was how the Chinese name for kite originated.

How the kite was invented?It was thought that is was our ancestors who were inspired by either wind blowing bamboo hat or leaves of trees;or sails of tents;or a flying bird.There are so many contradictory views that it is difficult to decide which is right.But it is universally acknowledged that the first kite flew into the air from China.Mo Di(468--376 BC).a famous philosopher of ancient China,once lived on Mount Lu (now the southeaset of Qingzhou,Weifang),wherehe made an eagle with wood in three years.He managed to fly it for one day,This was the earliest kite in the world,which went back as far as 2300 years ago.Later,he passed on his skill to his student,Gongshu Ban(later referred to as Lu Ban).On basis of Mo Dis,Gongshu ban got his own improved.He made a magpie out of bamboo,which flew into the air for as long as three days.Gongshu Ban also used his kite to undertake reconnissance missions.Early Chinese kites were employed to relay informaion,to servery the force and direction of wind as well.According to the book Du Yi Zhi,Emperor Wu Di of Liang Dynasty,was encircled by Hou Jing,a traitor in Taicheng,Nanjing in 549 A D.Jian Nu put forth a plan to fly a paper kite,in which an imperial edict was hidden,asking for reinforcement.The kite was unfortunately shot down by the encircling soldiers.Thus the plan was failed.

Kites came into exstence in China as means of amusement probably in the Tang Dynasty,It was said that Emperor Xuan Zong(his real name was Li Hongji) once enjoyed watching a kite called "Eight lmmortals Crossing the Sea" flying in the air in Yichun Courtyard,penglai Palace Shangdong.The book Xuan He Feng Zheng Pu refers to similar events which Chinese emperors and aristocrats enjoyed and watched kites flying.Later,due to the invention of paper,making kites cost less,thus made it possible to spread quickly among the ordingary people.As time went on ,kites flew to various countries of the world. The famous bristist,Dr.Needham in his book A history of China'-s Science and Technology describes kites as one of the major scientific inventions spread to Europe by China.A foreign kite spoecialist said,"It is universally acknowledged that it was the Chinese who invented the kite 2000 years ago.kite aroused man's idea to fly in the sky,which led to the invention of the first airplane of the world."