QUESTION:
The kite, a Chinese invention, has been praised as the forerunner of the modern airplane. In the pavilion of aircraft of the National Aeronautics and Space Museum in Washington a plaque says, "the earliest aircraft are the kites and missiles of China".

The kite is mainly, but not only, a plaything. It has contributed to science and production. The first planes were shaped after the kite.

What were the earliest Chinese kites made from:

A. Paper;
B. Carbon Fiber;
C. Wood;
D. Silk.

ANSWERS:
If you said A, you are wrong but on the right path. The first kites from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) were made from wood as paper had not yet been invented.

The kites were called muyuan (wooden kites) and once paper had been invented, kites began to be made of this new material called zhiyuan (paper kites).

Instead of being playthings, early kites were used for military purposes. Historical records say they were large in size; some were powerful enough to carry men up in the air to observe enemy movements, and others were used to scatter propaganda leaflets over hostile forces.