![]() ![]() To foretell whether a ship should sail, a man would be strapped to a kite having a rectangular grid framework and the subsequent flight pattern used to divine the outlook. In 1282, the European explorer Marco Polo described the Chinese techniques then current and commented on the hazards and cruelty involved. It is said that at one time there was a law in Japan against the use of man-carrying kites. He flew to the rooftop where he stole the scales, and was then lowered and escaped. His men manoeuvered him into the air on a trapeze attached to the tail of a giant kite. In one such story the Japanese thief Ishikawa Goemon (1558–1594) is said to have used a man-lifting kite to allow him to steal the golden scales from a pair of ornamental fish images which were mounted on the top of Nagoya Castle. Stories of man-carrying kites also occur in Japan, following the introduction of the kite from China around the seventh century AD. Yuan Huangtou was the only one who succeeded in flying as far as the Purple Way, and there he came to earth." The Purple Way, a road, was 2.5 km from the approximately 33 metre tall Golden Phoenix Tower. ![]() "Gao Yang made Yuan Huangtou and other prisoners take off from the Tower of the Phoenix attached to paper owls. The (1044) Zizhi Tongjian records that in 559, all the condemned kite airmen died except for Eastern Wei prince Yuan Huangtou. 550-559), executed prisoners by ordering them to 'fly' using bamboo mats. The Book of Sui, dating from 636 A.D, records that the tyrant Gao Yang, Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi (r. Man-carrying kites were used in ancient China, for both civil and military purposes and sometimes enforced as a punishment. In the 21st century man-lifting kites are often used in kitesurfing, where brief launches can be followed by safe water landings and parasailing, where kites are towed behind a vehicle. Recreational man-lifting kites gradually gained popularity through the latter half of the 20th century, branching into multiple sports. Interest in their development declined with the advent of powered flight at the beginning of the 20th century. Historically, man-lifting kites have been used chiefly for reconnaissance. Lawrence Hargrave (seated) with his man-lifting kites in Stanwell Park, 1894.Ī man-lifting kite is a kite designed to lift a person from the ground. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |