Illustration courtesy of United States
Civil Air Patrol showing characters from ancient Chinese
Taoism, the person standing is in
Song official suit
According to legend 1, Wàn Hǔ or Wàn Hù (萬虎 or 萬戶) (d. ca. 1500) was a minor Chinese official of the Ming dynasty and the world's first recorded "astronaut".
IAU named the Wan-Hoo crater on the far side of the Moon after the far side of the Moon was photographed in the 1960s.
The Legend of Wan Hu
The legend of Wan Hu was not recorded in any Chinese history book. The earliest known mention of it is an unreferenced description in Rockets and Jets by American author Herbert S. Zim in 19452.
- "Early in the sixteenth century, Wan decided to take advantage of China's advanced rocket and fireworks technology to launch himself into outer space. He supposedly had a chair built with forty-seven rockets attached. On the day of lift-off, Wan, splendidly attired, climbed into his rocket chair and forty seven servants lit the fuses and then hastily ran for cover. There was a huge explosion. When the smoke cleared, Wan and the chair were gone, and was said never to have been seen again."
The legend was then introduced into China via translation, and that is why the exact Chinese name that this legendary person had (萬虎 or 萬戶) as mentioned above could not be determined just based on the pronunciation.
The story is more of an urban legend invented in the 20th century rather than part of Chinese historical records.
Anothercitation needed legend describes a sled-like vehicle with many kites attached.
Wan Hu in Popular Culture
- The Discovery Channel's show "MythBusters" attempted in the 2004 episode Episode 24 — "Ming Dynasty Astronaut" to recreate Wan Hu's flight using materials that would have been available to him. The chair exploded on the launch pad, with the crash test dummy showing what would be severe burns. An attempt was also made using a chair with modern rockets attached, however, the uncontrollable craft proved that there were far too many complications for such a thing to have succeeded. It was determined that small rockets that can be strapped to a chair cannot provide sufficient thrust to effectively lift it, giving the legend the label of myth "busted". It should be noted that the view the crew members had of the first test as it was performed matched what the legend said; after the smoke from the explosion had cleared, both Buster (the crash-test dummy) and the chair had disappeared, though Buster and the remains of the chair were found next to the 'launch-pad'.
- In a show about inventions on Chinese Central Television called Tian Gong Kai Wu, Wan Hu was said to be able to lift himself only by a foot using rockets. In most Chinese versions of Wan Hu's story, he is described as an unfortunate pioneer of space travel who was burnt to death because of the explosion caused by the rockets, instead of being the first astronaut in history. These stories fit perfectly with the result of the MythBusters' experiment.
- In the Bioware game "Jade Empire", the player can read about a character named "Cao Shong" who straps rockets to a chair in an effort to fly. The chair explodes, killing him.
- In the movie Kung Fu Panda, Po, the protagonist straps multiple rockets to a chair in an attempt to attend the Jade Warrior ceremony.
References
- ^ NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Timeline of Rocket History [1]: According to one ancient legend, a Chinese official named Wan-Hoo attempted a flight to the moon using a large wicker chair to which were fastened 47 large rockets. Forty seven assistants, each armed with torches, rushed forward to light the fuses. In a moment there was a tremendous roar accompanied by billowing clouds of smoke. When the smoke cleared, the flying chair and Wan-Hu were gone. (Illustration courtesy of United States Civil Air Patrol).
- ^ Amazon.com: Rockets and jets,: Herbert Spencer Zim: Books
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