Ummm... maybe I'm just being slow because I've only had 4 hours of sleep last night, but how does this article make you a liar? Because they use the term 'astronaut' instead of 'taikonaut'? Dude... it's the NYTimes... they probably didn't know better than to question the term.
From the linked article -- The Chinese assert that they were actually first to try to send a man into space. A 16th-century Ming Dynasty artisan, Wan Hu, held kites in each hand and strapped himself to a chair equipped with rockets, according to some historical accounts carried in the state news media.
His servants reportedly lit the gunpowder-fueled rocket as Mr. Wan tried to launch himself into the sky. He failed, dying in the explosion.
It's a real shame nobody videotaped this... world's funniest home video for 450 years.
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From the linked article -- The Chinese assert that they were actually first to try to send a man into space. A 16th-century Ming Dynasty artisan, Wan Hu, held kites in each hand and strapped himself to a chair equipped with rockets, according to some historical accounts carried in the state news media.
His servants reportedly lit the gunpowder-fueled rocket as Mr. Wan tried to launch himself into the sky. He failed, dying in the explosion.
It's a real shame nobody videotaped this... world's funniest home video for 450 years.