According to Reuters, China has now rocketed a man into space. This attempt has been more successful than the first:
China invented gunpowder and legend holds that a Ming dynasty (1368-1644) official named Wan Hu attempted the world's first space launch. He strapped himself to a chair with kites in each hand as 47 servants lit 47 gunpowder-packed bamboo tubes tied to the seat.
When the smoke had cleared, Wan was found to have been obliterated. But the dream was not.
