3.2 Ideas and Technologies of Ancient Space Flights
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of the ancient rocket technology; the third stage is from the seventeenth century to
the nineteenth century, the rise and spread of space science fictions.
3.2.1 Flying Myths, Legends and Fantasies
Our ancestors, in the long-long history of recognizing and transforming nature, had
been longing for a pair of wings to soar like birds in the blue sky and travel in
space, which gradually evolved into countless wonderful myths and moving legends.
Among the many flying stories handed down from ancient China, “Chang’e Running
to the Moon” is the most familiar and household for Chinese.
The original name of Chang’e was Heng’e, and later she was known as Chang’e to
avoid the same name as Heng Liu (203 B.C.−157 B.C.), an emperor in the Western
Han Dynasty of China. The taboo of name is a privilege of the imperial family in
ancient China, an important cultural phenomenon. According to the long legend,
Chang’e was Di Ku’s daughter and Da Yi’s wife in the Ancient Times of China. Di
Ku was the third Sovereign during “Three Emperors and Five Sovereigns” (about
from the thirtieth century B.C. to the twenty-first century B.C.). Chang’e is the
Chinese goddess of the Moon, her beauty is extraordinary. Da Yi got an ever-young
medicine from West Queen Mother, a goddess in charge of immortality, punishing
evils and warning against disasters in the ancient Chinese mythology; Chang’e stole
this medicine to eat and then flew to the Moon to become immortal; and thus, she
lived in the Moon’s palace forever. The earliest record of Chang’e’s deeds is in
Gui Cang, the Book of Changes in the Shang Dynasty (1600 B.C.−1046 B.C.), in
which the hexagram Gui Mei reads: “Formerly, Heng’e (Chang’e) steals the immortal
medicine from West Queen Mother, and then eats it for running to the Moon”. In
the Western Han Dynasty, the Huainan King An-Liu (179 B.C.−122 B.C.), et al.,
wrote a philosophical work entitled Huai Nan Zi, in which the allusion on Chang’e
Running to the Moon was quoted: “Yi (Da Yi) got the immortal medicine from West
Queen Mother, Chang’e stole it and ran to the Moon; and then, she felt regret, but
was unable to redeem her fault”. Chang’e’s husband, Da Yi, is a divine archer, and
the story of “Da Yi Shooting the Sun” is recorded in the Classic of Mountains and
Rivers, an ancient book in the Pre-Qin Dynasty (before 221 B.C.). The story says:
During the reign of Sovereign Yao, there were ten suns in the sky, burning plants
and crops to scorch; in order to save common people, Da Yi shot down nine of the
suns; from then on, everything grew in a suitable climate. In addition, other myths
in the Ancient Times of China were also recorded in the Classic of Mountains and
Rivers, such as “Kua Fu Pursuing the Sun”, “The Goddess Patching the Sky”, “Jing
Wei Reclamation” and so on.
The legends in the Shang Dynasty are recorded in some ancient books, such as
Emperor’s Deeds and Mystery Novels. “Flying with the wind and traveling thousands
of miles every day”, and various fantastic pictures of flying by clouds and driving by
fog, are depicted in these legends. During the Warring States Period, a great patriotic
poet, Qu Yuan (340 B.C.−278 B.C.) portrayed in his monumental poem Li Sao that
91
of the ancient rocket technology; the third stage is from the seventeenth century to
the nineteenth century, the rise and spread of space science fictions.
3.2.1 Flying Myths, Legends and Fantasies
Our ancestors, in the long-long history of recognizing and transforming nature, had
been longing for a pair of wings to soar like birds in the blue sky and travel in
space, which gradually evolved into countless wonderful myths and moving legends.
Among the many flying stories handed down from ancient China, “Chang’e Running
to the Moon” is the most familiar and household for Chinese.
The original name of Chang’e was Heng’e, and later she was known as Chang’e to
avoid the same name as Heng Liu (203 B.C.−157 B.C.), an emperor in the Western
Han Dynasty of China. The taboo of name is a privilege of the imperial family in
ancient China, an important cultural phenomenon. According to the long legend,
Chang’e was Di Ku’s daughter and Da Yi’s wife in the Ancient Times of China. Di
Ku was the third Sovereign during “Three Emperors and Five Sovereigns” (about
from the thirtieth century B.C. to the twenty-first century B.C.). Chang’e is the
Chinese goddess of the Moon, her beauty is extraordinary. Da Yi got an ever-young
medicine from West Queen Mother, a goddess in charge of immortality, punishing
evils and warning against disasters in the ancient Chinese mythology; Chang’e stole
this medicine to eat and then flew to the Moon to become immortal; and thus, she
lived in the Moon’s palace forever. The earliest record of Chang’e’s deeds is in
Gui Cang, the Book of Changes in the Shang Dynasty (1600 B.C.−1046 B.C.), in
which the hexagram Gui Mei reads: “Formerly, Heng’e (Chang’e) steals the immortal
medicine from West Queen Mother, and then eats it for running to the Moon”. In
the Western Han Dynasty, the Huainan King An-Liu (179 B.C.−122 B.C.), et al.,
wrote a philosophical work entitled Huai Nan Zi, in which the allusion on Chang’e
Running to the Moon was quoted: “Yi (Da Yi) got the immortal medicine from West
Queen Mother, Chang’e stole it and ran to the Moon; and then, she felt regret, but
was unable to redeem her fault”. Chang’e’s husband, Da Yi, is a divine archer, and
the story of “Da Yi Shooting the Sun” is recorded in the Classic of Mountains and
Rivers, an ancient book in the Pre-Qin Dynasty (before 221 B.C.). The story says:
During the reign of Sovereign Yao, there were ten suns in the sky, burning plants
and crops to scorch; in order to save common people, Da Yi shot down nine of the
suns; from then on, everything grew in a suitable climate. In addition, other myths
in the Ancient Times of China were also recorded in the Classic of Mountains and
Rivers, such as “Kua Fu Pursuing the Sun”, “The Goddess Patching the Sky”, “Jing
Wei Reclamation” and so on.
The legends in the Shang Dynasty are recorded in some ancient books, such as
Emperor’s Deeds and Mystery Novels. “Flying with the wind and traveling thousands
of miles every day”, and various fantastic pictures of flying by clouds and driving by
fog, are depicted in these legends. During the Warring States Period, a great patriotic
poet, Qu Yuan (340 B.C.−278 B.C.) portrayed in his monumental poem Li Sao that