How long is the history of Mid-Autumn Festival? In which dynasty did the Mid-Autumn Festival originate? What legends are there about the Mid-Autumn Festival?

How long is the history of Mid-Autumn Festival? In which dynasty did the Mid-Autumn Festival originate? What legends are there about the Mid-Autumn Festival?
The Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as the Reunion Festival, a festival for family reunions. Want to know what about Mid-Autumn Festival? The eighth month of the lunar calendar is also called "Mid-Autumn", and every autumn rain brings a chill. Shuimoxiansheng.com has prepared detailed fortune information for you, especially the beauty of the eighth month of the lunar calendar in 2021, waiting for you to discover!

The Origin and History of the Mid-Autumn Festival

The origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival is very long. It originated in ancient times, became popular in the Han Dynasty, was finalized in the early Tang Dynasty, and became popular after the Song Dynasty.
The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the worship of celestial phenomena and evolved from the ancient autumn evening moon worship. In traditional culture, the moon, like the sun, these two celestial bodies that appear alternately became objects of worship for our ancestors. The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the ancient people's worship of the moon and is a remnant and derivative of the Chinese nation's custom of worshiping the moon. Moon worship is a very old custom in my country. In fact, it is a worship activity for the "Moon God" by the ancients in some parts of my country in ancient times. According to research, the Moon Festival was originally scheduled on the "Autumnal Equinox" of the twenty-fourth solar term in the Chinese zodiac calendar. However, due to historical development, the calendars were later integrated and the lunar calendar (Xia calendar) was used, so the Moon Festival was moved from the "Autumnal Equinox" of the twenty-fourth solar term in the Chinese zodiac calendar to the fifteenth day of the eighth month in the Xia calendar (lunar calendar). The Mid-Autumn Festival is a combination of autumn seasonal customs, and most of the festival elements it contains have ancient origins.

Legends and Stories of the Mid-Autumn Festival

1. Chang'e flies to the moon
The myth of "Chang'e Flying to the Moon" originated from the ancient people's worship of the stars. The story of Chang'e Flying to the Moon first appeared in "Gui Zang". Later, the story was further developed by the people and evolved into multiple versions. According to the "Huainanzi" of the Western Han Dynasty, Chang'e ascended to the Moon Palace because she stole the elixir of immortality that her husband Yi had asked for from the Goddess of the West. Then she flew into the Moon Palace and turned into a toad pounding medicine.
2. Jade Rabbit Pounding Medicine
There is a jade rabbit beside Chang'e. It is said that when Chang'e's body became lighter and began to rise into the sky, she picked up the white rabbit she had been feeding in panic. The white rabbit went up to the moon with her. The Jade Rabbit has a pestle in the Moon Palace, and at night it pounded the elixir of immortality in a mortar.
The story of a rabbit ascending to the Moon Palace to pound medicine was first mentioned in Qu Yuan's "Heavenly Questions": "What is the benefit of it, with Gu and Tu in its belly?" What I mean is, what benefits does Gu and Tu bring to the moon if they are in the moon's belly? So how did the rabbit get to the Moon Palace? Gu is a toad and Tu is a white rabbit. Fu Xuan of the Jin Dynasty also said in "Imitative Questions on Heaven": "What is in the moon? A white rabbit pounding medicine." According to the research of Mr. Wen Yiduo, the "white rabbit pounding medicine" was derived from the "toad pounding medicine".
3. Xuanzong composed music
According to legend, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Shen Tianshi and Taoist Hongdu were watching the moon on the Mid-Autumn Festival. Suddenly, Xuanzong wanted to visit the Moon Palace, so Tianshi performed a ritual, and the three of them went up into the clouds and roamed around the Moon Palace. However, the palace was heavily guarded and one could not enter, so one could only overlook the Imperial City of Chang'an from outside. At this moment, he suddenly heard the sound of immortals. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was well versed in music, so he memorized it in his heart. This is exactly the feeling of “This song should only exist in heaven, how many times can it be heard in the world!” Later, Xuanzong recalled the music and singing of the fairies in the Moon Palace and composed the music and choreography himself, creating the famous “Rainbow Skirt and Feathered Coat” in history.
4. Mooncake Rebellion
It is said that eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Yuan Dynasty. It is said that at that time, the vast majority of people in the Central Plains could not bear the cruel rule of the Yuan Dynasty ruling class, and they rose up in rebellion against the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang united various resistance forces to prepare for an uprising. However, the court officials and soldiers searched very closely, making it very difficult to pass on information. Military counselor Liu Bowen came up with a plan. He ordered his subordinates to hide a note with the words "Revolt on the night of August 15th" inside the cakes, and then sent people to deliver them to the rebel forces in various places, informing them to revolt on the night of August 15th. On the day of the uprising, all the rebel forces responded together.
Soon, Xu Da captured the Yuan capital and the uprising was successful. When the news came, Zhu Yuanzhang was so delighted that he immediately issued an oral order, allowing all soldiers and civilians to celebrate the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival together. He also rewarded his ministers with moon cakes, which were used to secretly convey information when he started the uprising. Since then, the production of moon cakes has become more sophisticated and there are more varieties. After that, the custom of eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival spread among the people.

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