How did the Mid-Autumn Festival come about? What are the legends?
The Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history. Like other traditional festivals, it has gradually developed and formed. Ancient emperors had the ritual of worshiping the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. The word "Mid-Autumn Festival" was recorded as early as in the book "Zhou Li". Today I want to talk about how the Mid-Autumn Festival came about? What are the legends? As we enter the eighth lunar month of 2020, the temperature has finally dropped. What kind of development trend will our fortune show? Pay attention to the relevant content of the eighth month of the lunar calendar in 2020 on Shuimoxiansheng.com and we will give you detailed answers!One of the Mid-Autumn Festival legends: Chang'e flies to the moonAccording to legend, in ancient times there were ten suns in the sky at the same time, which dried up the crops and made people live in misery. A hero named Houyi, who was extremely powerful, sympathized with the suffering people, so he climbed to the top of Mount Kunlun, gathered all his strength, drew his magic bow, and shot down more than nine suns in one breath. He also ordered the last sun to rise and set on schedule to benefit the people.Houyi was therefore respected and loved by the people. He married a beautiful and kind wife named Chang'e. In addition to teaching skills and hunting, Houyi spent all his time with his wife. People envied this loving couple with both talent and beauty. Many aspiring young men came to learn from him, and the evil-minded Peng Meng also joined in. One day, Houyi went to Kunlun Mountain to visit friends and seek the way of Taoism. He happened to meet the Queen Mother of the West passing by, and asked her for a packet of elixir of immortality. It is said that after taking this medicine, one can immediately ascend to heaven and become an immortal. However, Houyi was reluctant to leave his wife, so he had to temporarily give the elixir of immortality to Chang'e for safekeeping. Chang'e hid the medicine in the treasure box on her dressing table, but it was seen by the villain Peng Meng, who wanted to steal the elixir to become an immortal himself. Three days later, Houyi led his disciples out hunting. Pengmeng, who had ulterior motives, pretended to be sick and stayed behind. Shortly after Houyi led everyone away, Peng Meng broke into the backyard of the inner house with a sword and forced Chang'e to hand over the elixir of immortality. Chang'e knew that she was no match for Peng Meng, so in the critical moment she made a quick decision, turned around, opened the treasure box, took out the elixir of immortality and swallowed it in one gulp. After Chang'e swallowed the medicine, her body immediately floated off the ground, rushed out of the window, and flew into the sky. Because Chang'e was worried about her husband, she flew to the moon closest to the earth and became an immortal. In the evening, Houyi returned home and the maids cried and told him what had happened during the day. Houyi was both shocked and angry, he drew his sword to kill the villain, but Pengmeng had already escaped. Houyi was so angry that he beat his chest and stamped his feet. He was heartbroken and looked up at the night sky calling out the name of his beloved wife. At this moment, he was surprised to find that the moon today was exceptionally bright, and there was a swaying figure that looked like Chang'e. He tried his best to chase the moon, but every time he took three steps forward, the moon took three steps back; every time he took three steps back, the moon took three steps forward. No matter what he did, he could not catch up with it. Hou Yi was helpless and missed his wife, so he had to send people to Chang'e's favorite back garden to set up an incense table and put her favorite honey and fresh fruits on it, to offer a remote sacrifice to Chang'e who was missing him in the Moon Palace. When the people heard the news that Chang'e had ascended to the moon and become an immortal, they set up incense tables under the moon and prayed to the kind-hearted Chang'e for good fortune and peace. From then on, the custom of worshiping the moon on Mid-Autumn Festival spread among the people. The second Mid-Autumn Festival legend: Wu Gang wins the laurelAccording to legend, there was a lush osmanthus tree in front of the Guanghan Palace on the moon, more than 500 feet high. There was a man below who often cut it down, but every time he cut it down, the cut place would immediately close up again. For thousands of years, this cassia tree could never be cut down completely. It is said that the man who chopped the tree was named Wu Gang, a native of Xihe in the Han Dynasty. He once followed an immortal to practice Taoism and reached the heaven. However, he made a mistake, so the immortal banished him to the Moon Palace to do this futile and hard work every day as a punishment. There is a line in Li Bai's poem that says "I want to chop the moon's laurel and use it as firewood for those who are cold."Mid-Autumn Festival Legend 3: Zhu Yuanzhang and the Mooncake UprisingIt is said that eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, the vast majority of people in the Central Plains could not bear the cruel rule of the Yuan Dynasty's 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, and the uprising spread like wildfire.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 and more refined, with more varieties, and the larger ones are as big as round plates, becoming a great gift. Later, the custom of eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival spread among the people. |
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