What are the legends about the Mid-Autumn Festival?
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a cultural festival with a long history in my country, symbolizing beauty and reunion. Well, for a culture that has been passed down for such a long time, there are also many legends about its birth. Here, the editor will count with you some legends about the Mid-Autumn Festival. The eighth month of the lunar calendar is also called "Mid-Autumn", and every autumn rain brings a chill. Mr. Shui Mo will accompany you every day of the eighth lunar month of 2018.Legends about the Mid-Autumn Festival1. The story of Chang'e flying to the moon There are different texts of the story of Chang'e flying to the moon. Early records have it that "in the past, Chang'e took the elixir of immortality from the Queen Mother of the West, and then flew to the moon and became the moon spirit." This says that Houyi asked the Queen Mother of the West for the elixir of immortality, and Chang'e stole the elixir and ate it, and became an immortal, but was punished to become an ugly toad to pound the elixir of immortality in the Moon Palace. Later, this story gradually evolved into many beautiful and graceful new plots. For example, it is said that in ancient times, ten suns appeared in the sky at the same time, which dried up the crops and made people live in misery. There was a hero named Houyi who had great strength. He sympathized with the suffering people, climbed to the top of Mount Kunlun, and shot down nine suns in one breath. As a result, people were able to live and work in peace. Unexpectedly, the nine suns that were shot down were all sons of the Emperor of Heaven. The Emperor of Heaven was angry and banished Houyi and his wife Chang'e to the mortal world. The Queen Mother of the West sympathized with Houyi's situation and gave him the elixir of immortality. Later, Feng Meng, a man with evil intentions, took advantage of the opportunity when Hou Yi led people out hunting and forced Chang'e to hand over the elixir of immortality. Chang'e knew she was no match for her opponent, so she immediately swallowed the medicine in one gulp. Afterwards, Chang'e flew lightly to the sky. Because she was worried about her husband, she flew to the moon closest to the earth and became an immortal. After Houyi returned home, he missed his wife so he set up an incense table in Chang'e's favorite back garden, and placed her favorite honey and fresh fruits on it, to offer a remote sacrifice to his wife 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. In some places, it is said that this is how the Mid-Autumn Festival came into being. 2. Jade Rabbit Pounding Medicine "Jade Rabbit Pounding Medicine" was originally one of the Taoist stories. According to legend, there is a rabbit in the moon, its body is as white as jade, so it is called "Jade Rabbit". The white rabbit holds a jade pestle and kneels on the ground to pound the medicine. Taking this pill can make one immortal. Over time, the jade rabbit became synonymous with the moon, and ancient literati often used the jade rabbit to symbolize the moon in their poems and lyrics. 3. Mooncake Uprising At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the majority of people in the Central Plains could not bear the cruel rule of the ruling class and rebelled. Zhu Yuanzhang united various resistance forces to prepare for the uprising. Military counselor Liu Bowen came up with an idea. He ordered his subordinates to hide a note with the words "Revolt on the night of August 15" inside the pancakes, and then sent people to deliver them to the rebel forces in various parts, informing them to revolt on the night of August 15. After the uprising was successful, Zhu Yuanzhang happily issued an oral order, allowing all soldiers and civilians to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival together every year. He also rewarded his ministers with moon cakes, which were used to secretly convey information when he started the uprising. Since then, the custom of eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival has spread among the people. 4. Wu Gang Cuts Down the Cassia Tree There is another legend about the Mid-Autumn Festival. According to legend, the cassia tree in front of the Guanghan Palace on the moon grew lushly and was 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. 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, but made a mistake after arriving in heaven. The immortal then banished him to the Moon Palace, making him do this futile and hard work every day as a punishment. It is said that he was not focused enough on learning how to become an immortal, so the Emperor of Heaven punished him by making him chop down a laurel tree in order to temper his will, and promised that if he chopped it down, he would become an immortal. So Wu Gang chopped wood day after day, year after year in the cold Moon Palace. |
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