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The origin of the Mid-Autumn festival
Legends and stories of Mid-Autumn Festival
The moral of Mid-Autumn Festival
The origin of the Mid-Autumn festival
China lunar calendar on August 15th, commonly known as the Mid-Autumn Festival. "Mid-Autumn Festival" means half of autumn, in the middle of autumn. Mid-Autumn Festival is also called Moon Festival, Moon Worship Festival, Reunion Festival, August Festival, Moon Chasing Festival and Moon Playing Festival. Mid-Autumn Festival, Spring Festival, Qingming Festival and Dragon Boat Festival are also called the four traditional festivals in China. August 15th has a far-reaching influence not only in China, but also in some Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and Singapore. On May 20th, 2006, Mid-Autumn Festival was listed in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage in China, and has been designated as a national legal holiday since 2008.
China lunar calendar on August 15th, commonly known as the Mid-Autumn Festival. "Mid-Autumn Festival" means half of autumn, in the middle of autumn. Mid-Autumn Festival is also called Moon Festival, Moon Worship Festival, Reunion Festival, August Festival, Moon Chasing Festival and Moon Playing Festival. Mid-Autumn Festival, Spring Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day and Dragon Boat Festival are also called the four traditional festivals in China. August 15th has a far-reaching influence not only in China, but also in some Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, Viet Nam and Singapore. On May 20th, 2006, Mid-Autumn Festival was listed in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage in China, and has been designated as a national legal holiday since 2008.
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Legends and stories of Mid-Autumn Festival
The prevalence of Mid-Autumn Festival began in Song Dynasty, and it was almost as important as Spring Festival in Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are many legends about Mid-Autumn Festival, and China people are familiar with several stories.
One is the story of the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon. Legend has it that in ancient times, there were ten suns in the sky, which made people miserable. At this time, a young man named Hou Yi appeared. He climbed to the top of Kunlun Mountain, stretched his bow and arrow, and whistled down nine suns. The earth became cool, vegetation began to grow, livestock began to multiply, and the people no longer suffered from the heat. Hou Yi has made great contributions to the people. Many ambitious young people have come here to study as apprentices, and a man named Peng Meng with ulterior motives has also mixed in. One day, Hou Yi met the heavenly queen mother. The queen mother thanked Hou Yi for his contribution to the people and gave him two pills, telling him that he could become immortal after taking them. Hou Yi didn't want to become an immortal alone, so he gave the fairy medicine given by the Queen Mother to his beautiful wife Chang 'e for safekeeping. Chang 'e put the medicine in the treasure chest. Unexpectedly, Peng Meng knew about it, so he took advantage of Hou Yi's hunting, said he was ill at home, broke into Hou Yi's home with a sword, and forced Chang 'e to hand over the fairy medicine. Chang 'e swore not to give it, but took out the fairy medicine and swallowed it in a crisis. After Chang 'e swallowed the medicine, her body became extremely light and slowly floated to the sky. Hou Yi had a premonition that Chang 'e was in danger, so he hurried home while hunting. By the time she arrived, Chang 'e had already floated out of the window, and Hou Yi only had time to tear off a piece of Chang 'e's sleeve, watching Chang 'e fly into the air, flying away from him and his native land, and flying above the moon. It happened to be the 15th day of August in the lunar calendar in the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon. Since then, on this day every year, Hou Yi has been looking at the moon from afar, remembering the dribs and drabs of Chang 'e's life. The people feel deeply for Chang 'e's protection of the fairy medicine and Hou Yi, and every year on August 15th, they also put melons and fruits at home to worship Chang 'e from afar, gradually forming the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival.
Another version of the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon's story is that Hou Yi benefited the people and was crowned king. When he became king, Hou Yi began to spend a lot of time, killing at will, regardless of the people's lives and deaths, and stole the immortal medicine of the Queen Mother, hoping to live forever. Chang 'e was afraid that the people would suffer after Hou Yi lived forever, so she stole the fairy medicine and flew to the Moon Palace. People appreciate the grace of Chang 'e, so they set up incense tables to worship on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month.
The third version of the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon's story is that after Hou Yi shot down nine suns and became a hero, he still lived an ordinary life, and he didn't eat the fairy medicine given by the heavenly queen to become an immortal. Not content with such a life, Chang 'e took advantage of Houyi's hunting trip, secretly ate the fairy medicine entrusted by her husband, flew to the sky, became a toad, and pounded medicine in the Moon Palace all day.
Of the three legends, the first one is the most widely circulated and accepted by the public.
The second is the story of WU GANG. According to legend, besides Chang 'e, there is a shadow of a man named WU GANG in the Moon Palace. WU GANG was ignorant, but he wanted to become immortal, so the Emperor sent him to cut down the laurel tree in the Moon Palace, promising him when he would cut down the laurel tree and become immortal. The laurel tree in the Moon Palace is as high as 500 feet. Every time you cut an axe, the crack can heal itself. WU GANG cut down trees in the Moon Palace day after day, but the day of becoming an immortal is far away.
The third is the legend of Jade Rabbit. According to legend, three immortals came down to earth, pretending to be three starving old people, begging for food from foxes, monkeys and rabbits. Both foxes and monkeys gave food to the old people, but only rabbits had nothing. In order to give the three old people a bite to eat, rabbits resolutely jumped into the fire, cooked themselves and gave them food. The three immortals were greatly moved, so they sent the rabbit to the Moon Palace, accompanied Chang 'e, and pounded the elixir of life. The folk called the rabbit in the Moon Palace "Jade Rabbit". In The Journey to the West, there is also a story compiled by the author that Jade Rabbit went down to earth to rob the Tang Priest because he was unwilling to be lonely, and was finally brought back to heaven by the goddess Chang 'e for punishment.
The fourth is the legend of moon cakes. Moon cakes symbolize reunion, and they are essential food for Yue Bai in Mid-Autumn Festival. It is said that during the Tang Gaozu period, General Li Jing conquered the Xiongnu and won the victory. The day of the general's triumph happened to be August 15th, and the people welcomed the soldiers back and celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival. As a gesture of friendship, the Tubo merchants presented mooncakes to Tang Gaozu to celebrate his victory. Gaozu distributed the mooncakes to his courtiers and shared the joy of victory with other ministers. Since then, eating moon cakes has become the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival, and moon cakes have the meaning of celebration and sharing. However, there is also a folklore that the custom of eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival began at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang led people to resist the tyranny of the Yuan Dynasty and agreed to revolt on August 15, and put notes in cakes by giving each other moon cakes to convey the information of the uprising. Later, Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Yuan Dynasty and became the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Since then, the custom of eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival has spread.
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The moral of Mid-Autumn Festival
August 15th of the lunar calendar is the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival. In China's lunar calendar, a year is divided into four seasons, and each season is divided into three parts: Meng, Zhong and Ji. According to the Chinese calendar, August of the lunar calendar is in the middle of autumn, which is the second month of autumn, and it is called "Mid-Autumn", so it is called "Mid-Autumn Festival". There are many nicknames for Mid-Autumn Festival: it is called "August Festival" and "August and a half" because it falls on August 15th; Because the main activities of Mid-Autumn Festival are all around the "moon", the moon on August 15th is rounder and brighter than the full moons in other months, so it is also commonly known as "Moon Festival" and "Moon Night". The full moon in Mid-Autumn Festival symbolizes reunion. On this night, people look up at the bright moon in the sky like jade, and naturally look forward to family reunion. Wanderers who are far away from home also take this opportunity to pin their thoughts on their hometown and relatives. Therefore, Mid-Autumn Festival is also called "Reunion Festival". In the Tang Dynasty, Mid-Autumn Festival was also called "Correcting the Moon".
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Articles on the origin and legends of Mid-Autumn Festival:
★ The origin of moon cakes in Mid-Autumn Festival
★ The origin and legends of Mid-Autumn Festival
★ The origin and legend of Mid-Autumn Festival
★ The origin and legends of Mid-Autumn Festival
★ The origin and legend of Mid-Autumn Festival
★ The Mid-Autumn Festival comes from legends and stories
★ The origin and legend of Mid-Autumn Festival
★ What are the stories of Mid-Autumn Festival legends?
★ About the origin and legends of Mid-Autumn Festival
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