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The origin story of Mid-Autumn Festival
The origin story of Mid-Autumn Festival

Do you know the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival? Do you know the story of Mid-Autumn Festival? Let me introduce the story of the Mid-Autumn Festival to you. Welcome to read and learn.

The Story of the Mid-Autumn Festival 1 In the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong Li Shimin conquered the northern Turks and put down their repeated violations, so that his general Li Jing personally led his troops to the frontier fortress, and as a result, he repeatedly made outstanding achievements. On August 15th, he returned to Beijing triumphantly. In order to celebrate the victory, guns were fired and music was played inside and outside Chang 'an, Kyoto, and the soldiers and civilians reveled all night. At that time, there was a Tubo who went to Chang 'an to trade, and specially presented round cakes to the emperor to celebrate his victory. Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong, was overjoyed. He took the beautifully decorated cake box, took out colored round cakes, pointed to the bright moon hanging in the sky and said, "Should we invite toads to Hu cakes? The moon da Ji! Peter Jing Qiu distributed the round cakes to the officials of the civil and military forces. Since then, the custom of eating moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival has been handed down.

The traditional food of Mid-Autumn Festival is moon cakes, which are round and symbolize reunion, reflecting people's good wishes for family reunion. Eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival is said to have started in the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang led the Han people to resist the tyranny of the Yuan Dynasty, and agreed to revolt on August 15th, and put notes in the moon cakes to convey the news. The custom of eating moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival spread among the people. The English spelling is: mooncake.

Later, Zhu Yuanzhang finally overthrew the Yuan Dynasty and became the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Although the Qing people later entered China, people still celebrated this festival symbolizing the overthrow of alien rule.

According to legend, in ancient China, emperors had a ritual system of offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. In the folk, every Mid-Autumn Festival in August, there are also customs about Yue Bai or offering sacrifices to the moon. The famous proverb "The moon is full on August 15th, and the moon cakes in Mid-Autumn Festival are sweet and fragrant" tells the custom of urban and rural people eating moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival night. At first, mooncakes were used as sacrifices to the moon god. Later, people gradually regarded the Mid-Autumn Festival as a symbol of family reunion, and gradually mooncakes became holiday gifts.

Moon cakes, originally originated from the Tang Dynasty army Zhujie food. During Tang Gaozu's reign, General Li Jing conquered the Huns and returned home in triumph on August 15th.

At that time, Turpan people who were doing business presented cakes to the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Gao Zu Li Yuan took the gorgeous cake box, took out the round cakes, smiled at the bright moon in the sky and said, "We should invite toads with Hu cakes." After that, share the cake with the ministers.

The word "moon cake" has been used in Wu Zimu's book "Dream of Liang Lu" in the Southern Song Dynasty, but the description of tasting the moon and eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival was recorded in the West Lake Touring Society in the Ming Dynasty: "August 15th is called the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the people take the meaning of reunion with moon cakes". By the Qing Dynasty, there were more records about moon cakes, and the production became more and more elaborate.

With the development of moon cakes today, there are more varieties and different flavors. Among them, Beijing-style, Soviet-style, Guangdong-style and Chaozhou-style moon cakes are widely enjoyed by people all over China.

Mooncakes symbolize reunion and are a must-eat item in Mid-Autumn Festival. On the night of the festival, people also like to eat some reunion fruits such as watermelons, and wish their families a happy, sweet and safe life.

The legend of Mid-Autumn Festival is very rich, and fairy tales such as the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon, Wu Gang's cutting Guangxi and Jade Rabbit's smashing medicine are widely spread.

One of the Mid-Autumn Festival Legends-the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon

According to legend, in ancient times, there were ten days in the sky at the same time, and the crops died in the sun, and the people were in poverty. A hero named Hou Yi was of infinite strength. He sympathized with the suffering people, climbed to the top of Kunlun Mountain, took full advantage of his divine power, opened his bow, shot down more than nine suns in one breath, and ordered the last sun to rise and fall on time for the benefit of the people.

Hou Yi was respected and loved by the people. He married a beautiful and kind wife named Chang 'e. In addition to hunting, Hou Yi spent all his time with his wife, and people envied this beautiful and loving couple.

Many people with lofty ideals came here to study as a teacher, and Feng Meng, who had ulterior motives, joined in.

One day, Hou Yi went to Kunlun Mountain to visit friends and seek Tao. He happened to meet the Queen Mother who passed by and asked her for a pack of elixir. It is said that taking this medicine can instantly ascend to heaven and become immortal. However, Hou Yi could not bear to leave his wife, so he had to give the immortal medicine to Chang 'e for the time being. Chang 'e hid the medicine in the treasure box of the dresser, only to be seen by the villain Feng Meng, who wanted to steal the elixir and become immortal himself.

Three days later, Hou Yi led his followers out to hunt, and Feng Meng, who had ulterior motives, pretended to be ill and stayed. Soon after Hou Yi led the crowd away, Feng Meng broke into the backyard of the inner house with a sword in his hand, threatening Chang 'e to hand over the elixir. Chang 'e knew that she was no match for Feng Meng. When she was in a crisis, she made a decisive decision, turned around and opened the treasure box, took out the elixir and swallowed it in one gulp. Chang 'e swallowed the medicine and immediately floated off the ground, rushed out of the window and flew to the sky. Because Chang 'e was concerned about her husband, she flew to the nearest moon and became a fairy.

In the evening, when Hou Yi came home, the maids cried about what happened during the day. Hou Yi was both surprised and angry, and drew his sword to kill the villains. Feng Meng fled early. Hou Yi was so angry and heartbroken that he looked up at the night sky and called for the name of his beloved wife. At this time, he was surprised to find that today's moon was exceptionally bright and bright, and there was a swaying figure resembling Chang 'e. He chased after the moon desperately, but he chased three steps, the moon retreated three steps, he retreated three steps, and the moon advanced three steps, but he couldn't catch up with him anyway.

Hou Yi had no choice but to miss his wife, so he had to send someone to Chang 'e's favorite back garden, put on a table sweetmeats, put on her favorite honey and fresh fruits, and offer a remote sacrifice to Chang 'e who was attached to him in the moon palace. After hearing the news that the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon became an immortal, people set up incense tables under the moon to pray for good luck and peace to the kind Chang 'e.

Since then, the custom of Yue Bai in Mid-Autumn Festival has spread among the people.

The second legend of Mid-Autumn Festival-WU GANG won the laurel.

There is also a legend about the Mid-Autumn Festival: It is said that the osmanthus tree in front of the Guanghan Palace on the moon grows luxuriantly, with a height of more than 500 feet. There is a person who often cuts it down below, but after each cut, the cut place is closed immediately. For thousands of years, this laurel tree can never be cut down. It is said that this tree-chopping man named WU GANG, a native of Xihe, Han Dynasty, once followed the immortal to the heaven, but when he made a mistake, the immortal relegated him to the Moon Palace, and did this kind of futile drudgery every day to show his punishment. In Li Bai's poems, there is a record that "if you want to be in the middle of the moon, you will pay for the cold."

Legend of Mid-Autumn Festival III —— Zhu Yuanzhang and Moon Cake Uprising

It is said that eating moon cakes in Mid-Autumn Festival began in Yuan Dynasty. At that time, the broad masses of people in the Central Plains could not bear the cruel rule of the ruling class in the Yuan Dynasty and rebelled against the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang joined forces with various resistance forces to prepare for the uprising. However, the officers and men of the court searched very closely and it was very difficult to pass on the news. Strategist Liu Bowen came up with a plan and ordered his subordinates to hide the note containing the "August 15th night uprising" into the cake, and then sent someone to send it to the uprising troops in various places separately to inform them to respond to the uprising on August 15th night. On the day of the uprising, all the rebels responded together, such as single spark can start a prairie fire.

Soon, Xu

Da captured the Yuan Dynasty, and the uprising was successful. When the news came, Zhu Yuanzhang was so happy that he quickly gave a message that all the soldiers would have fun with the people in the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, and he would give the "moon cakes" that were sent in secret when he started fighting that year as seasonal cakes to his ministers. Since then, the production of "moon cakes" has become more and more elaborate, with more varieties, such as discs, and has become a good gift. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the custom of eating moon cakes spread among the people.

The Origin of Mid-Autumn Festival Story 3 Yue Bai worships the "Moon God", that is, "Chang 'e" as people usually say. The ancients prayed for reunion, recreation and happiness through worship. "Yue Bai" evolved from the ancient custom of offering sacrifices to the moon at the autumnal equinox. In the Zhou Dynasty, the emperor led his ministers to offer sacrifices to the moon at the autumnal equinox every year. According to the custom, women Yue Bai and men watch the ceremony.

Strictly speaking, there were two "Yue Bai Sacrifices". Once on the "Autumn Equinox" day, the purpose is to "welcome the cold". After beginning of autumn, Yin Qi gradually flourished, and the ancients held a sacrificial activity "Yue Bai Sacrifice" on this night. The moon is cloudy, which represents "cold", so it is called "welcoming cold". Lu Deming, a native of the Tang Dynasty, said in an explanation for the sentence "Gui Bi worships the sun and the moon" in Zhou Li: "Sacrificing the sun and the moon is called the vernal equinox, and the autumn equinox is the evening moon." "Evening Moon" means offering sacrifices to the moon at night on the autumn equinox. However, the most important "Yue Bai Festival" of the ancients was on the evening of the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, which was the Mid-Autumn Festival. This wind continues to this day.

Yue Bai is an activity of worshipping the moon god, which became popular after the Song Dynasty. There was indeed a fashion of enjoying the moon in the Tang Dynasty, but there was no custom in Yue Bai. Yue Bai, a man and a woman in Song Dynasty, had different needs: men hoped for a good fame in the imperial examination, while women prayed for a beautiful face. With the evolution of the times, it was only after the Ming and Qing Dynasties that there was a saying that "men don't Yue Bai and women don't sacrifice stoves". Generally speaking, the Yue Bai ceremony is held on the evening of August 15th, with a memorial tablet of the Moon God at home or outdoors, offering offerings such as melons and fruits, moon cakes, etc., and then worshipping and praying for the blessing of the Moon God.

According to legend, the ugly woman of the ancient State of Qi had no salt. When she was young, she was devout to Yue Bai. When she grew up, she entered the palace with superior moral character, but she was not favored. Seeing the moon on August 15th, the son of heaven saw her in the moonlight and thought she was beautiful and outstanding. Later, he made her the queen, from which the Mid-Autumn Festival Yue Bai came. In the middle of the moon, Chang 'e is famous for her beauty, so Yue Bai, a young girl, wishes to "look like Chang 'e and look like a bright moon".

After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, due to the relationship of the times, the practical utilitarian factors in social life were prominent, and the secular interest in Japan and China was rich in the new year. The lyrical and mythical literati tradition centered on "appreciating the moon" weakened, and utilitarian worship, prayer and secular feelings and wishes constituted the main form of the Mid-Autumn Festival custom of ordinary people. Therefore, "folk Yue Bai" has become people's longing for reunion, recreation and happiness; Send love by month.

The origin of Mid-Autumn Festival Story 4 The 15th day of the eighth lunar month is the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival in China and the second largest traditional festival in China after the Spring Festival. Also known as Mid-Autumn Festival, Reunion Festival, August Festival, etc., it is a traditional festival of Han nationality and most ethnic minorities in China, and is also popular in neighboring countries such as North Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Because the July, August and September of autumn (referring to the lunar calendar), August is in the middle, and in the thirty days of August, it is in the middle, so it is called the Mid-Autumn Festival. Therefore, there are more people in the sky than family reunion at night, so it is also called the reunion festival.

Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the custom of autumn worship and Yue Bai in ancient China. "The Book of Rites" contains "The son of heaven is in the spring, the sun is shining, and the moon is in the autumn. "The morning sun faces the DPRK, and the evening moon faces the evening." "Evening Moon" here means Yue Bai. It took shape in the Han Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, the custom of enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival became popular and was designated as the Mid-Autumn Festival. Ouyang Zhan (785 ~ 827 AD) wrote in Preface to Poems about Playing with the Moon in Chang 'an: "August is in autumn. The season begins and ends; The fifteenth day is in the night, and the moon is in the clouds. "If you take it from Heaven, it will be cold and hot, and if you take it from the number of months, it will make the toad's soul round, so it is called Mid-Autumn Festival."

On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, the moonlight is bright. The ancients regarded the full moon as a symbol of reunion, so it was also called "Reunion Festival" on August 15th. Throughout the ages, people often use "full moon" and "lack of moon" to describe "joys and sorrows", and the wanderers who live in other places rely on the moon to express their deep affection. Poems such as "lifting myself to look, I found that it was moonlight, sinking back again, I thought suddenly of home" by Li Bai, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, "he knows that the dews tonight will be frost, how much brighter the moonlight is at home!" by Du Fu, and "The spring breeze is green in Jiang Nanan, when the bright moon shines on me" by Wang Anshi in the Song Dynasty are all timeless.

Mid-Autumn Festival, Lantern Festival and Dragon Boat Festival are also called the three traditional festivals in China. Investigating the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival is closely related to myths and legends such as "the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon", "Wu Gang cutting Guangxi" and "Jade Rabbit tinkering with medicine". Therefore, the folk customs of Mid-Autumn Festival are mostly related to the moon. Appreciating the moon, Yue Bai and eating reunion moon cakes all come from this. The ancient emperors had a social system of offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and the moon in autumn, and the people also had the style of offering sacrifices to the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Later, appreciating the moon was more important than offering sacrifices to the moon, and serious sacrifices turned into relaxed entertainment. The custom of enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival flourished in the Tang Dynasty, and many poets wrote poems about the moon in their masterpieces. In the Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties, the court and folk activities of enjoying the moon in Yue Bai were even larger. Up to now, there are many monuments such as "Yue Bai altar", "Moon Pavilion" and "Moon Tower" in various parts of China. The "Moon Altar" in Beijing was built during the reign of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty to worship the royal moon. Whenever the Mid-Autumn Moon rises, a case is set up in the open air, and mooncakes, pomegranates, dates and other fruits are offered on the console table. After Yue Bai, the whole family sits around the table, talks over dinner and enjoys the bright moon. Now, the activities of offering sacrifices to the moon in Yue Bai have been replaced by large-scale and colorful activities of enjoying the moon by the masses.

Eating moon cakes is another custom of festivals, which symbolizes reunion. The making of moon cakes has become more and more exquisite since the Tang Dynasty. Su Dongpo wrote in a poem: "Small cakes are like chewing the moon, with crispness and pulp in them", and Yang Guangfu in Qing Dynasty wrote: "Moon cakes are filled with peach meat, and ice cream is made of sugar cream". It seems that the moon cakes at that time were quite similar to those now.

Usually, many people say that the Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the story of the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon. According to historical records, "Chang 'e used the immortal medicine of the Queen Mother of the West to take it, so she went to the moon as the essence of the moon." The price Chang 'e paid for this move was hard labor and she could not return to the world for life. Li Bai was very sad for this, and wrote a poem: "The white rabbit tinkers with medicine in autumn and revives spring. Who is the neighbor of the female?" Although Chang 'e herself feels good about the Moon Palace, she can't bear loneliness. She returns to the earth to reunite with her husband on the full night of August 15th every year, but she must return to the Moon Palace before dawn. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the world not only wants to get together with Chang 'e on the moon, but also hopes that Chang 'e will come down to earth to see her beauty. Therefore, when many people burn incense in Yue Bai, they pray that "men would like to walk in the toad hall early and climb the fairy laurel ... while women would like to look like Chang 'e and be as round as the bright moon." Year after year, people celebrate this day as a holiday.

Some people think that the Mid-Autumn Festival started with the appreciation of the moon by Emperor Tang Ming. The book "The Legacy of Kaiyuan" in the Tang Dynasty records that in the mid-autumn night, Tang Minghuang and Yang Guifei played in the lower reaches of the moon and swam to Xing. They went to the Moon Palace, where Tang Minghuang also learned half of colorful plumage, which was later supplemented and became a masterpiece. Tang Minghuang never forgets this trip to the Moon Palace. At this moment every year, it is necessary to enjoy the moon. People follow suit, and get together at the full moon to enjoy the beautiful scenery on earth. Over time, it has become a tradition.

It was suggested that the Mid-Autumn Festival was originally an uprising anniversary to overthrow the rule of the Yuan Dynasty. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the people could not bear the rule of the government. In the Mid-Autumn Festival, they wrote "Destroy the Yuan Dynasty; The note "Let's do it together on August 15th" is hidden in a small round cake made of chromium and passed on to each other. On the evening of August 15th, every household joined hands and overthrew the rule of the Yuan Dynasty. Later, every Mid-Autumn Festival, we ate moon cakes to commemorate this historic victory.

It has also been suggested that the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival is related to agricultural production. Autumn is the harvest season. The word "autumn" is interpreted as "autumn is when the crops are ripe". Mid-Autumn Festival in August, crops and various fruits are maturing one after another. In order to celebrate the harvest and express their joy, farmers take the Mid-Autumn Festival as a holiday. "Mid-Autumn Festival" means the middle of autumn. August in the lunar calendar is a month in the middle of autumn, and the 15th is a day in the middle of next month. The word Mid-Autumn Festival appeared in Zhou Li, but it refers not to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but to the second month of autumn. There was an "Autumn Festival" in the Han Dynasty, which was on the day of beginning of autumn, and it was not August 15th. There were records of four seasons and twelve festivals in the books of the Tang Dynasty, and there was no Mid-Autumn Festival, but the "Mid-Autumn Moon" appeared in the Tang poetry. "In August, the Mid-Autumn Festival is full moon, and you are sent to the Mulan boat" (Wei Zhuang's "Send Li Xiucai to Jingxi"). The Mid-Autumn Festival was clearly recorded for the first time by Wu Zishou, a native of the Southern Song Dynasty. In his book "Dream of Liang Lu", he said: "The Mid-Autumn Festival is on August 15th, and Sanqiu is halfway there, so it is called" Mid-Autumn Festival ". "This night, the moonlight is brighter than usual, and it is also called" Moonlight ". The book also describes the grand occasion of enjoying the moon and visiting the night market in Lin 'an, Kyoto (now Hangzhou) in the Southern Song Dynasty.

The origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival Story 5 In ancient times, Houyi made meritorious deeds in the sun and the Queen Mother of the West gave a fairy medicine. On August 15th, Houyi took everyone hunting. His disciple Simon went to his house to steal medicine, and his wife Chang 'e swallowed it to protect the fairy medicine. Chang 'e, who ate the fairy medicine, flew to the sky uncontrollably, and Hou Yi, who came late, only saw Chang 'e who was about to disappear. Later, I thought that in memory of the kind Chang 'e, I designated this day as the Mid-Autumn Festival, which means: the day of family reunion. I hope that one day Hou Yi and Chang 'e can reunite.

Among the legends of Mid-Autumn Festival, "the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon" is undoubtedly the most talked about.

This is a fairy tale in ancient times, which originated from the worship of stars by the ancients. According to the existing written records, it first appeared in the Warring States Period. Chang 'e, a fairy of the Moon Palace in China mythology, was immortalized by taking the immortal medicine obtained by Daxie from the Queen Mother of the West, and lived in the Guanghan Palace above the moon.

Chang 'e was forced by Feng Meng. In desperation, she ate two pills of immortality given to her husband Hou Yi by the Queen Mother of the West and flew to the Moon Palace. The myth of "the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon".

The myth and legend about Heng 'e can be found in the classic Gui Zang from Shang Dynasty to Warring States Period, in which it may be explained as husband and wife by comparing the divinatory images, and the annotation Huai Nan Zi by Gao You in the Eastern Han Dynasty clearly pointed out that Chang 'e was the wife of Hou Yi. Heng 'e, Hou Yi's wife, changed her name to Chang 'e because the Han people avoided the taboo of the then emperor Liu Heng.

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