(a) it is said that this version is the most authentic:
According to legend, in ancient China, the emperor had a system of offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. In the folk, every Mid-Autumn Festival in August, there is also a custom about Yue Bai or offering sacrifices to the moon. The famous proverb "The moon is full on August 15th, and the Mid-Autumn moon cake is sweet and fragrant" tells the custom of urban and rural people to eat moon cakes on Mid-Autumn night. At first, moon cakes were used to worship the moon god. Later, people gradually regarded Mid-Autumn Festival as a symbol of family reunion, and mooncakes gradually became holiday gifts.
Moon cakes originally originated from Zhu Jie food in the Tang Dynasty. During the reign of Tang Gaozu, General Li Jing conquered the Huns and returned home in triumph on August 15.
Turpan people who were doing business at that time presented cakes to the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Gao Zu Li Yuan took the gorgeous cake box, took out the round cake, smiled at the bright moon in the sky and said, "Please invite toad with Hu cake." . After that, share the cake with the ministers.
The word "moon cake" has been used in Wu's Dream of the Liang Lu in the Southern Song Dynasty, but the description of enjoying the moon and eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival is recorded in the West Lake Travel Agency in the Ming Dynasty: "August 15th is called the Mid-Autumn Festival, and people use moon cakes to get together". In the Qing Dynasty, there were more records about moon cakes, and the production became more and more elaborate.
Moon cakes symbolize reunion and are a must-eat food for the Mid-Autumn Festival. On holiday nights, people also like to eat some reunion fruits, such as watermelons and fruits, and wish their families a happy, sweet and safe life.
(2) This version is vague, which has some connection with the other two versions:
The custom of eating moon cakes in Mid-Autumn Festival can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty. According to Luo Zhong, Tang Xizong eats moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival, which are very delicious. He heard that all the new courses were held in Qujiang, so he ordered the chef to send them mooncakes wrapped by HongLing, which was the first record of mooncakes. In the Song Dynasty, moon cakes had various colors, such as lotus leaves, golden flowers and hibiscus. Su Dongpo once praised moon cakes, saying, "Small cakes are like chewing the moon, and there is meat in the cake. Crispy is ghee and caramel is caramel.
In the Yuan Dynasty, according to legend, before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhang Shicheng, a native of Taizhou, secretly connected in series and hid a note in a moon cake that read "On August 15th, everyone joined hands to destroy the Yuan", and sent it to each other and contacted each other. On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, every family ate moon cakes, grabbed kitchen knives in succession and rebelled against the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty. Since then, the wind of eating moon cakes has prevailed to commemorate this festival.
In the Ming dynasty, the wind of offering sacrifices to the moon was very popular. Ming Shizong also sent officials to build Xiyue Temple, which is now Beijing Yuetan Park. This is a special place for the imperial court to worship the moon. Every three years, the emperor will personally sacrifice to the "luminous god", and in the rest of the year, he will send officials from civil and military departments to make sacrifices. At the same time, the Mid-Autumn Festival also held a festival in the palace.
(3) this version is the most popular among the people:
It is said that eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, the broad masses of the people in the Central Plains could not bear the cruel rule of the ruling class in the Yuan Dynasty and rose up against the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang joined forces with various resistance forces to prepare for the uprising. However, the officers and men of the imperial court searched very closely and it was very difficult to pass on the news. Liu Bowen, a military strategist, came up with a plan and ordered his men to hide a note with the words "Uprising on the 15th of August" in the cake, and then sent people to the uprising troops in different places to inform them to respond to the uprising on the 15th of August. On the day of the uprising, all the rebels responded together, such as a 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 sent a message saying that all the soldiers should have fun with the people in the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival and give the "moon cakes" secretly sent at the time of the war as seasonal cakes to the ministers. Since then, the production of "moon cakes" has become more and more elaborate, and there are more and more varieties, such as dishes, which have become good gifts. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the custom of eating moon cakes spread among the people.