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 and August Festival. , a traditional festival of Han nationality and most ethnic minorities in China, is also popular in neighboring countries such as North Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Because July, August and September in 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 reunion festival.
Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the ancient custom of worshipping autumn in China and Yue Bai. The Book of Rites states that the son of heaven is in spring, and the sun and moon are in autumn. Asahi is facing the DPRK, and the evening is facing the evening. " The "moon at night" here refers to Yue Bai. It was formed 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) said in Preface to Poems on the Moon in Chang 'an Opera: "August is in autumn. The beginning and end of the season; At night, the moon is in the clouds. Taking it from the sky is cold and hot, and taking it from the number of months is 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 August 15 was also called "Reunion Festival". Throughout the ages, people often use "full moon" and "lack of moon" to describe "joys and sorrows", while wanderers who live far away from home rely on the month to express their affection. Li Bai, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, looked up and it turned out to be moonlight. Sinking into the water again, I suddenly remembered my hometown. "He knows that the dew will be frost tonight, and how bright the moon color in my hometown is!" Du Fu's Spring Breeze Green Jiang Nanan and Wang Anshi's When the Moon Shines on Me are eternal.
Mid-Autumn Festival, Lantern Festival and Dragon Boat Festival are also called the three traditional festivals in China. Investigating the origin of the 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 smashing 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 place. The ancient emperors had a social system of offering sacrifices to the moon in spring, and the people also had the style of offering sacrifices to the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival. Later, enjoying the moon was more important than offering sacrifices to the moon, and serious sacrifices became light entertainment. The custom of enjoying the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival prevailed in the Tang Dynasty, and many poets wrote poems about the moon in their masterpieces. During the Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties, Yue Bai's court and folk activities to enjoy the moon were larger. So far, there are many historical sites in China, such as Yue Bai Altar, Moon Pavilion and Moon Tower. The "Moon Altar" in Beijing was built for the royal sacrifice to the moon during Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty. Whenever the moon rises in the Mid-Autumn Festival, a box will be set outdoors, and moon cakes, pomegranates, dates and other fruits will be placed on the console table. After Yue Bai, the whole family sat around the dining table eating and chatting and enjoying the moon together. 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. Since the Tang Dynasty, the making of moon cakes has become more and more exquisite. Su Dongpo wrote in a poem: "A small cake is like chewing the moon, and there is a pulp in the cake", and Yang Guang copied in the Qing Dynasty: "Moon cakes are filled with peach meat, and ice cream is filled with icing". 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 in the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon. According to historical records: "Yesterday, Chang 'e took the elixir of the Queen Mother of the West, 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 quite sad about this and wrote a poem: "The white rabbit pounded medicine in autumn and came back to life in spring. Who is the female neighbor? " Although Chang 'e herself feels good about the Moon Palace, she can't bear loneliness. She returns to Earth to reunite with her husband on the full moon night on August 15 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 can come down to see her beauty. Therefore, when many people burn incense in Yue Bai, they pray that "men want to walk in themoon early and climb the fairy laurel" ... women want to look like Chang 'e and be as round as the bright moon. "Year after year, people celebrate this day as a festival.
Some people think that the Mid-Autumn Festival began when Emperor Tang Ming enjoyed the moon. It is recorded in the Tang Dynasty's "Legacy of Kaiyuan" that on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, Tang and Yang Guifei were in the lower reaches of the month. They went to the Moon Palace, where Tang also learned half of the colorful feathers, and later added them to become a masterpiece. Don Huang Ming is obsessed with this trip to the Moon Palace. At this time of the year, we should enjoy the moon. People follow suit and get together at the full moon to enjoy the beautiful scenery on the earth. Over time, this has become a tradition.
It has been suggested that the Mid-Autumn Festival was originally the anniversary of the uprising that overthrew the rule of the Yuan Dynasty. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the people could not stand the government's rule. On the Mid-Autumn Festival, they wrote "Kill Tatars and Destroy the Yuan Dynasty; The note "Let's do it together on August 15" is hidden in a small round cake made of chromium and passed to each other. On the evening of August 15th, every family united to overthrow the rule of the Yuan Dynasty. Later, every Mid-Autumn Festival, we all eat 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 when crops are ripe". In the Mid-Autumn Festival in August, crops and various fruits are maturing one after another. In order to celebrate the harvest and express joy, farmers regard the Mid-Autumn Festival as a festival. "Mid-Autumn Festival" means the middle of autumn. August of 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 appears in Zhou Li, but it does not refer to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but refers to the second month of autumn. There was a "Mid-Autumn Festival" in the Han Dynasty, which was on the day of beginning of autumn, not on August 15th. There are records about the four seasons and twelve festivals in the books of the Tang Dynasty. There is no Mid-Autumn Festival, but there is a Mid-Autumn Festival in Tang poetry. "The Mid-Autumn Festival is full in August, and I'll send you on the Mulan boat" (Wei Zhuang's "Send Li Xiu to Jingxi"). Wu Zishou, a native of the Southern Song Dynasty, clearly recorded the Mid-Autumn Festival for the first time. In his book Dream of Liang Lu, he said: "The Mid-Autumn Festival is on August 15th, and Sanqiu is halfway, so it is called the Mid-Autumn Festival. This night, the moonlight is brighter than usual, 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.
August 15 is the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival in China, and all activities revolve around the theme of the moon. Eat moon cakes, Yue Bai, recruit male prostitutes, etc. The moon was widely worshipped in the Han Dynasty. Ancient emperors offered sacrifices to the sun and the moon. The moon altar in Beijing is a building dedicated to the moon. Mid-Autumn Festival is the most comfortable season of the year. The symbolic food of Mid-Autumn Festival is moon cakes. Mooncakes also symbolize family reunion. This sign began in the Ming Dynasty.
Mid-Autumn Festival is also very popular among more than 20 ethnic minorities such as Mongolian, Hui, Zhuang, Yi, North Korea and Dong.
Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the four traditional festivals in China: Spring Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival. Tracing the roots of traditional festival culture has certain enlightenment significance for inheriting the fine tradition of Chinese culture, building a harmonious society and even creating a healthy holiday market atmosphere.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Mid-Autumn Festival became a "big festival"
Mid-Autumn Festival is also called "Mid-Autumn Lantern".
The fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month is just in the middle of autumn, so it is called the Mid-Autumn Festival. It's night and the moon is round and bright. During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, in Niuzhu (now Caishiji), which belongs to Nanjing, Gao Shi Xie Shang and Justin went boating on the Mid-Autumn Festival night to enjoy the moon, so there was a story of "Niuzhu enjoying the moon", which had a great influence on the formation of the Mid-Autumn Festival. In the Song Dynasty, August 15th was officially designated as the Mid-Autumn Festival. From the Ming and Qing Dynasties to the Republic of China, Mid-Autumn Festival became a grand festival. After liberation, Mid-Autumn Festival is still popular with people, such as enjoying the moon, eating moon cakes and having a reunion dinner.
Appreciating the Moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival is also quite popular among Mongolian, Hui, Yi, Zhuang, Buyi, North Korea, Manchu, Bai, Dong, Tujia, Hani, Li, Lahu, Naxi, Daur, Qiang, Xibe, Ewenki, Yugur, Beijing, Oroqen and Hezhe.
"Cultural Code" of Food
Moon cake is the first food in Mid-Autumn Festival, and there are many theories about its origin. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhang Shicheng, the leader of the anti-Yuan uprising in Taizhou, Jiangsu Province (or Liu Bowen, Zhu Yuanzhang's counselor), took advantage of the opportunity of the Mid-Autumn Festival to give each other round cakes and put the note "Kill Tatar on the night of August 15th" in the cake. Everyone saw the note in the cake, which was widely spread. As promised, the "Tatar" (Yuan Bing) who did all kinds of bad things together on this night, and then everyone ate the cake to celebrate the victory of the uprising. In a long historical period, even at the end of last century, many moon cakes were still stuck with a small note! Regrettably, the moon cakes produced in recent years have disappeared, and so have the "cultural codes" handed down from generation to generation in moon cakes. Another way of saying this is that in the early years of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, General Xu Da captured the capital of Beijing, which was occupied by the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty, and the good news spread to the capital Nanjing. Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming Taizu who was playing chess, was ecstatic. He announced that the Mid-Autumn Festival would be celebrated all over the world and gave his subjects moon cakes, which conveyed the information during the anti-Yuan uprising. Since then, moon cakes have become the "legal" food of Mid-Autumn Festival, and they must be eaten.
During the Republic of China, the moon cake market in Nanjing was "three-thirds of the world" in Guangdong, Soviet and local ways. Cantonese fillings are mainly ham, jujube paste and coconut paste, and the manufacturer is led by Guanshengyuan, followed by Dasanyuan and Kangleyuan. They use large-scale advertising as a means to publish huge advertisements in newspapers and decorate neon lights in the window. Well-known Suzhou steel manufacturers include Xiao Suzhou, Taiping Village and Daoxiang Village, which have the characteristics of Shanghai style in advertising production and love to engage in gimmicks; The quality of Soviet-style moon cakes is not worse than that of Guangbang, but the price is cheaper. Therefore, after the holiday, financial resources are better than Guangbang. Guangbang's customers are dignitaries and businessmen; Most customers of Su Gang are well-off families; Although the public is happy to join this gang. Although its stuffing is only five kernels and common salt and pepper, more than 65.438 million dim sum shops in this city are old-fashioned. They don't decorate windows, let alone advertise, but they all win customers with quality, integrity and low price, and their market share is even worse than that of Guangbang and Su Bang.
There is also a unique "Jinling set of cakes" in this group of moon cakes. Mooncakes of different sizes are stacked on top of each other, and the top is decorated with a birthday peach, which looks like a pagoda and is sold in sets. When Dr. Sun Yat-sen was the interim president, Yongmao Food Store in Zhonghua Gate presented him with this set of cakes, and Mr. Sun Yat-sen fell in love with this set of cakes from then on. There is a wonderful flower in this group of moon cakes-"Laiyue Moon Cake". According to legend, Emperor Qianlong went down to the south of the Yangtze River and stayed at Guabu Temple in Liuhe. It was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the abbot and monk Lai Yue led their disciples to elaborate ancestral moon cakes for worship. It was named "Laiyue Moon Cake" and listed as a tribute of the imperial court to show its advantages. 1984, "Laiyue Mooncake" won the second place in the mooncake appraisal of Jiangsu Supply and Marketing Cooperative System, and was also exported to Hong Kong and Macao.
Mid-Autumn Festival coincides with the harvest of fruits and vegetables. As a festival offering to the moon god, melons and fruits also contain many cultural symbolic meanings: watermelon symbolizes reunion, pomegranate symbolizes children and grandchildren, persimmon symbolizes good luck, jujube symbolizes early birth, chestnuts symbolize early marriage, early childbearing and career, and so on. However, there are also cultural taboos, such as "sweet pears don't supply the moon", which is the homonym of "pear", implying disaster and the opposite meaning to the Mid-Autumn Festival reunion.
The climax of Mid-Autumn Festival is on the evening of August 15, when the whole family get together for a reunion dinner, which is called "full moon". If relatives haven't come back, a cup of chopsticks will be placed on the table to symbolize family reunion. Among the dishes, "Sweet-scented osmanthus duck in August" (salted duck) is essential, followed by roast chicken with edamame and braised pork with chestnuts, taro or old ling.
Pan, a Qing Dynasty man, recorded in the Chronicle of Jinling: "The Mid-Autumn Festival sacrifices the moon in the name of lotus, chestnut, persimmon and other fruits, and sticks incense in paper barrels, which is called' Dou Xiang'." People traveled all the way to Yue Bai, burned paper sculptures, and finally took out moon cakes, melons and fruits and other sacrifices that the whole family liked to eat. There is also a strange custom in "Old Nanjing": In Yue Bai, when there is a lunar eclipse, everyone will beat gongs and drums and set off firecrackers, which is called "driving away the Tiangou". There is also a folk custom in Nanjing: "Women don't offer sacrifices to stoves, and men don't offer sacrifices to Yue Bai". Legend has it that Chang 'e is shy when she meets men, so housewives at home make offerings, withdraw them, burn incense and paper, and even share them. Men only accompany the sacrifices. As the chief priest, female housewives must put on new clothes, skirts and flower shoes to please Luna and let the whole family reunite safely. Therefore, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called "Daughter's Day" in Nanjing.
On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, there is also a special activity called "Walking on the Moon". In the bright moonlight, people wear gorgeous clothes, travel in groups of three or five, or wander the streets, or lack boats on the Qinhuai River, or go upstairs to watch the Yue Hua, talking and laughing. In the Ming Dynasty, Nanjing had a building to look at the moon and a bridge to play with the moon. During the Qing Dynasty, there was a moon-looking building under the lion mountain, which was a scenic spot for tourists to enjoy the moon when they "walked on the moon". The Moon Building in Mochou Lake Park built after liberation has become a new attraction for citizens to enjoy the moon. In the past, Nanjing people had a special prayer of "walking on the moon": any married woman without a son would go to Confucius Temple and then cross the bridge. According to legend, there would be "the joy of dreaming of bears" (meaning giving birth to boys). There is a "top bridge" on the pier of Yaowan Street outside Zhonghua Gate. On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, the unborn family man came here and threw a crock under the bridge, which is said to make his wife pregnant. Over time, this bridge has also been wrongly called "Top Bridge".