Mooncake legend Mooncakes symbolize reunion and are a must-have offering for worshiping the moon and the Earth God during the Mid-Autumn Festival. The custom of eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival was handed down from the late Yuan Dynasty. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the Han people planned to rise up against the Mongolian rule, but they were unable to deliver the news. Later, Liu Bowen came up with a plan to spread rumors everywhere that there was a winter plague epidemic, which could be avoided unless every household bought mooncakes to eat during the Mid-Autumn Festival. People bought mooncakes and returned home, only to find a note hidden inside, which read: "On Mid-Autumn Night, kill the Tatars and welcome the rebels!" So people rose up in rebellion against the rulers, and this is how the custom of eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival remained. . Wuxi people usually eat braised rose sugar taro on the morning of the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is said to be related to this. According to legend, after the Mongols destroyed the Song Dynasty, the ethnic oppression was so severe that the Han people wanted to resist at all times. One year, everyone made an appointment to do it together on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. In order to get tired of winning, people eat braised taro, which symbolizes the head of the "Tatar" falling to the ground. This is the origin of eating sugared taro during the Mid-Autumn Festival. This legend has mutated in various parts of Chaoshan: at that time, the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty stipulated that each Chao family must have a Mongolian soldier living in it, supported by the Han people, monitoring the actions of the Han people, and only three households were allowed to use one kitchen knife. The common people were so disgusted that they took advantage of the opportunity to eat mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival and put notes announcing the incident into the stuffing of mooncakes. The Chaozhou people named taro as a homophonic word for "beard head" and resembled a human head. Therefore, every Mid-Autumn Festival, taro was used to worship their ancestors, which has been passed down through the generations and still exists today. There is a custom of eating taro during the Mid-Autumn Festival in various parts of Guangdong, which is said to commemorate the historical story of the massacre of the Tatars in the late Yuan Dynasty. After the Tatars were killed during the Mid-Autumn Festival, their heads were sacrificed to the moon, and later they were replaced with taro. To this day, Cantonese people still call it "peeling ghost skin" when peeling taro skin. Following the custom of worshiping the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival is a very ancient custom in our country. According to historical records, as early as the Zhou Dynasty, ancient emperors had the custom of worshiping the sun at the spring equinox, the earth at the summer solstice, the moon at the autumnal equinox, and the sky at the winter solstice. The places where they worship are called the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of the Earth, the Temple of the Moon, and the Temple of Heaven. It is divided into four directions: southeast, northwest and northwest. The Moon Altar in Beijing is where emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties worshiped the moon. "Book of Rites" records: "The emperor faces the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. When the sun rises and falls, the moon falls on the eve." The eclipse of the eclipse moon here refers to the worship of the moon at night. This custom was not only pursued by the court and upper-class nobles, but also gradually affected the people with the development of society. Literati Appreciating the Moon The custom of appreciating the moon originated from offering sacrifices to the moon. The solemn offering of sacrifices turned into a relaxed and joyful one. Folk activities of appreciating the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival began around the Wei and Jin Dynasties, but have not yet become a custom. In the Tang Dynasty, admiring and playing with the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival was quite popular, and many poets included verses praising the moon in their famous works. By the Song Dynasty, a Mid-Autumn folk festival centered on moon-viewing activities was formed, which was officially designated as the Mid-Autumn Festival. Different from the people in the Tang Dynasty, people in the Song Dynasty were more sentimental about the moon when appreciating the moon. They often used the waxing and waning of clouds and clear moons to describe human emotions. Even on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the clear light of the moon could not hide the sadness of the Song people. But for people in the Song Dynasty, the Mid-Autumn Festival has another form, that is, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a festival of secular joy: "Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, all shops sell new wine, noble families decorate their terraces and pavilions, and private families compete in restaurants to play in the moonlight and play music. Hearings from thousands of miles away, playing and sitting until dawn" ("Tokyo Menghua Lu"). The Mid-Autumn Festival in the Song Dynasty was a sleepless night. The night market was open all night and there were endless tourists enjoying the moon. After the Ming and Qing dynasties, people worshiped the moon. Due to the relationship of the times, the practical utilitarian factors in social life became more prominent. The secular interest in festivals became more and more intense during the year, and the lyrical and mythological literati tradition centered on "moon appreciation" weakened. Utilitarian worship, prayers and secular emotions and wishes constitute the main forms of Mid-Autumn Festival customs among ordinary people. Therefore, "folk worshiping the moon" has become a symbol of people's desire for reunion, happiness and happiness; they use the moon to express their feelings. In ancient times, there was the custom of "autumn twilight and evening moon". On the eve of the moon, worship the moon god. Set up a large incense table and place mooncakes, watermelons, apples, dates, plums, grapes and other offerings. Mooncakes and watermelons are absolutely indispensable. The watermelon should also be cut into lotus shapes. Under the moon, the moon statue is placed in the direction of the moon, with red candles burning high. The whole family worships the moon in turn, and then the housewife cuts the reunion moon cakes. The person who cuts the food must calculate in advance how many people are in the family. Those who are at home and those who are out of town must be counted together. They cannot cut more or less, and the sizes must be the same. Moonlight Horse The image of the Moon God underwent important changes during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The early purely Taoist image of the Moon Palace, dominated by Chang'e, evolved into a secular image of the Moonlight Bodhisattva and the Medicine-Pounding Jade Rabbit, which blended Buddhism and Taoism. During this period, people worshiped moonlight paper with the Moonlight Bodhisattva painted on it, also called "Moonlight Horse". Fucha Dunchong's "The Years of Yanjing" (1906).

Records: "The moonlight horse is made of paper, with the lunar star king like a Bodhisattva on the top, and the moon palace and the rabbit pounding medicine on the bottom. The figure is standing upright and holding a pestle. The algae color is exquisite and resplendent. It is sold in many shops. The long one is seven or eight feet long, and the short one is two or three feet long. There are two flags on the top, made of red and green, or yellow. They burn incense and salute to the moon. After the sacrifice, they are burned together with thousands of pieces of gold and ingots." The origin of Lord Rabbit dates back to the late Ming Dynasty. Ji Kun of the Ming Dynasty (lived around 1636) wrote in "The Remaining Manuscript of Kao Pavilion": "On the Mid-Autumn Festival in Beijing, people often wear rabbit shapes with mud, wearing clothes and hats, sitting like people, and children worshiping them." By the Qing Dynasty. , the function of Lord Rabbit has been transformed from offering sacrifices to the moon to being a Mid-Autumn Festival toy for children. The production is also becoming more and more sophisticated. Some are dressed as military commanders wearing armor and robes, some have paper flags or umbrellas on their backs, and some are sitting or standing. Sitting there are unicorns, tigers, leopards and so on. There are also vendors dressed as rabbit heads, some are head-shaving masters, some are sewing shoes, selling wontons, tea soup, and so on. "Every Mid-Autumn Festival, some clever people in the city would use loess to make statues of toads and rabbits for sale, and they were called Lord Rabbits." In the old days, there were many Lord Rabbit stalls in the Dongsi Archway area of ??Beijing, specializing in selling Lord Rabbits for worshiping the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival. In addition, Nanzhi Store also sells incense candles. This Lord Rabbit has been personified through the bold creation of folk artists. It has the body of a rabbit and holds a jade pestle. Later, some people imitated opera characters and carved Lord Rabbit into warriors with golden helmets, some riding lions, elephants and other beasts, and some riding peacocks, cranes and other birds. In particular, the rabbit riding a tiger is a strange thing, but it is a bold creation of folk artists. There is also a kind of rabbit with movable elbow joints and chin, commonly known as "Bada Zui", which is more lovable. Although it is an offering for worshiping the moon, it is actually a wonderful toy for children. People in Beijing who are over sixty years old can still remember the streets of Beijing decades ago. As soon as July 15th passes, the Rabbit Master stall is set up. The Five Archways at the front door, in front of the Drum Tower at the back door, Xidan, Dongsi and other places are full of rabbit stalls, large and small, high and low, and they are extremely lively. Mid-Autumn Festival Banquet Customs In ancient times, the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet customs of the Han people were the most elegant in the palace. For example, it was popular in the Ming Dynasty to eat crabs. After the crabs are steamed with cattail bags, everyone sits around and tastes them, served with wine and vinegar. After eating, drink Su Ye Decoction and wash your hands with it. During the banquet area, flowers, pomegranates and other seasonal fresh food were placed, and mythological dramas of the Mid-Autumn Festival were performed. The Qing palace often placed a screen facing east in a certain courtyard, with cockscombs, edamame, taro, peanuts, radishes and fresh lotus roots placed on both sides of the screen. There is an Eight Immortals table in front of the screen, with an extra-large moon cake placed on it, surrounded by pastries and fruits. After the moon sacrifice is completed, the moon cakes are cut into several pieces according to the royal family's population, and each person takes a symbolic bite, which is called "eating reunion cakes." The mooncakes made in the Qing Dynasty were so huge that it is unimaginable. For example, the mooncake given by the last emperor Puyi to the Minister of Internal Affairs Shao Ying was "about two feet in diameter and weighing about twenty kilograms."