Legends of the Moon: Mid-Autumn Festival Stories | by Chai Yi Xuan
Illustration by Liau Kah Man (Carmen) , Alana Sofia and Zi Xuan.
Chang Er Flies to the Moon
The story of Chang Er is the most famous tale told during Mid-Autumn Festival. The story starts with the land being plagued by a heavy drought due to the ten suns blazing in the sky. Seeing the people suffering, Hou Yi picked up his bow and shot down nine of them, saving many lives. He was praised as a hero and married a beautiful wife named Chang Er.One day, he was awarded an elixir—which would allow him to ascend to the heavens and become immortal. Unwilling to part with his wife, Hou Yi refused to take it and gave it to Chang Er for safekeeping. However, PengMeng—a disciple of Hou Yi—wanted the elixir. He threatened Chang Er to hand the elixir over while Hou Yi was out hunting. In desperation, she consumed the elixir, causing her to float to the sky. Chang Er was reluctant to leave her husband and flew to the moon, the nearest place to Earth before the heavens. Hou Yi, missing his wife, displayed tables of food that Chang Er likes and prayed to the full moon.
Eventually, people adopted the custom and prayed to Chang Er for peace and good luck.
Lights round as the moon.
Wu Gang and the Osmanthus Tree
Here is a fairly short tale of a man who had to chop a tree on the moon. Wu Gang was a man who had trained and developed himself into an immortal, ascending to the heavens. However, he made a mistake, gathering the ire of other immortals. He was banished to the moon and was ordered to chop down the osmanthus tree, only then can he return to the heavens. Said tree was tall and lush, growing over 500 feet. Wu Gang did his best to cut it down—but with every dent he made, the tree grew itself back. The process repeated, and this became the punishment Wu Gang was given—to chop the osmanthus tree for eternity. Some say that on the nights when the moon is bright, you can see his shadow on the moon.Zhu YuanZhang and the Mooncake Uprising
Ever wonder why eating mooncakes was a custom during Mid-Autumn Festival? This legend is a historical event that takes place during the Yuan Dynasty. The people were suffering under the ruthless rule of the government and wanted to revolt. Zhu YuanZhang gathered resistance forces and planned an uprising. However, it was hard to pass the word along as the sentry checks were strict with their search. Liu BoWen came up with a plan to hide a paper strip containing the message—which says “uprising on the 15th day of the 8th month”—in mooncakes and have them distributed to the resistance.
Photo by Cheng Yue.
Mooncake gang.
The message was received, and the resistance force gathered on the planned date. The revolution was a success, and YuanZhang gave out mooncakes as a sign of celebration. Since then, different flavours of mooncakes have been made, and people have adopted the tradition of enjoying mooncakes during Mid-Autumn Festival (and why it’s also known as the Mooncake Festival!).
These are just the few legends most often told during Mid-Autumn Festival. Some of these legends have variations, like Chang Er taking her pet rabbit when she was floating to the moon. They change with time and through the people telling those stories, but the one thing that you can be sure that will never change— is the full moon that shines bright on this festive day.
Photo by Cheng Yue
Rabbit.
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