Have you ever heard about Chang’e and Hou-Yi? The story behind it is very interesting. Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as Moon Festival because the story is about the moon. With more than 3,000 years of history, there are different takes on the origin of this festival. The story of Chang’e and Hou-Yi has different versions. I will share with you the one I know.

When is Mid-Autumn Festival?

The festival is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar with a full moon at night. On this day, people believe that the moon is at its brightest and fullest size, coinciding with harvest time in the middle of Autumn.

The Story of Mid-Autumn Festival

Ten Suns in The Sky

Long, long time ago, there were ten suns in the sky. The suns burnt all the plants on Earth. People were dying. Therefore, the Emperor of Heaven summoned Hou-Yi to shoot down nine of the suns. Few days later, he used his bow and arrows to shoot down nine of them. All the people on Earth were saved and the weather soon recovered.

Hou-Yi Got Married With Chang’e

Hou-Yi was rewarded with the elixir of immortality. While Hou-Yi was still on the Earth, he met a beautiful girl named Chang’e. He couldn’t help but fell in love with Chang’e. They got married and lived happily. After that, Hou-yi told Chang’e about the elixir. However, the elixir was only for one person. Although Hou-Yi did want to become immortal and stay with Chang’e more, he didn’t drink the elixir and asked Chang’e to keep it safe for him.

Someone Tried to Steal the Elixir

After Hou-Yi shot down the nine suns bravely, he became more and more famous. People came to him for learning his excellent skills. Hou-Yi was willing to teach everyone, so he accepted almost all of them. However, not every student had good morality. There was a student named Pang-Meng wanted to seize his elixir.

One day, before Hou Yi returned home from hunting, Pang-Meng went to Hou-Yi’s home and forced Chang’e to give him the elixir. She knew that she could not defeat Pang-Meng, so with no other choice, she drank the elixir.

Chang’e Flied to the Moon

The elixir made Chang’e fly higher and higher. In the end, she stopped on the moon and became immortal. When Hou-Yi came back, he found that his wife had been lifted to Heaven. He was desperate because he couldn’t be with Chang’e anymore. Hou-Yi looked up at the moon and put the foods Chang’e used to love in the garden. He hoped Chang’e could come back to stay with him one day. Since then, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, people have offered lots of food to worship the moon. 

The Video of The Story

If you prefer videos more than words, you can check the video below to know more about the Moon Festival.

The story is very interesting, isn’t it? This was the bed time story when I was a kid. After that, I liked to look up at the sky and enjoyed the full moon. As a little girl, I believed that there was a beautiful girl living on the moon.

You may like the story of

📚 Chinese New Year

📚 Lantern Festival

📚 Dragon Boat Festival

📚 Qixi Festival

Resources

https://sites.google.com/a/g2.nctu.edu.tw/unimath/_/rsrc/1506441294222/manuscript/moonfestival/%E7%9B%B8%E7%89%87%202013-6-23%20%E4%B8%8B%E5%8D%888%2038%2023.jpg

https://forum.onlinesoccermanager.com/uploads/files/1490188239644-upload-89da45d8-1bee-4de0-9e3c-2899cc08932f.png

https://greenteadoodles.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/image-1-20090922-ten-suns-smaller.jpg

https://animationsongs.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Yours-Forever-Reprise-Song-With-Lyrics-From-Over-The-Moon-Netflix-Musical-Movie-Official-Soundtrack-752×440.jpg

https://scootersaigontour.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-legend-of-Chang%E2%80%99E-and-Hou-Yi.jpeg