The Mid Autumn Festival is a traditional festival in China, and it is also the second largest festival in China. It's second only to the Spring Festival. On this day, people enjoy the moon and eat moon cakes, which is very enjoyable. How much do you know about Mid Autumn Festival.
Introduction to Mid Autumn Festival
Mid Autumn Festival time: August 15 of the lunar calendar
The origin of Mid Autumn Festival
One of the legends of Mid Autumn Festival
According to legend, in ancient times, there were ten days in the sky at the same time, drying the crops to death, and the people couldn't live. A hero named Hou Yi had infinite power. He sympathized with the suffering people, climbed the top of the Kunlun Mountain, took full power, drew the bow, shot down more than nine suns in one breath, and strictly ordered the last sun to rise and fall on time, for the benefit of the people.
Many people with lofty ideals came to learn arts from their masters. Pengmeng, who was not good at it, also came in.
One day, Hou Yi went to Kunlun mountain to visit friends and seek Tao. He ran into the queen mother and asked her for a package of immortal medicine. It is said that if you take this medicine, you will instantly become an immortal. However, Hou Yi was reluctant to leave his wife, so he had to temporarily give the immortal medicine to Chang'e for collection. Chang'e hid the medicine in the treasure chest of the dressing table. Unexpectedly, pengmeng saw it. He wanted to steal the immortal medicine and become an immortal himself.
Three days later, Houyi led his disciples to go hunting, and pengmeng, who was full of ghosts, pretended to be ill and stayed. Shortly after Hou Yi led the others to leave, pengmeng broke into the backyard of the house with a sword and threatened Chang'e to hand over the elixir. Chang'e knew that she was not pengmeng's opponent. When she was in danger, she decided to turn around and open the treasure chest. She took out the elixir and swallowed it. Chang'e swallows the medicine, and immediately floats away from the ground, rushes out of the window, and flies to the sky. Because Chang'e was worried about her husband, she flew to the nearest moon and became an immortal.
In the evening, Hou Yi came home and the maids cried about what happened during the day. Hou Yi was shocked and angry. He drew his sword to kill the villain. Pengmeng fled early. Hou Yi was so angry that he beat his chest and his feet. He was devastated. He looked up at the night sky and called for his wife's name. At this time, he was surprised to find that today's moon was especially bright and bright, and there was a shaking figure similar to Chang'e. He chased the moon as hard as he could, but he chased three steps, the moon stretched three steps, he stretched three steps, the moon advanced three steps, no matter how he could not catch up.
Hou Yi had no choice but to send someone to Chang'e's favorite back garden, put on the incense table, put on her favorite honey and fresh fruit, and mourn her Chang'e in the Moon Palace. After hearing the news that Chang'e had become an immortal on the moon, people set up incense tables under the moon, praying to the kind-hearted Chang'e for good luck and peace.
Since then, the custom of worshipping the moon on the Mid Autumn Festival has spread among the people.
The second legend of Mid Autumn Festival
There is also a legend about the Mid Autumn Festival: it is said that the osmanthus trees in front of Guanghan Palace on the moon grow luxuriantly. They are more than five hundred feet tall. There is a man below who often cuts them down. But every time they cut down, the cut places immediately close. For thousands of years, this cinnamon tree can never be cut down. It is said that the man who cut down the trees was Wu Gang, a Xihe man of the Han Dynasty. He once followed the immortal to practice Taoism and came to the heaven. But when he made a mistake, the immortal relegated him to the Moon Palace. He made this kind of futile drudgery day by day to show his punishment. In Li Bai's poems, there is a record that "I want to spend my time in the middle of the river, and I will pay for those who are cold.".
The third legend of the Mid Autumn Festival -- Zhu Yuanzhang and the moon cake Uprising
It is said that moon cake eating in mid autumn festival began in Yuan Dynasty. At that time, the people of Zhongyuan could not bear the cruel rule of the ruling class of the Yuan Dynasty, and revolted against the yuan one after another. Zhu Yuanzhang joined forces to prepare for the uprising. However, the search was very tight and it was very difficult to transmit information. Liu Bowen, the military strategist, came up with a plan, and ordered his subordinates to hide the notes of the 'August 15 night uprising' in the pancakes, and then sent them to the uprising troops in different places to inform them to respond to the uprising on the evening of August 15. On the day of the uprising, all the rebel armies responded together, and the uprising army was like a blaze.
Soon, Xu Da captured the capital of Yuan Dynasty, and the uprising was successful. According to the news, Zhu Yuanzhang was so happy that he quickly sent an oral message to all the officers and men to enjoy the coming Mid Autumn Festival. He also rewarded the officials with the 'moon cake' which was used to transmit information secretly when he started the army. Since then, the 'moon cake' has become more and more refined, with more varieties. The big ones, such as disks, have become the best gifts. Later, the custom of eating moon cakes on Mid Autumn Festival spread among the people.
The origin of Mid Autumn Festival -- Historical Records
In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, there were records of "Yu Shang Shu Zhen Niu Lu, mid autumn Eve and Weifu Pan Jiang".
Some people think that in the early Tang Dynasty, the mid autumn festival became a fixed festival. In the book of Tang Dynasty, there is a record of the Mid Autumn Festival on August 15. The mid autumn festival begins with the emperor's appreciation of the moon.
It is recorded in the book "the legacy of Kaiyuan" of Tang Dynasty: on the night of Mid Autumn Festival, Emperor Ming of Tang Dynasty and his concubine Yang were playing under the moon, and they went to xingchu. They entered the Moon Palace by themselves. Emperor Ming of Tang also learned half of the song "Ni Chang Yu Yi Qu" in the Moon Palace, which was later completed and became a masterpiece handed down.
Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty is always thinking about his trip to the Moon Palace. At this time of the year, he must enjoy the moon. The common people also follow suit. When the moon is full, they gather together and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the world. Over time, it has become a tradition. In Tang Dynasty, the Mid Autumn Festival is very popular.
The prevalence of mid autumn festival began in the Song Dynasty. In the Southern Song Dynasty, people presented moon cakes to each other and took the meaning of reunion. In the evening, there are activities such as appreciating the moon and visiting the lake.
It was suggested that the Mid Autumn Festival was originally a memorial day of uprising to overthrow the rule of the Yuan Dynasty. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the common people couldn't bear the government's rule. In the Mid Autumn Festival, the words "kill the Tartars, kill the Yuan Dynasty; on August 15, every family started together" were hidden in small round cakes of chrome to pass on to each other. On the evening of August 15, every family began to overthrow the rule of the Yuan Dynasty. Later, every Mid Autumn Festival, we eat moon cakes to commemorate this historic victory.
By the time of Ming and Qing Dynasties, it had become one of the major festivals in China, as well as new year's day. This is also the second largest traditional festival after the Spring Festival in China.