Legend
The story of Chang E
is the most widely accepted tale regarding the origins of the
Mid-Autumn Festival. It is said that in ancient times, ten suns existed
and the extreme heat made people's lives very difficult. It was the hero
Hou Yi who, owing to his great strength, shot down the nine of the ten
suns. On hearing of this amazing feat and the hero who performed it,
people came from far and wide to learn from him. Peng Meng was among
these people. Later, Hou Yi married a beautiful and kind woman named
Chang E and lived a happy life.
One day, Hou Yi came upon
Wangmu (the queen of heaven) on the way to meet his old friend. Wangmu
presented him an elixir which, if drunk, would cause him to ascend
immediately to heaven and become an immortal. Instead of drinking the
potion himself, Hou Yi took it home and presented it to Chang E to keep.
Unfortunately, Peng Meng secretly saw Hou Yi give the potion to his
wife and three days later, while Hou Yi was out hunting, Peng Meng
rushed into the backyard and demanded that Chang E hand over the elixir.
Knowing that she could not win, she took out the elixir and swallowed
it immediately. The moment she drank it, she flew out of the window and
up into the sky. Chang E's great love for her husband drew her towards
the Moon, which is the nearest heavenly body to the earth.
On
realising what happened to his wife, Hou Yi was so grief stricken that
he shouted Chang E' s name to the sky. He was amazed to see a figure
which looked just like his wife appeared in the Moon. He took the food
liked by Chang E to an altar and offered it as a sacrifice for her. Hou
Yi's neighbours also burned incense and prepared food to express their
good wishes to the kind Chang E. This became a custom later every year
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment