NYCHINATOWNcom

2001: October 01

    According to the Chinese lunar calendar, there is a full moon on the fifteenth day of every month. The moon reaches its fullest and brightest of the year on the fifteenth day of the eighth month. Since this day falls in the middle of the autumn season, it is known as the Mid-Autumn Festival. On this night Chinese all over the world gather together with their families to admire the full moon.

Fly to the Moon
   According to ancient Chinese legends, there were once ten suns in the sky and the land was like a furnace. A man named Hou Yi shot down nine of them to lessen the intense heat they poured down on the earth. Following his great act, the people made the hero a king. However, he soon became a headstrong ruler and was indifferent to the needs of the people. They suffered a great deal under his rule but were too fearful to approach him. To make matters even worse, Hou had sent a Daoist (Taoist) priest to obtain the elixir of eternal life from the Mother Queen, Wang Mu Niang. Before he could take the elixir his wife, Chang E, decided to save the people from his endless tyranny - she drank the elixir herself. When the potion entered Chang E's body she became light as a sparrow and flew off to the moon.

Worshipping the Moon
   It was on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month that Chang E flew to the moon. Ever year following that people have offered a sacrifice of fruit and flowers to commemorate her actions.

    During the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), the custom of worshipping the moon was popular in their capital city. The entire city, rich and poor, would go out to visit towers and tall buildings to better see the moon. Because the moon in considered a yin element (feminine), it was not worshipped by men. Women however, knelt before the moon and prayed for the loveliness of Chang E and for a pure heart like the moon.

Jade Rabbit
   After her sacrifice, Chang E lived a very lonely life in her lunar palace. To keep her company she had a rabbit. This Jade Rabbit is still popular among little children.

    The Jade Rabbit was in fact more than a companion; his main duty was to incessantly pound the elixir in a stone mortar. Why would he do that when the elixir had caused so much suffering? Perhaps Chang E felt lonely after leaving her husband and she ordered the Jade Rabbit to continue making the elixir as a gesture of regret. The Ever-growing Tree

    The shadow on the surface of the brightly-lit moon is said to be caused by an acassia tree. To try and rid the moon of this shadow, a man called Wu Gang is forever cutting at the tree. This myth is a story of punishment comparable to that of Sisyphus, the Greek god who was forced to roll a stone up a steep hill and whenever he reached the top it tumbled down again.

    The genesis of the story is that Wu killed the son of the Sun God in anger and jealousy. As punishment the Sun God forced Wu to chop the cassia tree down with an axe - unfortunately for Wu the tree grows back every time he finishes!

Moon cakes and Revolution
   Moon cakes are round pastries stuffed with sweet bean paste and salted egg yolk. They are eaten during Mid-Autumn Festival because the round shape perfectly reflects the shape of the moon as well as the fellowship of family and friends gathered together. They also symbolize something a little less commonplace.

    In the final years of the Yuan Dynasty (1280-1368 AD), the people were suffering under their despotic Mongol rulers. Zhu Yuanzhang and his followers finally rose in revolt with the help of the masses.

    The revolutionaries spread word of their plan by inserting written messages inciting revolt into mooncakes and distributing them among the people. The message asked the citizens to rise up in revolt against the Mongol rulers on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The revolt was successful and Zhu became the founder of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD).

Lanterns
   Southern Chinese and many of those overseas light lanterns during the Mid-Autumn Festival. They are usually hung as decorations in the home and courtyard. Children are especially fond of lanterns and during the evening their groups of bobbing lights echo the moonlight.

    In the north, there are lantern shows held in public parks. Families and young lovers stroll along viewing the lanterns. Traditional lanterns are made of thin sheets of paper and bamboo sticks with a candle in the center to show off their paper cut designs.