China Legend, the Origin of Mid-Autumn Festival. Chinese culture and traditional folk festival.

Long ago, there existed 10 suns indulging in wilful persecutionin in the sky. Crops withered, people starved to death. The age of chaos lasted centuries untill appearance of a great hero named Houyi, the best archer of ancient China. From his childhood, Houyi tasted suffering of the people. He struggled in hard life as a hunter with his genius in archery. And the duration of his hardship endued him with endless strength when he grew up and became the best archer of the continent.

Houyi's greatest wish was puting out the burning suns and bring the world to normal order. So he stepped on the peak of Kunlun Mountains, opened his golden bow, shot down nine of the 10 suns at one fling, and ordered the last one rise and fall on schedule. Therefrom, people were great benefited from Houyi's feat.

Chang’e flies to the moon

From then on, Houyi was widely respected and admired. People inquired for him all the days and desired to be his prentice. And Pengmeng, is one of Houyi's prentices with treacherous intention.

One day, Houyi went to meet a friend in Kunglun Mountains and encountered the goddess by chance. The goddess awarded him a packet of pills  and told him the one who ate the pills will obtain ingress to heaven and become immortal. However, Houyi was reluctant to leave his wife, Chang'e. So he handed the packet to his wife and let her kept it. Chang'e treasured the packet up carefully. But unfortunately, it was knowned by the rascal, Pengmeng. 

Three days later, Pengmeng pretended to be sick and stayed at home when Houyi led on the prentices for hunting. He armed himself with sword, crashed into Houyi's home and forced the hostess, Chang'e, who was left alone in home surrender the immortality drugs. In the emergency, Chang'e made a prompt decision and swallowed all the pills at once and then waved out of the window, flew into the sky with wind. As Chang'e worried about her husband, she landed on the moon where was closest to human's world.

In the evening, when one of the handmaidens told the nightmare to Houyi, he was even drawn into crazy. He looked everwhere for the rascal for slaying him immediately, but found that the evil had already escaped. Houyi looked up to the sky with endless sadness. To his surprise, the moon shined brightly and seemed to be clearer. He even could find the silhouette wandered in the shadow of the moonlight. Houyi pursued after the moon desperately, but could not reach it no matter how he made his efforts.

Chang’e flies to the moon

Helpless Houyi missed his wife day and night. For expressing his loneliness, he set a special dinner in the garden, put on fresh fruit which Chang'e was most favourite, prayed for reunion with his wife.  People who heard the news, also set incense burner table for praying auspicious and peace. And this became the oldest Mid-Autumn festival.

Since then, the custom of praying on Mid-Autumn festival had spreaded in the civil.