This is the fable that sits at the heart of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival – sort of like how the story of Santa sits at the heart of Christmas.
后羿是一位有名的英雄，他的妻子嫦娥温柔善良，两个人感情很深，生活幸福美满。
有一天，后羿从西王母那里得到了一颗仙丹。西王母告诉他，吃了这颗仙丹就可以长生不老，飞升成仙。但是后羿放不下嫦娥，不愿意一个人离开，就把仙丹藏在家里，打算以后再做决定。
后羿有一个徒弟叫蓬蒙，此人贪婪狡猾，一心只想得到仙丹。他暗中调查，终于发现了仙丹藏在哪里。有一天，趁后羿出门的时候，蓬蒙闯进屋子，拿着武器威胁嫦娥，逼她交出仙丹。
嫦娥知道自己无法与蓬蒙抗争。她看了看手中的仙丹，心想：仙丹绝对不能落入这种坏人手中。情急之下，她做了一个决定——把仙丹吞了下去。
仙丹的力量非常强大。嫦娥刚刚咽下，就感觉身体越来越轻，双脚慢慢离开地面，身不由己地飘了起来。她飞出窗户，飞过树梢，越飞越高，直冲云霄。
嫦娥心里放不下后羿，不愿飞得太远。她抬头望去，看到月亮就在不远处，于是降落在了月亮上。
后羿回到家，蓬蒙早已逃跑。邻居把发生的事情告诉了他。后羿冲出门外，仰望夜空，只见一轮圆月高挂天上，格外明亮。他大声呼唤嫦娥的名字，却只有风声回应他。
后羿悲痛欲绝。从那以后，每逢八月十五，他都会在院子里摆上嫦娥最爱吃的食物，独自坐在月光下，久久凝望着那轮明月。
后来，这个习俗慢慢流传开来。每年八月十五，天下的人们都会在月光下聚在一起，赏月，吃月饼，思念远方的亲人。这一天，就是中秋节。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 仙丹 | xiāndān | elixir of life |
| 长生不老 | chángshēngbùlǎo | to live forever without aging |
| 贪婪 | tānlán | greedy / avaricious |
| 狡猾 | jiǎohuá | cunning / crafty / sly |
| 威胁 | wēixié | to threaten |
| 身不由己 | shēnbùyóujǐ | involuntarily / beyond one’s control |
| 悲痛欲绝 | bēitòngyùjué | grief-stricken / overwhelmed with sorrow |
| 凝望 | níngwàng | to gaze at / to stare at intently |
| 习俗 | xísú | custom / tradition |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 羿 | ||
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 位 | wèi | position; location; place; seat; classifier for people (honorific); classifier for binary bits (e.g. 十六位 16-bit or 2 bytes); (physics) potential |
| 有名 | yǒu míng | famous; well-known |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 英雄 | yīng xíong | hero; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 妻子 | qī zǐ | wife and children |
| 嫦 | ||
| 娥 | ||
| 温 | wen | warm; temperate; temperature; to warm up; to review; surname Wen |
| 柔 | róu | soft; flexible; supple; yielding; rho (Greek letter Ρρ) |
| 善良 | shàn liáng | good and honest; kindhearted |
| 两 | liǎng | two; both; some; a few; tael, unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty 斤[jin1] (old) |
| 个人 | gè rén | an individual; oneself; (attributive) personal; one's own |
| 感 | gǎn | to feel; to move; to touch; to affect; feeling; emotion; (suffix) sense of ~ |
| 情 | qíng | (bound form) feelings; emotion; sentiment; passion; (bound form) situation; condition |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 深 | shēn | old variant of 深[shen1]; (lit. and fig.) deep |
| 生 | shēng | to grow; to give birth; to produce; to be born; to arise; to occur; to light (a fire); to live; to be alive; life; raw; uncooked; unprocessed; unfamiliar; strange; (bound form) stu… |
| 活 | huó | to live; alive; living; work; workmanship |
| 幸福 | xìng fú | happiness; happy; blessed |
| 美 | Měi | (bound form) the Americas (abbr. for 美洲[Mei3 zhou1]); (bound form) USA (abbr. for 美國|美国[Mei3 guo2]) |
| 满 | Mǎn | Manchu ethnic group |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 天 | tiān | day; sky; heaven |
| 从 | cóng | variant of 從|从[cong2]; surname Cong |
| 西王母 | Xī wáng mǔ | Xi Wangmu, Queen Mother of the West, keeper of the peaches of immortality; popularly known as 王母娘娘 |
| 那里 | nà li | there; that place |
| 得到 | dé dào | to get; to obtain; to receive |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 颗 | ke | classifier for small spheres, pearls, corn grains, teeth, hearts, satellites etc |
| 告 | gào | (bound form) to say; to tell; to announce; to report; to denounce; to file a lawsuit; to sue |
| 诉 | sù | variant of 訴|诉[su4]; to complain; to sue; to tell |
| 吃 | chī | to eat; to consume; to eat at (a cafeteria etc); to eradicate; to destroy; to absorb; to suffer (shock, injury, defeat etc); variant of 吃[chi1] |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 就 | jìu | (after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise… |
| 可以 | kě yǐ | can; may; possible; able to; not bad; pretty good |
| 飞升 | fēi shēng | to fly upwards; (fig.) to rise; to increase; (Daoism) to ascend to heaven; to achieve immortality |
| 成 | Chéng | surname Cheng; short name for Chengdu 成都[Cheng2 du1] |
| 仙 | xian | immortal |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 放不下 | fàng bu xià | to have no room to put sth; to be unable to let go |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 愿 | yuàn | honest and prudent; variant of 願|愿[yuan4]; (bound form) wish; hope; desire; to be willing; to wish (that sth may happen); may ...; vow; pledge |
| 意 | yì | (bound form) idea; thought; meaning; sense; (bound form) intention; feeling; inclination; state of mind; (bound form) Italy (abbr. for 意大利[Yi4 da4 li4]) |
| 一个人 | yī gè rén | by oneself (without assistance); alone (without company) |
| 离开 | lí kāi | to depart; to leave |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob… |
| 藏 | Zàng | Tibetan ethnic group; Tibet Autonomous Region (short name for 西藏自治區|西藏自治区[Xi1 zang4 Zi4 zhi4 qu1]) |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 家里 | jiā lǐ | home |
| 打 | dá | (loanword) dozen; Taiwan pr. [da3] |
| 算 | suàn | to calculate; to figure out; to include; to count in; to count; to be valid; to carry weight; to regard as; to consider (to be ...) |
| 以 | yǐ | old variant of 以[yi3]; abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4] |
| 再 | zài | again; once more; re-; further; beyond this point of time; (before an adjective) more; then (after sth, and not until then); no matter how ... (followed by an adjective or verb, an… |
| 做 | zuò | to make; to produce; to write; to compose; to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc); (of a person) to be (an intermediary, a good student etc); to become (husband and wife, frien… |
| 决定 | jué dìng | to decide; to determine; to make up one's mind; decision (CL:個|个[ge4],項|项[xiang4]) |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 徒 | tū | disciple; apprentice; follower; on foot; in vain; only |
| 弟 | dì | younger brother; junior male; I (modest word in letter) |
| 叫 | jiào | to shout; to call; to order; to ask; to be called; by (indicates agent in the passive mood); variant of 叫[jiao4] |
| 蓬 | pēng | fluffy; dishevelled; bitter fleabane (a weed); surname Peng |
| 蒙 | mēng | (literary) sincere; honest; genuine |
| 此 | cǐ | this; these |
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 一心 | yī xīn | wholeheartedly; heart and soul |
| 只 | zhī | variant of 隻|只[zhi1]; variant of 只[zhi3]; grain that has begun to ripen; classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc |
| 想 | xiǎng | to think (about); to think of; to devise; to think (that); to believe (that); to desire; to want (to); to miss (feel wistful about the absence of) |
| 暗中 | àn zhōng | in the dark; in secret; on the sly; surreptitiously |
| 调 | diào | to transfer; to move (troops or cadres); to investigate; to enquire into; accent; view; argument; key (in music); mode (music); tune; tone; melody |
| 查 | Zhā | surname Zha |
| 终 | zhong | end |
| 于 | Yú | surname Yu; (of time or place) in; at; on; (indicating any indirect relation) to; toward; vis-à-vis; with regard to; for; (indicating a source) from; out of; (used in comparison) than; (used i… |
| 发现 | fā xiàn | to notice; to become aware of; to discover; to find; to detect; a discovery |
| 哪 | nǎ | how; which |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 趁 | chěn | to avail oneself of |
| 出门 | chū mén | to go out; to leave home; to go on a journey; away from home; (of a woman) to get married |
| 时 | shí | old variant of 時|时[shi2]; surname Shi |
| 候 | hòu | to wait; to inquire after; to watch; season; climate; (old) period of five days |
| 闯 | chuáng | to rush; to dash; to temper oneself (through battling hardships) |
| 进 | jìn | to go forward; to advance; to go in; to enter; to put in; to submit; to take in; to admit; (math.) base of a number system; classifier for sections in a building or residential com… |
| 屋子 | wū zi | house; room; CL:間|间[jian1] |
| 拿 | ná | old variant of 拿[na2]; variant of 拿[na2]; to hold; to seize; to catch; to apprehend; to take; (used in the same way as 把[ba3]: to mark the following noun as a direct object) |
| 着 | zhāo | variant of 著|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add |
| 武器 | wǔ qì | weapon; arms; CL:種|种[zhong3] |
| 逼 | bi | to pressure |
| 她 | tā | she |
| 交 | jiāo | to hand over; to deliver; to pay (money); to turn over; to make friends; (of lines) to intersect; variant of 跤[jiao1] |
| 出 | chū | to go out; to come out; to arise; to occur; to produce; to yield; to go beyond; to exceed; (used after a verb to indicate an outward direction or a positive result); classifier for…; variant of 出[chu1] (classifier for plays or chapters of classical novels) |
| 知道 | zhī dào | to know; to become aware of; also pr. [zhi1dao5] |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 无 | mó | used in 南無|南无[na1 mo2] |
| 法 | fǎ | variant of 法[fa3]; France; French; abbr. for 法國|法国[Fa3 guo2]; Taiwan pr. [Fa4]; old variant of 法[fa3]; law |
| 与 | yú | variant of 歟|欤[yu2] |
| 抗 | kǎng | to resist; to defy |
| 争 | zhēng | to strive for; to vie for; to argue or debate; deficient or lacking (dialect); how or what (literary) |
| 看 | kān | to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard |
| 手 | shǒu | hand; (formal) to hold; person engaged in certain types of work; person skilled in certain types of work; personal(ly); convenient; classifier for skill; CL:雙|双[shuang1],隻|只[zhi1] |
| 中的 | zhòng dì | to hit the target; (fig.) to hit the nail on the head |
| 心想 | xīn xiǎng | to think to oneself; to think |
| 绝对 | jué duì | absolute; unconditional |
| 能 | Néng | surname Neng |
| 落入 | luò rù | to fall into |
| 这种 | zhè zhǒng | this kind of |
| 坏人 | huài rén | bad person; villain |
| 中 | Zhōng | (bound form) China; Chinese; surname Zhong |
| 情急 | qíng jí | anxious |
| 之下 | zhī xià | under; beneath; less than |
| 吞 | tun | to swallow |
| 下去 | xià qù | to go down; to descend; to go on; to continue; (of a servant) to withdraw |
| 力量 | lì liang | power; force; strength |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 强 | qiāng | strong; powerful; vigorous; better; to force (qiang3); stubborn (jiang4); surname Qiang |
| 大 | dà | big; large; great; older (than another person); eldest (as in 大姐[da4 jie3]); greatly; freely; fully; (dialect) father; (dialect) uncle (father's brother) |
| 刚刚 | gāng gang | just recently; just a moment ago |
| 咽 | yǎn | throat; pharynx |
| 下 | xià | down; downwards; below; lower; later; next (week etc); second (of two parts); to decline; to go down; to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc); measure word to show the frequency … |
| 觉 | jiào | a nap; a sleep; CL:場|场[chang2] |
| 身体 | shēn tǐ | the body; one's health |
| 越 | Yuè | generic word for peoples or states of south China or south Asia at different historical periods; abbr. for Vietnam 越南 |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 轻 | qīng | light; easy; gentle; soft; reckless; unimportant; frivolous; small in number; unstressed; neutral; to disparage |
| 双 | shuāng | variant of 雙|双[shuang1]; surname Shuang |
| 脚 | jiǎo | foot; leg (of an animal or an object); base (of an object); CL:雙|双[shuang1],隻|只[zhi1]; classifier for kicks |
| 慢 | màn | slow |
| 地面 | dì miàn | floor; ground; surface |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 飘 | piāo | variant of 飄|飘[piao1]; to float (in the air); to flutter; to waft; complacent; frivolous; weak; shaky; wobbly |
| 起 | qǐ | to rise; to raise; to get up; to set out; to start; to appear; to launch; to initiate (action); to draft; to establish; to get (from a depot or counter); verb suffix, to start; sta… |
| 飞出 | fēi chū | to fly out |
| 窗户 | chuāng hu | window; CL:個|个[ge4],扇[shan4] |
| 飞过 | fēi guò | to fly over; to fly past |
| 树 | shù | tree; CL:棵[ke1]; to cultivate; to set up |
| 梢 | shao | tip of branch |
| 越飞 | Yuè fēi | Adolph Abramovich Joffe (1883-1927), Soviet and Comintern diplomat and spy in 1922-23 in Republican China |
| 高 | Gāo | surname Gao |
| 直 | Zhí | surname Zhi; Zhi (c. 2000 BC), fifth of the legendary Flame Emperors 炎帝[Yan2 di4] descended from Shennong 神農|神农[Shen2 nong2] Farmer God |
| 冲 | chong | (of water) to dash against; to infuse; to flush; to rise in the air; to collide with |
| 云 | yún | (classical) to say; surname Yun; short name for Yunnan 雲南|云南[Yun2 nan2] |
| 霄 | ||
| 心里 | xīn li | chest; heart; mind |
| 飞 | fēi | to fly |
| 得 | dé | to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished |
| 太 | tài | highest; greatest; too (much); very; extremely |
| 远 | yuǎn | far; distant; remote; (intensifier in a comparison) by far; much (lower etc) |
| 抬 | tái | to lift; to raise; (of two or more persons) to carry; variant of 抬[tai2] |
| 头 | tóu | head; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 望 | wàng | full moon; to hope; to expect; to visit; to gaze (into the distance); to look towards; towards; 15th day of month (lunar calendar); old variant of 望[wang4] |
| 去 | qù | to go; to go to (a place); (of a time etc) last; just passed; to send; to remove; to get rid of; to reduce; to be apart from in space or time; to die (euphemism); to play (a part);… |
| 看到 | kàn dào | to see |
| 月亮 | yuè liang | the moon |
| 远处 | yuǎn chù | distant place |
| 于是 | yú shì | thereupon; as a result; consequently; thus; hence |
| 降落 | jiàng luò | to descend; to land |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 回到 | huí dào | to return to |
| 家 | jiā | used in 傢伙|家伙[jia1 huo5] and 傢俱|家俱[jia1 ju4]; home; family; (polite) my (sister, uncle etc); classifier for families or businesses; refers to the philosophical schools of pre-Han China; noun suffix for a specialist in some act… |
| 早已 | zǎo yǐ | for a long time; long since; (dialect) in the past |
| 逃 | tāo | to escape; to flee |
| 跑 | páo | (of an animal) to paw (the ground) |
| 邻居 | lín jū | neighbor |
| 发生 | fā shēng | to happen; to occur; to take place; to break out |
| 事情 | shì qing | affair; matter; thing; business; CL:件[jian4],樁|桩[zhuang1] |
| 外 | wài | outside; in addition; foreign; external |
| 仰 | yáng | to look up; to admire; to rely on; to face upward; surname Yang |
| 夜空 | yè kōng | night sky |
| 只见 | zhǐ jiàn | to see (the same thing) over and over again; to see, to one's surprise, (sth happen suddenly) |
| 轮 | lūn | wheel; disk; ring; to take turns; to rotate |
| 圆月 | yuán yuè | full moon |
| 挂 | guà | to hang; to suspend (from a hook etc); to hang up (the phone); (of a line) to be dead; to be worried; to be concerned; (dialect) to make a phone call; to register (at a hospital); … |
| 天上 | tiān shàng | the sky; the heavens |
| 格 | gē | used in 格登[ge1 deng1] |
| 明亮 | míng liàng | bright; shining; glittering; to become clear |
| 大声 | dà shēng | loud voice; in a loud voice; loudly |
| 呼 | hu | to call; to shout; to exhale |
| 唤 | huǎn | to call |
| 名字 | míng zi | name (of a person or thing) |
| 却 | què | old variant of 卻|却[que4]; but; yet; however; while; to go back; to decline; to retreat; nevertheless; even though |
| 只有 | zhǐ yǒu | only have ...; there is only ...; (used in combination with 才[cai2]) it is only if ... (that one can ...) (as in 只有通過治療才能痊愈|只有通过治疗才能痊愈[zhi3 you3 tong1 guo4 zhi4 liao2 cai2 neng2 qu… |
| 风声 | fēng shēng | sound of the wind; rumor; talk; news; reputation |
| 回应 | huí yìng | to respond; response |
| 那 | Nā | surname Na |
| 每逢 | měi féng | every time; on each occasion; whenever |
| 八月 | Bā yuè | August; eighth month (of the lunar year) |
| 十五 | shí wǔ | fifteen; 15 |
| 都会 | dū huì | city; metropolis |
| 院子 | yuàn zi | courtyard; garden; yard; patio; CL:個|个[ge4]; (old) servant |
| 摆 | bǎi | to arrange; to exhibit; to move to and fro; a pendulum; hem (at the bottom of a garment) |
| 最 | zuì | variant of 最[zui4]; old variant of 最[zui4]; (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est; (after 之[zhi1]) best or most extreme example (e.g. 世界之最[shi4 jie4 zhi1 zui4] "the greatest in the world") |
| 爱 | ài | to love; to be fond of; to like; affection; to be inclined (to do sth); to tend to (happen) |
| 吃的 | chī de | (coll.) food |
| 食物 | shí wù | food |
| 独自 | dú zì | alone |
| 坐 | Zuò | surname Zuo |
| 月光 | yuè guāng | moonlight |
| 久久 | jǐu jǐu | for a very long time |
| 明月 | míng yuè | bright moon; refers to 夜明珠, a legendary pearl that can glow in the dark; CL:輪|轮[lun2] |
| 这个 | zhè ge | (pronoun) this; (adjective) this |
| 流 | líu | to flow; to disseminate; to circulate or spread; to move or drift; to degenerate; to banish or send into exile; stream of water or sth resembling one; class, rate or grade |
| 传 | chuān | to pass on; to transmit; to transfer; to conduct (electricity) |
| 开 | kāi | to open (transitive or intransitive); (of ships, vehicles, troops etc) to start; to turn on; to put in operation; to operate; to run; to boil; to write out (a prescription, check, … |
| 每年 | měi nián | every year; each year; yearly |
| 天下 | tiān xià | land under heaven; the whole world; the whole of China; realm; rule |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 聚 | jǔ | to assemble; to gather (transitive or intransitive) |
| 一起 | yī qǐ | (in) the same place; together; in company (with); altogether; in total; an instance of; a case of (murder, accident, dispute etc) |
| 赏 | sháng | to bestow (a reward); to hand down; to appreciate (beauty) |
| 月 | yuè | moon; month; monthly; CL:個|个[ge4],輪|轮[lun2] |
| 月饼 | yuè bǐng | mooncake (esp. for the Mid-Autumn Festival) |
| 思念 | sī niàn | to think of; to long for; to miss |
| 远方 | yuǎn fāng | far away; a distant location |
| 亲人 | qīn rén | one's close relatives |
| 就是 | jìu shì | exactly; precisely; only; simply; just; (used correlatively with 也[ye3]) even; even if |
| 中秋节 | Zhōng qīu jié | the Mid-Autumn Festival on 15th of 8th lunar month |
Chang’e Flies to the Moon
Hou Yi was a famous hero, and his wife Chang’e was gentle and kind. The two shared deep feelings for each other and lived a happy, fulfilling life together.
One day, Hou Yi obtained an elixir of life from the Queen Mother of the West. She told him that taking the elixer would grant eternal life and allow him to ascend to immortality. However, Hou Yi couldn’t bear to leave Chang’e behind and was unwilling to leave alone, so he hid the elixir at home, planning to make a decision later.
Hou Yi had an apprentice named Peng Meng. This man was greedy and cunning, with his heart set only on obtaining the elixir of life. He secretly discovered where the elixir was hidden. One day, when Hou Yi was out, Peng Meng broke into the house, threatened Chang’e with a weapon, and forced her to hand over the elixir.
Chang’e knew she couldn’t fight against Peng Meng. She looked at the elixir in her hand and thought: ‘This absolutely cannot fall into the hands of such a villain.’ In her desperation, she made a decision – she swallowed the elixir.
The power of the elixir was extremely strong. The moment Chang’e swallowed it, she felt her body becoming lighter and lighter. Her feet slowly left the ground, and she floated up involuntarily. She flew out the window, over the treetops, higher and higher, soaring straight into the clouds.
As she ascended, Chang’e couldn’t let go of Hou Yi in her heart, and she resisted flying too far away. She looked up and saw the moon close by, so she landed on it.
When Hou Yi returned home, Peng Meng had long since fled. The neighbors told him what had happened. Hou Yi rushed outside and gazed up at the night sky, where he saw a full moon hanging high above, exceptionally bright. He called out Chang’e’s name loudly, but only the sound of wind answered him.
Hou Yi was overcome with grief. From then on, every year on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, he would set out Chang’e’s favorite foods in the courtyard and sit alone under the moonlight, gazing at that bright moon for hours.
Later, this custom gradually spread. Every year on the fifteenth of the eighth month, people all over the land gather together under the moonlight to admire the moon, eat mooncakes, and think of loved ones far away. This day is the Mid-Autumn Festival.