On the occasion of the mid-autumn festival in this year of the 50th anniversary of mankind’s landing on the Moon, we thought to "fly everyone to the Moon" and share something about the origin, the artistic and the scientific connections to this day and the stories related to these.
(For those interested to see the full Moon from a plane, you can track the Moon's position from anywhere at mooncalc.org and use planefinder.net to see flight routes.)
Origin: the Moon and harvests
The early form of the festival was derived from the custom of moon worship during the Zhou Dynasty over 3,000 years ago. In ancient China, most emperors worshiped the moon annually, as they believed that the practice would bring them a plentiful harvest the following year. Then the custom was accepted by the masses and became more and more popular over time.
The term "Mid-Autumn" first appeared in the book Rites of Zhou (周礼), written in the Warring States Period (475 – 221 BC). But at that time the term was only related to the time and season; the festival didn't exist at that point.
In other words, it’s a little like Thanksgiving in the US?
Today, the festival is generally celebrated as mid-autumn festival in China and South-east Asia; in Japan, it is known as Tsukimi (月見) or Otsukimi (お月見), literally meaning “moon viewing”, and instead of sweet mooncakes, the delicacy involved is “tsukimi dango” or moon-viewing dumplings. The celebration of the full moon typically takes place on the 15th day of the eighth month of the traditional Japanese calendar; the waxing moon is celebrated on the 13th day of the ninth month.
There are specific terms in Japanese to refer to occasions when the moon is not visible on the traditional mid-autumn evening, including Mugetsu (無月, "no-moon") and Ugetsu (雨月, "rain-moon"). Even when the moon is not visible, however, Tsukimi parties are held. A Unicode emoji exists for Tsukimi, featuring pampas grass, dango and the moon!
The artistic connection (and some political connections)
In the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD), appreciating the moon became popular among the upper class.
Following the emperors, rich merchants and officials held big parties in their courts. They drank wine and appreciated the bright moon. Music, poetry and dances were also indispensable. Later on, not just the rich merchants and officials but also the common man began appreciating the moon together.
Well, many of the famous poems that are still popular today and have memorable references to the Moon are from the Tang and Song dynasties!
Here’s one of them:
I raise my cup and invite
The moon to come down from the
Sky. I hope she will accept
Me. I raise my cup and ask
The branches, heavy with flowers,
To drink with me. I wish them
Long life and promise never
To pick them. In company
With the moon and the flowers,
I get drunk, and none of us
Ever worries about good
Or bad. How many people
Can comprehend our joy? I
Have wine and moon and flowers.
Who else do I want for drinking companions?
As for mooncakes and the tradition of eating them during the festival, it began in the Yuan Dynasty (1279 – 1368), a dynasty ruled by the Mongols.
In fact, messages to rebel against the Mongols were passed around in mooncakes.
In a parallel spirit, this mid-autumn has seen a number of bakeries in the protest-ridden city of Hong Kong making mooncakes with subversive phrases like “freedom hi”, “hongkongers” and “be water”.
For the sweet-toothed, there are many different styles of mooncakes, even if we just stick to the “traditional styles”: Beijing, Suzhou, Taiwanese and Cantonese. For example, for the Cantonese, the traditional mooncake is filled with lotus-seed paste, while for the Taiwanese, mung bean and taro are mostly used. The Suzhou-Shanghai-based mooncakes also tend to be the largest in size. If you are in Taiwan especially Hsinchu around mid-autumn, you can pop into a specialist pastry museum (called the Guo Yuan Yi Museum of Cake and Pastry) to learn about all this!
The scientific connection
One of the most beloved - and tragic - pieces of folklore about the mid-autumn festival tells the story of how Chang'e became the moon goddess.
According to the legend, after mythological Chinese archer Hou Yi courageously shot down nine surplus suns - leaving only one, in effect protecting the world from being scorched completely - he was given an elixir from heaven.
Hou Yi's wife Chang'e drank the elixir while protecting it from a greedy apprentice, but became so light that she floated to the moon.
Missing his wife, Hou Yi prepared a feast every year on the day when the moon is at its fullest, hoping to get a glimpse of his wife's shadow.
Just how important and well known is this story? Well, China's spacecraft, Chang'e 1, 2, 3 and 4, were named in honor of the moon goddess!