The mid autumn festival began in the early Tang Dynasty and prevailed in the Song Dynasty. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it had become one of the Chinese traditional festivals as famous as the Spring Festival. Influenced by Chinese culture, the Mid Autumn Festival is also a traditional festival for some countries in East and Southeast Asia, especially local Chinese and overseas Chinese. Then why eat moon cakes on the Mid Autumn Festival? Let's get to know.
Why eat moon cakes on the Mid Autumn Festival?
Moon cakes have a long history in China. According to historical records, as early as the Yin and Zhou dynasties, there was a kind of thin and kind-hearted "Taishi cake" in memory of Supreme Master Wen Zhong in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, which was the "ancestor" of moon cakes in China. When Zhang Qian was sent to the western regions in the Han Dynasty, he introduced sesame and walnut to add auxiliary materials to the production of moon cakes. At this time, a round cake filled with walnut kernel appeared, which is called "Hu cake".
In the Tang Dynasty, there were bakers engaged in production among the people, and cake shops began to appear in Chang'an, the capital. It is said that one mid autumn festival night, when Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei enjoyed the moon and ate Hu cake, Tang Xuanzong thought the name of "Hu cake" was bad. Yang Guifei looked up at the bright moon and blurted out "moon cake". Since then, the name of "moon cake" has gradually spread among the people.
The Royal Mid Autumn Festival in the Northern Song Dynasty likes to eat a kind of "palace cake", which is commonly known as "small cake" and "Moon Group". Su Dongpo has a poem: "small cakes are like chewing the moon, with crispness and joy in them."
In the Ming Dynasty, eating moon cakes in the mid autumn festival gradually spread among the people. At that time, ingenious bakers often printed moon cakes with fairy tales related to the moon, such as Chang'e running to the moon, as patterns, making moon cakes a favorite mid autumn food among the people. By the Qing Dynasty, the production technology of moon cakes had been greatly improved, and the varieties were also increasing. With people's increasingly rich experience in making moon cakes, the types of moon cakes on the market are emerging one after another, and the technology is becoming more and more exquisite.
For the reason why moon cakes are eaten on the Mid Autumn Festival, folk tales have more colorful and diverse theories, including myths and legends and historical stories.
First, Chang'e runs to the moon. With Chang'e, we can't help mentioning her husband Hou Yi and Hou Yi shooting the sun. Hou Yi, who was a little stubborn, could shoot down the sun, but his wife couldn't see it. He was forced to the moon by the villains who despised him. From then on, he lived an inhumane life of separation and never gathering. As a result, moon cakes have become items for lonely Chang'e and her husband Hou Yi to miss each other, dream of reunion and express their feelings. Of course, there are white rabbits and osmanthus trees. People have the habit of making moon cakes and eating moon cakes to miss them during the Mid Autumn Festival.
Second, Wu Gang won the laurel. Unlucky Wu Gang was unlucky. He made a mistake and was punished for useless work. He cut down trees more and more every day, but the more he cut down, the stronger he became. If he cut down here, he would have healed there. Where did he know that the so-called five hundred foot high osmanthus tree was originally used to punish him, how could it be easily cut off by him. Small people and big people fight, but they can't fight, and the same is true in heaven.
Third, the origin of eating moon cakes is a little like history books. It is said that during the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongols ruled the Han people, which was cruel and cruel, and the people were miserable. Where there is oppression, there is resistance, so there is the red scarf army, the beggars' sect leader Zhu Yuanzhang, who was born as a beggar, and the peasant uprising under the leadership of Zhu. The day of victory happened to be August 15. The tool used to send letters was the small round cake with depression. And the instructions of the uprising are hidden in the trap. Since then, there has been a day from the imperial court to commemorate the victory and a food endowed with special commemorative significance - the Mid Autumn Festival and mid autumn moon cakes.
The fourth theory is said to be the most widely spread and reliable. Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, attacked the Turks in the North several times, and finally won the Hui Dynasty on August 15. The soldiers who had fought hard for several years were finally reunited with their families and hometown. At the occasion of national celebration, a Tubo businessman who traded with the Tang Dynasty paid tribute to a kind of sunken bread. It was richly decorated and tasted sweet. Taizong was overjoyed after eating. Pointing to the bright moon hanging in the sky, he preached: "Hu cake should be invited to Toad (i.e. the moon)." Therefore, there will be a festival to eat moon cakes and celebrate the Mid Autumn Festival in the future.
In short, eating moon cakes in the Mid Autumn Festival is the same as eating zongzi in the Dragon Boat Festival and Yuanxiao in the Lantern Festival. It is a traditional folk custom in China, which reposes people's good feelings.
Precautions for eating moon cakes
1. There are many flavors of moon cakes, including sweet and salty ones. So when a variety of flavors of moon cakes are in front of you, how should you choose? I suggest that we should taste moon cakes in the order of salty before sweet. If you eat sweet mooncakes first and then eat them later, you won't feel that salty mooncakes have a unique taste. If you eat salty mooncakes first and then sweet mooncakes later, you will feel more sweet and delicious, because salty taste can generally set off the sweetness.
2. Although moon cakes are delicious, it's best not to eat them as rice. It's a good choice to take moon cakes as tea after dinner. Don't eat too much moon cakes at a time, which is easy to produce a sense of greasy satiety. It's best to taste moon cakes with tea, which can relieve greasiness. While eating moon cakes, while drinking light tea or flower tea, the taste is great.
3. Although moon cakes are a must eat delicacy during the Mid Autumn Festival, not everyone can eat them! Moon cakes are high calorie food, but not for diabetics, three high people and obese people. Moon cakes are not easy to digest. Patients with gastrointestinal diseases had better not eat more. Infants and the elderly should also be extra careful when eating moon cakes to prevent choking.