Just as there are many legends around New Year cakes, dumplings, zongzi and other foods, moon cakes are no exception. When did Chinese people start eating moon cakes? Let's see why we eat moon cakes and enjoy the moon on the Mid Autumn Festival. Welcome to check it!
Why eat moon cakes and enjoy the moon on the Mid Autumn Festival 1
Legendary "moon cake" 01
In the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong Li Shimin ordered his general Li Jing to personally lead his troops to the frontier fortress in order to subdue the northern Turks and quell their repeated violations. As a result, he repeatedly made miracles and returned to Beijing on August 15. In order to celebrate the victory, artillery and music were fired inside and outside Chang'an City in Kyoto, and the army and people reveled all night.
At that time, a Tubo man who went to Chang'an for trade specially offered round cakes to the emperor to wish victory. Gaozu was overjoyed, took over the richly decorated cake box, took out the colored round cake, pointed to the bright moon hanging in the sky and said, "you should invite the Hu cake to the toad", and then distributed the round cake to all civil and military officials. Since then, the custom of eating moon cakes on the Mid Autumn Festival has been handed down. 02
The rulers of the Yuan Dynasty levied excessive taxes and collected money, making the people miserable. Zhu Yuanzhang prepared to unite various heroes to revolt against the Yuan Dynasty, but the officers and soldiers searched closely and the information transmission was difficult. Military division Liu Bowen came up with a plan and ordered his subordinates to hide the note of "August 15 night uprising" in the cake, and then sent people to send it separately to the local uprising troops to inform them to respond to the uprising on the evening of August 15. On the day of the uprising, all rebel forces responded together.
A few years later, General Xu Da captured Yuandadu and the uprising was successful. When the news came, Zhu Yuanzhang was so happy that he quickly sent an oral order to let all the officers and soldiers have fun with the people in the upcoming Mid Autumn Festival, and rewarded the officials with the "moon cakes" that secretly transmitted information when the army was launched as festival cakes. The custom of eating moon cakes on the Mid Autumn Festival spread among the people.
"Moon cake" in Poetry
"A brief introduction to the scenery of the imperial capital", which describes the customs of Beijing in the Ming Dynasty, mentions that "when the moon is sacrificed on August 15, the fruit cake must be round." The perfection of the moon means "happiness and good luck", so the wind of sacrifice was quite strong at that time. Offering moon cakes to the moon expresses gratitude to God.
After thousands of years of evolution, the sacrificial wind of the Mid Autumn Festival has gradually weakened and become invisible, but the beautiful vision of "Reunion" of moon cakes is still inherited.
Moon cakes are not only food, but also a symbol of reunion. Family reunion, enjoying the moon and eating moon cakes are the embodiment of a sense of ceremony.
But now, the ritual sense of celebrating the Mid Autumn Festival in poetry is gradually diminishing, that is, the festival atmosphere we often say is becoming weaker and weaker.
You might as well pick up those rituals you have long lost or forgotten, reunite with your family, enjoy a bright moon and taste the taste of moon cakes.
In the sense of ritual that I haven't seen for a long time, I may appreciate the different taste of moon cakes and better understand the traditional meaning.
Why eat moon cakes on the Mid Autumn Festival
The Mid Autumn Festival originated from the custom of autumn worship and moon worship in ancient China. "The book of Rites" contains "the son of heaven, the sun in spring, the moon in autumn. The sun in the morning and the moon in the evening." "Xiyue" here means to worship the moon. In the Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty, the custom of enjoying the moon in the mid autumn festival began to prevail and was designated as the Mid Autumn Festival. Ouyang Zhan (AD 785 ~ about 827) said in the preface to the poetry of playing with the moon in Chang'an: "August is in autumn. The season begins and ends with Meng; on the 15th day of the night, it is in the clouds of the moon. If it is checked in the way of heaven, the cold and heat are equal, and if it is taken in the number of months, the toad soul is round, so it is called the Mid Autumn Festival."
On the night of the Mid Autumn Festival, the moon is bright. The ancients regarded the full moon as a symbol of reunion. Therefore, it is also called "reunion day" on August 15. Since ancient times, people often use "full moon" and "lack of moon" to describe "joys and sorrows". Wandering children living in other places place place their deep feelings on the moon. Li Bai's Poems "raise your head to look at the bright moon and bow your head to think of your hometown", Du Fu's "the dew is white from tonight, the moon is the hometown of Ming", and Wang Anshi's poems of Song Dynasty "the spring breeze is green on the South Bank of the river, and when the bright moon shines on me" are all unique songs through the ages.
The Mid Autumn Festival, the Lantern Festival and the Dragon Boat Festival are known as the three traditional festivals in China. The origin of the Mid Autumn Festival is closely related to myths and legends such as "Chang'e running to the moon", "Wu Gang cutting GUI" and "Jade Rabbit pounding medicine". Therefore, the folk customs of the Mid Autumn Festival are mostly related to the moon. Appreciating the moon, worshipping the moon and eating reunion moon cakes all come from this. Ancient emperors had the social system of offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. People also had the wind of offering sacrifices to the moon in the Mid Autumn Festival. Later, appreciating the moon was more important than offering sacrifices to the moon, and serious sacrifices became relaxed entertainment. The custom of enjoying the moon in the Mid Autumn Festival flourished in the Tang Dynasty. Many poets have poems chanting the moon in their masterpieces. The palace and folk activities of worshipping the moon in the Song Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty are more large-scale. There are still many historic sites of "moon worship altar", "moon worship Pavilion" and "moon watching tower" in various parts of China. The "moon altar" in Beijing was built for the Royal Festival of the moon during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. Whenever the moon rises in the Mid Autumn Festival, a case is set up in the open air. The moon cakes, pomegranates, dates and other fruits are provided on the table. After worshipping the moon, the whole family sits around the table, eating and talking, and enjoying the bright moon. Now, the activities of offering sacrifices to the moon and worshipping the moon have been replaced by large-scale and colorful mass moon appreciation activities.
Eating moon cakes is another custom of the festival. Moon cakes symbolize reunion. The production of moon cakes has become more and more exquisite since the Tang Dynasty. Su Dongpo wrote in a poem: "small cakes are like chewing the moon, with crispness and sweetness". Yang Guangfu of the Qing Dynasty wrote: "moon cakes are filled with peach meat, and ice cream is sweet with sugar cream". It seems that the moon cakes at that time are quite similar to those now.
Many people usually say that the Mid Autumn Festival originates from the story of Chang'e running to the moon. According to historical records, "in the west of Chang'e, the queen mother took the medicine of immortality, so she ran to the moon to become the essence of the moon." Chang'e paid the price of hard labor and could not return to the world all her life. Li Bai was very sad about this and wrote a poem: "White Rabbit pounding medicine, autumn returns to spring, and female gen'e lives alone. Who is next to her?" Although Chang'e feels that the Moon Palace is good, she can't stand loneliness. When the moon is full on August 15 and the night is clear, she returns to the world to reunite with her husband, but she must return to the Moon Palace before dawn. During the Mid Autumn Festival, future generations not only want to get together with Chang'e on the moon, but also hope that Chang'e will come down to earth to see her face. Therefore, when many people burn incense and worship the moon, they pray that "men would like to walk in the toad palace early and climb the fairy osmanthus... Women would like to look like Chang'e and be as round as the bright moon." Year after year, people celebrate this day as a festival.
Others believe that the mid autumn festival began with the appreciation of the moon by the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Later, it was recorded in the book "the emperor of the moon and the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, the emperor of the moon", and later became the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Tang Minghuang never forgets his trip to the Moon Palace. At this time every year, it is necessary to enjoy the moon. People also follow suit. When the moon is full, they gather together and enjoy the beauty of the world. Over time, it has become a tradition.
It was suggested that the Mid Autumn Festival was originally the anniversary of an uprising to overthrow the rule of the Yuan Dynasty. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the common people could not bear the rule of the government. In the Mid Autumn Festival, the notes written "kill Tartars and destroy the Yuan Dynasty; do it together on August 15" were hidden in chrome small round cakes and passed to each other. On the evening of August 15, every family began to overthrow the rule of the Yuan Dynasty in one fell swoop. Later, every Mid Autumn Festival, they ate moon cakes to commemorate this historic victory.
In addition, it was suggested that the origin of the Mid Autumn Festival is related to agricultural production. Autumn is the harvest season. The explanation of the word "autumn" is: "autumn is the day when crops are ripe". During the Mid Autumn Festival in August, crops and various fruits mature one after another. In order to celebrate the harvest and express their joy, farmers take the "Mid Autumn Festival" as a festival. "Mid Autumn Festival" refers to the word Mid Autumn Festival in Zhou Li, but it refers not to the Mid Autumn Festival, but to the second month of autumn. There was "Autumn Festival" in the Han Dynasty, which was on the day of the beginning of autumn, not August 15. There were records of four o'clock and twelve seasons in the class books of the Tang Dynasty, and there was no Mid Autumn Festival, but the "Mid Autumn Moon" had appeared in the poems of the Tang Dynasty. "The mid autumn moon in August is full, send you on the Mulan boat" (Wei Zhuang's "send Li Xiucai to Jingxi"). For the first time, Wu Zishou, a native of Southern Song Dynasty, made a clear record of the Mid Autumn Festival. In his book menglianglu, he said: "the Mid Autumn Festival falls on August 15, and the Mid Autumn Festival is approaching half-way on this day, so it is called the 'Mid Autumn Festival'. The moonlight on this night is twice as bright as usual, which is also called the 'Moon evening'." The book also describes the night market in Lin'an (now Hangzhou), Kyoto, in the Southern Song Dynasty. Mid autumn means that August of the lunar calendar is a month in the middle of autumn, and the 15th is another day in the middle of a month.
According to historical records, the word "Mid Autumn Festival" first appeared in the book "Zhou Li". In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, there were records of "Yu Shang Shu Zhen Niu Huang, Mid Autumn Festival Eve and around the river". It was not until the early years of the Tang Dynasty that the mid autumn festival became a fixed festival. "Records of Emperor Taizong in the book of Tang" records "the Mid Autumn Festival on August 15". The prevalence of the mid autumn festival began in the Song Dynasty. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was as famous as new year's day and became one of the main festivals in China. This is also the second largest traditional festival in China after the Spring Festival.
"More than a visit to the West Lake" said: "August 15 is the Mid Autumn Festival. People send moon cakes to each other to get the meaning of reunion". "A brief view of the imperial capital" also says: "when the moon is sacrificed on August 15, the cakes will be round, the melons will have wrong teeth, and the petals will be engraved like lotus flowers... Those who have a woman returning to peace will return to their husband's house on the day, which is called the reunion festival. On the evening of the Mid Autumn Festival, there is also a" brand "reunion in most parts of China "The custom is to bake a small cake that symbolizes reunion and is similar to a moon cake. The cake is wrapped with sugar, sesame, osmanthus and vegetables, and the moon, osmanthus, rabbit and other patterns are pressed outside. After the Moon Festival, the elders of the family cut the cake into pieces according to the number of people, one for each person. If someone is not at home, they will leave one for him, indicating family reunion.
During the Mid Autumn Festival, there are few clouds and fog, and the moonlight is bright and bright. In addition to a series of activities such as appreciating the moon, sacrificing the moon, eating moon cakes and blessing reunion, there are also activities such as dancing grass dragons and building pagodas in some places. In addition to moon cakes, all kinds of seasonal fresh and dried fruits are also delicious food on the night of the Mid Autumn Festival.
Another saying about the origin of the Mid Autumn Festival is that the 15th day of August in the lunar calendar happens to be the time when rice is ripe, and all families worship the God of the earth. The mid autumn festival may be a relic of the autumn newspaper.
Why eat moon cakes and enjoy the moon on the Mid Autumn Festival 3
Why eat moon cakes on the Mid Autumn Festival?
Moon cakes have many nicknames. In many places, moon cakes are also called small cakes, reunion cakes, moon groups, palace cakes, Hu cakes, etc. They are mainly used to worship the moon god on the Mid Autumn Festival. Later, slowly spread to the present, there is the custom of eating moon cakes on the Mid Autumn Festival. Because the Mid Autumn Festival is a very important traditional festival in China. On this day, the moon in the sky will be round, large and bright. Therefore, since ancient times, people have placed their Acacia on the moon of the Mid Autumn Festival and look forward to the good wishes of relatives and friends.
The origin of moon cakes
Because the shape of moon cake is round, it symbolizes reunion and is also an essential food for the Mid Autumn Festival. It is said that the origin of eating moon cakes on the Mid Autumn Festival came down from the end of the Yuan Dynasty. In the Yuan Dynasty, because the people of the central plains were cruelly ruled by the Mongols, they revolted one after another against the Mongolian army under the control of Zhu Yuanzhang. Because it was inconvenient to send messages in ancient times, some people were afraid of being searched. Therefore, at the suggestion of Liu Bowen, a kind of cake was used as a tool to transmit information. The note of the uprising on August 15 was hidden in the cake, and the information was transmitted to the rebels through the moon cake.
In order to commemorate the achievements of the uprising on August 15, which overthrew the Yuan Dynasty, the custom of eating moon cakes began to be handed down during the Mid Autumn Festival. No matter when the moon cake originated, it is regarded as a sacred object of reunion and used to miss relatives or hometown. Looking forward to a better life is the good wish of people all over the world.
It is worth noting that moon cakes are indeed related to the Mid Autumn Festival in the Ming Dynasty. At that time, a kind of fruit moon cake appeared in Beijing. On the Mid Autumn Festival, people make moon cakes for themselves and give them to friends and relatives to express their reunion and congratulations. At that time, the size and shape of moon cakes were very irregular, very different, and their names were very special.
Now, moon cakes are endowed with a newer culture. In addition to the traditional shape and taste of moon cakes, there are now more shapes and flavors of moon cakes. This year, for the first time, I ate the moon cake with tea as the trap. Black tea, green tea and white tea were added to the filling of the moon cake. It was sweet but not greasy in one mouthful, with a trace of tea flavor and aroma. It was very special! The shape of this moon cake is also very unique. They are lotus, lotus leaf, lotus canopy and lotus root. They are very beautiful. It is said that they are moon cakes inspired by Zhu Ziqing's moonlight in the lotus pond. A box of moon cakes is also equipped with egg yolk pastry, which is not a common egg yolk pastry. The depression inside is also added with Baihao silver needle, which has a very unique taste. This kind of moon cake is very original, and the Mid Autumn Festival gift giving is also very unique. Let the recipient feel your different intentions. It is also very beautiful to chat and catch up with the past with a piece of tea moon cake and a cup of green tea or black tea!