The Legend of Cheng'e Once upon a time, there were ten suns in the sky, which caused the crops to shrivel and the people to starve. Chang’e ‘s husband called Hou Yi shot down nine of the suns, and ordered the remaining sun to rise and set on a predictable schedule. Thus, the earth cooled, and the people survived. However, Hou Yi had inadvertantly killed one of the Emperor's sons, While he was greatly honored by the mortals he had saved, he still missed his heavenly home and as the couple grew older, the thought of their certain death began to consume them, so Hou Yi searched for the fabled Elixir of Life, and he finally procured one magic pill as a gift from Xiwangmu, the Queen Mother of the West who lived on Mount Kunlun, Hou Yi gave it to Chang’e for safekeeping, But there came a night when the moon was full. Hou Yi was off hunting, and Chang'e was visited by Pengmeng, a lieutenant in Hou Yi's service who had discovered the couple's secret and tried to force Chang’e to take it for himself. Not knowing what else to do, Cheng'e put the pill into her mouth to protect it, but swallowed it by mistake. The sudden effect of the pill caused Cheng'e to soar out of Pengmeng's grasp, out of her window and up into the sky, just as Hou Yi was returning home. Her husband tried in vain to save her. Cheng'e flew higher and higher, until rest upon the moon, where she found the rabbit, hard at work with his mortar and pestle, grinding yet more pills of immortality. But to her sorrow, there was no way to get one of these to Hou Yi, so that he could join her. So for one week in the fall of every year, when the moon was at it's fullest, Hou Yi commemorated his love for his lost wife by setting up an altar to her outside, where she would be certain to see it. Sources Yuan, Haiwang. The Magic Lotus Lantern and Other Tales From the Han Chinese. Libraries Unlimited, 2006. Tony Allan and Charles Phillips. Land of the Dragon: Chinese Myth. Time-Life Books, 1999. Chinavoc-Mid Autumn Festival wikipedia-Chang'e china.org-Mid Autumn Festival 本文来源：https://www.wddqw.com/doc/0514f8cdb14e852458fb57e5.html