The 2022 Mid-Autumn Festival is coming

The 2022 Mid-Autumn Festival is coming

Zhong Qiu Jie, which is also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, is celebrated on the 15thday of the 8th month of the lunar calendar.

The Mid-Autumn Festival in 2022 will be on September 10.It is a time for family members and loved ones tocongregate and enjoy the full moon - an auspicious symbol of abundance, harmony and luck.Adults will usually indulge in fragrant mooncakes of many varieties with a good cup of pipinghot Chinese tea, while the little ones run around with their brightly-lit lanterns.

Zhong Qiu Jie probably began as a harvest festival.The festival was later given amythological flavour with legends of Chang-E, the beautiful lady in the moon.

According to Chinese mythology, the earth once had 10 suns circling over it.One day, all 10 suns appeared together, scorching the earth with their heat.
The earth was saved when astrong archer,Hou Yi, succeeded in shooting down 9 of the suns. Yi stole the elixir of life tosave the people from his tyrannical rule, but his wife, Chang-E drank it. Thus started thelegend of the lady in the moon to whom young Chinese girls would pray at the Mid-AutumnFestival.

In the 14th century, the eating of mooncakes at Zhong Qiu Jie was given a new significance. The story goes that when Zhu Yuan Zhang was plotting to overthrow the YuanDynasty started by the Mongolians, the rebels hid their messages in the Mid-Autumnmooncakes.Zhong Qiu Jie is hence also a commemoration of the overthrow of theMongolians by the Han people.

During the Yuan Dynasty (A.D.1206-1368)China was ruled by the Mongolian people.Leaders from the preceding Sung Dynasty (A.D.960-1279) were unhappy at submitting toforeign rule, and set how to coordinate the rebellion without it being discovered.The leadersof the rebellion, knowing that the Moon Festival was drawing near, ordered the making ofspecial cakes. Packed into each mooncake was a message with the outline of the attack.Onthe night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government. What followed was the establishment of the Ming Dynasty(A.D.1368-1644).Today, moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this event.

Jiangsu Fangyi also sent Mid-Autumn Festival gifts to all employees on this Mid-Autumn Festival. Let's take a look.