hou yi and chang e story

She’s reunited with Hou Yi, who became the God of the Sun, once a month on the 15th day when the full moon burns brightly from the force of their love. Reluctant to leave his husband, Cheng E tried her best to fly to the moon, the nearest place to the earth in heaven. Your email address will not be published.

And perhaps, to bring some cultural awareness to our community.

Chang E, Hou Yi’s wife, was a beautiful and kind woman who helped the poor, and people liked her very much. I teach ESL online in China. Hou Yi (Chinese: 后羿; pinyin: Hòu Yì; Wade–Giles: Hou I) is a mythological Chinese archer.

This saying makes Chang E a beautiful but selfish lady, and it is said that Chang E was changed into an ugly toad for punishing for her stealing. Among them is the love story of Chang'e and valiant archer Hou Yi. The full moon is a symbol of unity and prosperity. It’s a harvest season festival with origins in moon worship that celebrates the turning of the seasons and life’s cycles between new and old. Finally only one sun was left and King Yao as well as the sun's mother asked for him to be spared for the prosperity of man. I'm Wes, a biracial Chinese American dad living in Oakland, California, who left the technology world when my son was born to serve this wonderfully diverse community of Chinese American families. The Mid-Autumn Festival traces back to romantic folklore about the lovers Hou Yi and Chang’e. Hou Yi was so angry that he grabbed his bow and tried to shoot Chang’e down; he missed every shot. Further Reading6 Most Well-Known Legends about Mid-Autumn Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival History and Origin since 3,000 Years Ago.

Another Mooncake Festival story about Hou Yi and Chang E goes that Hou Yi presented the elixir to Chang E as a gift and shed took it then flew to the moon. The heat from the suns caused people and crops to be scorched to death. She could return to the Heaven, if she contributed a valuable service on earth. Hou Yi first tried to reason with the suns. Whilst Hou Yi was out hunting with his other disciplines, Peng Meng stormed into their house with a sword in his hand and demanded Chang Er to give him the pill of immortality.

He rushed out of the door anxiously, Chang E was standing next to a laurel tree on the moon and staring lovingly at her husband. When that didn't work, he then pretended to shoot at them with his bow to intimidate them. Required fields are marked *. Dashing out to the backyard garden, he yelled out his wife’s name in sadness. The crop was drying and people suffered a lot.

Hou Yi was tasked by the mythical King Yao to rein in the suns. Just as the situation was at its direst and all seemed lost for the people on earth, a hero appeared. He is also typically given the title of "Lord Archer". Wish me luck in pulling this off. All Rights Reserved. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Hi just wondering if you use all purpose flour or cake flour? Chang E!” He screamed and shouted desperately toward the moon. No one is certain of all the details of the Chang E legend, but the story goes something like this: Chang E was a beautiful young girl working in the Jade Emperor's palace in heaven, where immortals, good people and fairies lived. Chang'e and Hou Yi - the legend of the 10 suns Image via Sina. After eating the pill, Chang'e rose up to the moon. The ten scorching suns burnt the lands, ruining crops and drying rivers. Missing her wife so much, Hou Yi prepared the banquet towards the moon on every 15th day of 8th lunar month, looking forward to meet and reunite with Chang E.The folks were very fond of the good-hearted Chang E. They also put on the sacrifice on that day and blessed her in the distance.

If I can find those Nerf archery sets I think it would be fun to put up some helium balloons and let the kids fire Nerf arrows at them.

Hou Yi was not willing to become an immortal himself and gave the elixir to Chang E, his wife, for safekeeping. Back home, Chang’e discovers the hidden elixir and drinks it herself, which causes her to weightlessly float to the moon. Who is she? greetings from Argentina!

I remembered how much the kids loved and talked about mooncakes last year. Word spread that Chang Er has become the moon deity and people have since every Mid-Autumn place offerings and pray to the moon for the kind-hearted Chang Er to grant peace and happiness to them. Unfortunately, a villain named Pengmeng got to know this, broke into their home and demanded Chang E hand over the elixir while Hou Yi was out hunting. Hou Yi took it home and asked Chang E to keep it. She either accidentally or purposely swallowed the pill. Chang'e (Chinese: 嫦娥; pinyin: Cháng'é) or Chang-o, originally known as Heng'e, is the Chinese goddess of the Moon. One of Hou Yi's apprentices called Pang Meng (逢蒙) broke into Hou Yi's house in search of the pill of immortality while Hou Yi was out hunting. Though, once he was crowned king he became a tyrant and subjugated his people. Is there anything you are aware of? On the morning of a 15th day of an 8th lunar month, Fengmeng broke into Chang E's home when Hou Yi was outside hunting and demanded that she hand over the elixir. Other times, he is portrayed as either simply half-divine or fully mortal. The Mid-Autumn Festival takes place on the evening of the full moon between September 8 and October 7. Since then, every year on 15th day of eighth lunar month, Hou Yi set up a banquet towards the moon, hoping to reunite with Chang E. According to the most widely spread Mid-Autumn Festival story, in ancient times there were ten suns shining in the sky. One day, the ten sons of the Jade Emperor transformed into ten suns, causing the earth to scorch.

One day, a strange phenomenon occurred -- 10 suns arose in the sky instead one one, blazing the earth. I thought it would be great for families of Chinese descent (who otherwise might feel isolated and alone) to experience a community honoring their traditions in wonderful surroundings. The elixir in the form of a single pill was almost ready when Chang E came upon it. One day, Wangmu (the Queen of Heaven) living in the Kunlun Mountain gave Hou Yi an elixir as a reward for his magnificent feat. Hou Yi realized that Chang Er had become a deity on moon. As she flew higher and further from earth, she yearned badly to see her husband again. To the Jade Empress, he requested and was given the pill of immortality, which was able to transform a moral into a deity. It is a spectacular view with city lights twinkling around the lake. Knowing that she could not defeat him, Chang E promptly swallowed the elixir. The most popular one is that a powerful archer, Hou Yi, shot down nine suns and saved people from suffering. He climbed to the top of Kunlun Mountain, took full strength to pull the bow with all his strength and shot down nine suns. Chang E, also named as Heng E, was a beautiful princess of a strong tribe. Meanwhile, King Hou Yi ascended to the sun and built a palace. When she was 18, a young hunter named Hou Yi from another village spotted her, now a beautiful young woman. Yes, Kula. Then receive family-friendly activity, recipe and craft ideas throughout the year! He said to the last sun in the sky: “From now on, you must rise on time and fall on time every day, and benefit the people!” From then on, everyone respected him. To this day, it’s believed that Chang’e still lives on the moon, longing for her husband and trying to replicate the elixir of immortality. In a moment of desperation, Chang E swallowed the elixir. In Chinese mythology, there were 10 suns. Soon Hou Yi married Chang Er, a beautiful and kind girl. Great job wes! With his bow and arrows, he ascended the peak of Kun Lun Mountain and using his mighty strength and godly archery skills, he shot down nine of the suns. All Rights Reserved, Copyright @ 2004 - 2020 Chinahallway.com, Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties. The last version of Mid-Autumn Festival story is a little absurd, which said that Hou Yi had an affair, and Chang E was angry with him so she took the elixir and flew to the moon. His name was Hou Yi. However, Hou Yi was not willing to leave his wife Chang E alone on the earth, so he gave her the elixir for safekeeping. Before long, she felt her limbs grow weightless, and she began to float into the sky against her will. © 2014-2020 Red Bean Company LLC, All Rights Reserved. Many people came to become his archery disciplines, but among his students, there was a cunning and devious man called Peng Meng. No one is certain of all the details of the Chang E legend, but the story goes something like this: Chang E was a beautiful young girl working in the Jade Emperor's palace in heaven, where immortals, good people and fairies lived. Trying to flee, she jumped out the window of a chamber at the top of palace -- and, instead of falling, she floated into the sky toward the moon. Hi there! I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below! When that didn't work, he then pretended to shoot at them with his bow to intimidate them. Thank you!! On a 15th day of an eighth lunar month, when Hou Yi was not out, one of his followers called Pengmeng forced Chang E to hand over the elixir. [4], In another version, after Hou Yi shot down the suns, he was proclaimed as a hero-king by the people. There was a powerful archer named Hou Yi, who was determined to relieve this suffering. Hou Yi went back home and found his wife had disappeared. I have great dreams for this but no idea how it will actually turn out. Since then, the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, which was the day Chang E flew to the moon and separated with her beloved husband, has become the Mid-Autumn Festival for people to reunite. Love of Chang E and Hou Yi . He was also known as Shen Yi and simply as Yi (羿). Initially the 10 suns would cross the sky one by one, but one day all 10 suns came out at once scorching the earth. As each one fell, they turned into 3 legged ravens.

King Hou Yi tried to shoot her down with arrows, but without success. Chang'e. Hou Yi, an expert archer, stepped forward to try to save the earth.

He is sometimes portrayed as a god of archery descended from heaven to aid mankind. Most Chinese workers will receive a single day off to celebrate the holiday. He successfully shot down nine of the suns, becoming an instant hero. Legend goes that in ancient China, the sky suddenly appeared ten Suns. Houyi takes aim at the Suns (right upper corner), rubbing from the Wu Liang Shrines reliefs, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hou_Yi&oldid=973213372, Articles containing Chinese-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 16 August 2020, at 00:42. Finally only one sun was … So the story goes, the skilled archer Hou Yi earned an elixir of immortality from the Jade Emperor for saving the planet, which was then suffering under the heat of 10 suns. Hence, seeing the moon being the nearest heavenly land from earth, Chang Er landed and stayed on the moon. Just outside of our town, on the road that goes across the Ortega Mountains from Lake Elsinore to Orange County, the road begins with a steep upward climb. He would often stare up at the moon and think about how lonely Chang’e must be. When the suns again refused to heed Hou Yi's warnings, he began to shoot at them one by one.