The implication of eating moon cakes

Eating moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional folk custom in China, just like eating zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival and glutinous rice balls on Lantern Festival. Throughout the ages, people regard moon cakes as a symbol of good luck and reunion.

It is said that eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, the broad masses of the people in the Central Plains could not bear the cruel rule of the ruling class in the Yuan Dynasty and rose up against the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang joined forces with various resistance forces to prepare for the uprising. However, the officers and men of the imperial court searched very closely and it was very difficult to pass on the news.

Liu Bowen, a military strategist, came up with a plan and ordered his men to hide a note with the words "Uprising on the 15th of August" in the cake, and then sent people to the uprising troops in different places to inform them to respond to the uprising on the 15th of August. On the day of the uprising, all the rebels responded together.

Soon, Xu Da captured the Yuan Dynasty and the uprising was successful. When the news came, Zhu Yuanzhang was so happy that he quickly sent a message that all the soldiers should have fun with the people in the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival and give the "moon cakes" secretly sent at the time of the war as seasonal cakes to the ministers. Since then, the making of "moon cakes" has become more complicated and varied. Since then, the custom of eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival has spread among the people.

Moon cakes symbolize reunion, which should have started in the Ming Dynasty. If we look at the information about moon cakes and Mid-Autumn Festival folk customs in the Ming Dynasty, we should be able to see the historical track of the reunion of moon cakes: after the Mid-Autumn Festival, the whole family will sit together and share moon cakes and fruits (offerings of the moon). Because moon cakes are also round and shared by the whole family, it gradually forms the implication that moon cakes represent family reunion.