What is the origin of mooncakes at Mid-Autumn Festival?

The Origin of Eating Mooncakes at Mid-Autumn Festival

The traditional food for the Mid-Autumn Festival is mooncakes, which are round and symbolize reunion, reflecting people's good wishes for family reunion. It is said that eating mooncakes at Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Yuan Dynasty, when Zhu Yuanzhang, who led the Han Chinese people to rebel against the tyranny of the Yuan Dynasty, agreed to rise up on the 15th day of the 8th month, and passed on the news by exchanging mooncakes with a note stuck in the mooncake. The custom of eating mooncakes at the Mid-Autumn Festival was then spread among the people. The English spelling is: mooncake (moon cake).

Later, Zhu Yuanzhang finally overthrew the Yuan Dynasty and became the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and although the Qing Dynasty later came to dominate China, people still celebrated this festival to symbolize the overthrow of foreign rule.

According to legend, in ancient China, emperors had the ritual of sacrificing the sun in the spring and the moon in the fall. In folklore, there is also a custom of worshipping the moon or sacrificing to the moon around every August mid-autumn festival. "The moon is full on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, and the mooncake is fragrant and sweet", this famous proverb shows the custom of eating mooncakes on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival in both urban and rural areas. Mooncakes were initially used to worship the moon god's offerings, and then people gradually to the Mid-Autumn Festival to enjoy the moon and taste the mooncakes, as a symbol of family reunion, and slowly mooncakes have become a gift of the festival.

The mooncake, originally originated in the Tang Dynasty, was used by the army to celebrate the victory. During the reign of Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty, General Li Jing was victorious in his conquest of the Xiong Nu, and returned home in triumph on the 15th day of the 8th month.

At that time, some people in Turpan, who were merchants, offered cakes to the emperor of the Tang Dynasty to wish him well. Li Yuan, the first emperor of the Tang Dynasty, took the gorgeous cake box, took out the round cake, pointed to the bright moon in the sky with a smile and said: "I should invite the toad with the Hu cake". After saying this, the cake was distributed to the ministers to eat together.

Wu Zimu of the Southern Song Dynasty, "Dream Sorghum Records" book, there has been the word "mooncake", but on the Mid-Autumn Festival to taste the moon, eat mooncake description, is the Ming Dynasty's "West Lake Excursion Zhi will be" only recorded: "August 15 is called the middle of the autumn, the folk to the mooncake to bequeath to each other, to take the reunion of the meaning of the". ". By the Qing Dynasty, the record of moon cakes on the more, and the production is more and more fine.

Mooncakes developed to today, more varieties, flavors vary from place to place. Among them, Beijing-style, Suzhou-style, Guangzhou-style, Chao-style moon cakes are widely eaten by people in the north and south of China.

Mooncakes symbolize reunion, is the Mid-Autumn Festival must eat. On the night of the festival, people also love to eat some watermelon and other fruits of reunion, praying for the family life is beautiful, sweet and safe.