Liu asked his subordinates to hide pieces of paper in the cakes with the date of the Han Chinese rebellion (the 15th night of the 8th lunar month). He gained permission to give gifts to his friends in different bases. It was said that a Han Chinese rebel leader, Liu Bo Wen, planned to arouse the Han Chinese to rise up against the ruling Mongolians and end the Yuan dynasty. It happened during the Yuan dynasty (AD 1280-1368) founded by Mongolians from the north. Once, according to a Chinese legend, moon cakes helped the start of a revolution. Most of the flavors are sweet, with lotus seed paste or sweet bean paste in the center. This round pastry can contain various ingredients in a thin crust. Without moon-cakes, the festival is considered incomplete. Moon-cakes are eaten during the Moon Festival. Later, Chang E and Hou Yi came to represent the yin and yang respectively (the moon and the sun).
Thus, people started admiring the moon on this day. Hou Yi looked up at the moon and put the foods Chang E used to love in the garden as a sacrifice. Chang E decided to live on the Moon because it's closest to the Earth. When Hou Yi came back, he found that his wife had been lifted to Heaven. She knew that she could not defeat Feng Meng so, with no other choice, she drank the elixir all by herself. On the 15th day, before Hou Yi returned home from hunting, Feng Meng went to Hou Yi's home and forced Chang E to give him the elixir. But a wicked man named Feng Meng overheard them and wanted the elixir for himself. They decided to drink it together on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month when the moon was round and bright. For the good deeds that Hou Yi had performed for the Earth, the Western Queen Mother agreed to give him the elixir, sufficient for two people, half each. Hou Yi wanted to spend his life with Chang E forever, so he went to the Western Queen Mother to ask for the elixir of life. While Hou Yi was still on the Earth, he met Chang E, they fell in love and were married. Hou Yi was rewarded with the elixir of immortality. Hou Yi succeeded, the weather soon recovered and life was saved. The Emperor of Heaven summoned Hou Yi to shoot down nine of the suns.
Once upon a time, there were ten suns in the sky, scorching many crops and people to death. The Moon Festival legend about Hou Yi and Chang E is always told to children at this time. Even the most popular one, the story of Hou Yi and Chang E, has different versions. With more than 3,000 years of history, there are different takes on the origin of this festival. It is also a festival for farmers to celebrate their harvest. Members of the family gather together for a reunion dinner and to appreciate the moon while eating moon-cakes of various flavors. It falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month when the moon is believed to be the fullest and roundest. The Moon Festival, also called the Mid-Autumn Festival or Mid-Autumn Day, is second in importance only to the Spring Festival.
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