托福背景阅读：“中秋节”的起源

　　The introduction of the Mid-Autumn Day:

　　"Zhong Qiu Jie", which is also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, iscelebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. It is a timefor family members and loved ones to congregate and enjoy the full moon - anauspicious symbol of abundance, harmony and luck. Adults will usually indulge infragrant mooncakes of many varieties with a good cup of piping hot Chinese tea,while the little ones run around with their brightly-lit lanterns.

　　"Zhong Qiu Jie" probably began as a harvest festival. The festival waslater given a mythological flavour with legends of Chang-E, the beautiful ladyin the moon.

　　According to Chinese mythology, the earth once had 10 suns circling overit.One day, all 10 suns appeared together, scorching the earth with their heat.The earth was saved when a strong archer, Hou Yi, succeeded in shooting down 9of the suns. Yi stole the elixir of life to save the people from his tyrannicalrule, but his wife, Chang-E drank it. Thus started the legend of the lady in themoon to whom young Chinese girls would pray at the Mid-Autumn Festival.

　　In the 14th century, the eating of mooncakes at "Zhong Qiu Jie" was given anew significance. The story goes that when Zhu Yuan Zhang was plotting tooverthrow the Yuan Dynasty started by the Mongolians, the rebels hid theirmessages in the Mid-Autumn mooncakes. Zhong Qiu Jie is hence also acommemoration of the overthrow of the Mongolians by the Han people.

　　During the Yuan Dynasty (A.D.1206-1368) China was ruled by the Mongolianpeople. Leaders from the preceding Sung Dynasty(A.D.960-1279) were unhappy atsubmitting to foreign rule, and set how to coordinate the rebellion without itbeing discovered. The leaders of the rebellion, knowing that the Moon Festivalwas drawing near, ordered the making of special cakes. Packed into each mooncakewas a message with the outline of the attack. On the night of the Moon Festival,the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government. What followed wasthe establishment of the Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644). Today, moon cakes areeaten to commemorate this event.

　　Mid-Autumn Day is a traditional festival in China. Almost everyone likes toeat mooncakes on that day. Most families have a dinner together to celebrate thefestival. A saying goes, "The moon in your hometown is almost always thebrightest and roundest". Many people who live far away from homes want to goback to have a family reunion. How happy it is to enjoy the moon cakes whilewatching the full moon with your family members.