端午節(jié) 英文版.docx

Mid-Autumn FestivalThis article is about the holiday celebrated in China, Taiwan, Vietnam and by ethnic Chinese worldwide. Mid-Autumn Festival is a term sometimes also used to describeChuseokin Korea andTsukimiin Japan.TheMid-Autumn Festivalis aharvest festivalcelebrated by ethnicChineseandVietnamesepeoples.12The festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the ChineseHan calendarandVietnamese calendar(within 15 days of theautumnal equinox), on the night of thefull moonbetween early September to early October of theGregorian calendar.1Mainland Chinalisted the festival as an intangible cultural heritage in 2006 and apublic holidayin 2008.1It is also apublic holiday in Taiwan. Among the Vietnamese, it is considered the second-most important holiday tradition.Alternative namesThe Mid-Autumn Festival is also known by other names, such as: Moon FestivalorHarvest Moon Festival, because of the celebrations association with the full moon on this night, as well as the traditions of moon worship and moon gazing. Mooncake Festival, because of the popular tradition of eatingmooncakeson this occasion. Zhngqi Festival, the official name inpinyin. Lantern Festival, a term sometimes used inSingaporeandMalaysia, which is not to be confused with theLantern Festivalin China that occurs on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese calendar. Reunion Festival, because in olden times, a woman in China would take the occasion to visit her parents before returning to celebrate with her husband and his parents.3 Childrens Festival, in Vietnam, because of the emphasis on the celebration of children.4Meanings of the festivalThe festival celebrates three fundamental concepts which are closely tied to one another: Gathering, such as family and friends coming together, or harvesting crops for the festival. Thanksgiving, to give thanks for the harvest, or for harmonious unions Praying(asking for conceptual or material satisfaction), such as for babies, a spouse, beauty, longevity, or for a good futureTraditions and myths surrounding the festival are formed around these three concepts,5although traditions have changed over time due to changes in technology, science, economy, culture, and religion.5Origins and developmentThe Chinese have celebrated the harvest during the autumn full moon since theShang Dynasty(c. 16th to 10th century BCE).5Morris Berkowitz, who studied theHakka peopleduring the 1960s, theorizes that the harvest celebration originally began with worshiping Mountain Gods after the harvest was completed.6The celebration as a festival only started to gain popularity during the earlyTang Dynasty(618907 CE).1One legend explains thatEmperor Xuanzong of Tangstarted to hold formal celebrations in his palace after having explored the Moon-Palace.5The termmid-autumn(中秋) first appeared inRites of Zhou, a written collection of rituals of theWestern Zhou Dynasty(1046771 BCE).1Empress Dowager Cixi(late 19th century) enjoyed celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival so much that she would spend the period between the thirteenth and seventeenth day of the eighth month staging elaborate rituals.7For the Vietnamese, in its most ancient form, the evening commemorated the dragon who brought rain for the crops.2Celebrants would observe the moon to divine the future of the people and harvests. Eventually the celebration came to symbolize a reverence for fertility, with prayers given for bountiful harvests, increase in livestock, and human babies. Over time, the prayers for children evolved into a celebration of children.2Confucian scholars continued the tradition of gazing at the moon, but to sip wine and improvise poetry and song.2By the early twentieth century in Hanoi, the festival had begun to assume its identity as a childrens festival.2Houyihelplessly looking at his wife Change flying off to the moon after she ate immortality pills.An important part of the festival celebration is moon worship. The ancient Chinese believed in rejuvenation being associated with the moon and water, and connected this concept to themensesof women, calling it monthly water.3TheZhuang people, for example, have an ancient fable saying the sun and moon are a couple and the stars are their children, and when the moon is pregnant, it becomes round, and then becomes crescent after giving birth to a child. These beliefs made it popular among women to worship and give offerings to the moon on this evening.3In some areas of China, there are still customs in which men dont worship the moon and the women dont offer sacrifices to the kitchen gods.3Offerings are also made to a more well-known lunar deity,Change, known as the Moon Goddess of Immortality. The myths associated with Change explain the origin of moon worship during this day. One version of the story is as follows, as described in Lihui YangsHandbook of Chinese Mythology:8In the ancient past, there was a hero namedHou Yiwho was excellent at archery. His wife was Change. One year, the ten suns rose in the sky together, causing great disaster to people. Yi shot down nine of the suns and left only one to provide light. An immortal admired Yi and sent him the elixir of immortality. Yi did not want to leave Change and be immortal without her, so he let Change keep the elixir. ButFeng Meng, one of his apprentices, knew this secret. So, on the fifteenth of August in the lunar calendar, when Yi went hunting, Feng Meng broke into Yis house and forced Change to give the elixir to him. Change refused to do so. Instead, she swallowed it and flew into the sky. Since she loved her husband very much and hoped to live nearby, she chose the moon for her residence. When Yi came back and learned what had happened, he felt so sad that he displayed the fruits and cakes Change liked in the yard and gave sacrifices to his wife. People soon learned about these activities, and since they also were sympathetic to Change they participated in these sacrifices with Yi.Yang describes another version of the tale which provides a different reason for Change ascending to the moon:After the hero Houyi shot down nine of the ten suns, he was pronounced king by the thankful people. However, he soon became a conceited and tyrannical ruler. In order to live long without death, he asked for the elixir fromXiwangmu. But his wife, Change, stole it on the fifteenth of August because she did not want the cruel king to live long and hurt more people. She took the magic potion to prevent her husband from becoming immortal. Houyi was so angry when discovered that Change took the elixir, he shot at his wife as she flew toward the moon, though he missed. Change fled to the moon and became the spirit of the moon. Houyi died soon because he was overcome with great anger. Thereafter, people offer a sacrifice to Change on every lunar fifteenth of August to commemorate Changes action.Modern celebrationThe festival was a time to enjoy the successful reaping of rice and wheat with food offerings made in honor of the moon. Today, it is still an occasion for outdoor reunions among friends and relatives to eat mooncakes and watch the moon, a symbol of harmony and unity.9The festival is celebrated with many cultural or regional customs, among them: Burningincensein reverence to deities includingChange. Performance ofdragonandlion dances, which is mainly practiced in southern China1and Vietnam.LanternsFor information on a different festival that also involve lanterns, seeLantern FestivalA notable part of celebrating the holiday is the carrying of brightly litlanterns, lighting lanterns on towers, or floatingsky lanterns.1One tradition involving lanterns,dng m(simplified Chinese:燈謎;traditional Chinese:燈謎), is to write riddles on lanterns and have other people try to guess the answers.10It is difficult to discern the original purpose of lanterns in connection to the festival, but it is certain that lanterns were not used in conjunction with moon-worship prior to the Tang Dynasty.5Traditionally, the lantern has been used to symbolize fertility, and functioned mainly as a toy and decoration. But today the lantern has come to symbolize the festival itself.5In the old days, lanterns were made in the image of natural things, myths, and local cultures.5Over time, a greater variety of lanterns could be found as local cultures became influenced by their neighbors.5As China gradually evolved from an agrarian society to a mixed agrarian-commercial one, traditions from other festivals began to be transmitted into the Mid-Autumn Festival, such as the putting of lanterns on rivers to guide the spirits of the drowned as practiced during theGhost Festival, which is observed a month before.5Hong Kong fishermen during theQing Dynasty, for example, would put up lanterns on their boats for the Ghost Festival and keep the lanterns up until Mid-Autumn Festival.5In Vietnam, children participate in parades with lanterns of various forms and colors. Traditionally, lanterns signified the wish for the suns light and warmth to return after winter.11In addition to carrying lanterns, the children also don masks. Elaborate masks were made ofpapier-mch, though it is more common to find masks made of plastic nowadays.2Handcrafted shadow lanterns were an important part of Mid-Autumn displays since the 12th-centuryLy dynasty, often of historical figures from Vietnamese history.2Handcrafted lantern-making declined in modern times due to the availability of mass-produced plastic lanterns, which often depict internationally recognized figures such asPokemonsPikachu,Disneycharacters, andHello Kitty.2Making and sharing mooncakes is one of the hallmark traditions of this festival. In Chinese culture, a round shape symbolizes completeness and unity. Thus, the sharing of round mooncakes among family members signify the completeness and unity of families.citation neededIn some areas of China, there is a tradition of making mooncakes during the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival.12The senior person in that household would cut the mooncakes into pieces and distribute them to each family member, signifying family reunion.12In modern times, however, making mooncakes at home has given way to the more popular custom of giving mooncakes to family members, although the meaning of maintaining familial unity remains.citation neededAlthough typical mooncakes can be around a few inches in diameter, imperial chefs have made some as large as several feet in diameter, with its surface impressed with designs of Change,cassiatrees, or the Moon-Palace.9One tradition is to pile 13 mooncakes on top of each other to mimic apagoda, the number 13 being chosen to represent the 13 months in a full lunar year.9According to Chinese folklore, aTurpanbusinessman offered cakes toEmperor Taizong of Tangin his victory against theXiongnuon the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. Taizong took the round cakes and pointed to the moon with a smile, saying, Id like to invite the toad to enjoy theh(胡) cake. After sharing the cakes with his ministers, the custom of eating thesehcakes spread throughout the country.13Eventually these became known asmooncakes. Although the legend explains the beginnings of mooncake-giving, its popularity and ties to the festival began during theSong Dynasty(9061279 CE).5Another popular legend concerns theHan Chinesesuprising against the rulingMongolsat the end of theYuan dynasty(12801368 CE), in which the Han Chinese used traditional mooncakes to conceal the message that they were to rebel on Mid-Autumn Day.10Other foods and food displaysImperial dishes served on this occasion included nine-jointed lotus roots which symbolize peace, and watermelons cut in the shape of lotus petals which symbolize reunion.9Teacups were placed on stone tables in the garden, where the family would pourteaand chat, waiting for the moment when the full moons reflection appeared in the center of their cups.9Owing to the timing of the plants blossoms,cassia wineis the traditional choice for the reunion wine drunk on the occasion. Also, people will celebrate by eating cassia cakes and candy.141516Food offerings made to deities are placed on an altar set up in the courtyard, including apples, pears, peaches, grapes,pomegranates, melons, oranges, andpomelos.17One of the first decorations purchased for the celebration table is a clay statue of theJade Rabbit. In Chinese folklore, the Jade Rabbit was an animal that lived on the moon and accompanied Change. Offerings of yellow beans and cockscomb flowers were made to the Jade Rabbit.9In Vietnam, cakes and fruits are not only consumed, but elaborately prepared as food displays. For example, glutinous rice flour and rice paste are molded into familiar animals. Pomelo sections can be fashioned into unicorns, rabbits, or dogs.2Villagers ofXun La, just south ofHanoi, producet he, figurines made from rice paste and colored with natural food dyes.2Into the early decades of the twentieth century of Vietnam, daughters of wealthy families would prepare elaborate centerpieces filled with treats for their younger siblings. Well-dressed visitors could visit to observe the daughters handiwork as an indication of her capabilities as a wife in the future. Eventually the practice of arranging centerpieces became a tradition not just limited to wealthy families.2Courtship and matchmakingThe Mid-Autumn moon has traditionally been a choice occasion to celebrate marriages. Girls would pray to Change to help fulfill their romantic wishes.7In some parts of China, dances are held for young men and women to find partners. For example, young women are encouraged to throw their handkerchiefs to the crowd, and the young man who catches and returns the handkerchief has a chance at romance.1InDaguang, in northeastGuizhou Province, young men and women of theDong peoplewould make an appointment at a certain place. The young women would arrive early to overhear remarks made about them by the young men. The young men would praise their lovers in front of their fellows, in which finally the listening women would walk out of the thicket. Pairs of lovers would go off to a quiet place to open their hearts to each other.3Into the early decades of the twentieth century Vietnam, young men and women used the festival as a chance to meet future life companions. Groups would assemble in a