Hong Kong Adventure: September 2005

The Legend of Hou Yi and Cheng'e

Here is the second part of the story:

The Legend of Hou Yi and Cheng’e

Legends There are many beautiful legends about the moon in China. the most popular one tells how a goddess named Chang'e ascended to the moon. A long, long time ago, a terrible drought plagued the earth. Ten suns burned fiercely in the sky like smoldering volcanoes. The trees and grass were scorched. The land was cracked and parched, and rivers ran dry. Many people died of hunger and thirst.The King of Heaven sent Hou Yi down to the earth to help. When Hou Yi arrived, he took out his red bow and white arrows and shot down nine suns one after another. The weather immediately turned cooler. Heavy rains filled the rivers with fresh water and the grass and trees turned green. Life had been restored and humanity was saved.One day, a charming young woman, Chang'e makes her way home from a stream, holding a bamboo contaiver, A young man comes forward, asking for a drink. When she sees the red bow and white arrows hanging from his belt, Chang'e tealizes that he is their savior, Hou Yi. Inviting him to drink, Chang'e plucks a beautiful flower and gives it to him as a token of respect. Hou Yi, in turn, selects a beautiful silver fox fur as his gift for her. This meeting kindles the spark of their love. And soon after that, they get married.A mortal's life is limited, of course. So in order to enjoy his happy life with Chang'e forever, Hou Yi decides to look for an elixir of life.He goes to the Kunlun Mountains where the Western Queen Mother lives.Out of respect for the good deeds the has done, the Western Queen Mother rewards Hou Yi with elixir, a fine powder made from kerndls of fruit which grows on the tree of eternity. At the same time, she tells him:If you and your wife share the elixir, you will both enjoy eternal life. But if only one of you takes it,that one will ascend to Heaven and become immortal.Hou Yi returns home and tells his wife all that has happened and they decide to drink the elixir together on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month when the moon is full and bright.A wicked and merciless man named Feng Meng secretly hears about their plan.He wishes Hou Yi an early death so that he can drink the elixir himeslf and become immortal.His opportunity finally arrives. One day,when the full moon is rising, Hou Yi is on his way home from hunting. Feng Meng kills him. The murderer then runs to Hou Yi's home and forces Chang'e to give him the elixir, Without hesitating, Chang'e picks up the elixir and drinks it all.Overcome with grief, Chang'e rushes to her dead husband's sied, weeping bitterly.Soon the elixir begins to have its effect and Chang'e feels herself being lifted towards Heaven.Chang'e decides to live on the moon because it is nearest to the earth. There she lives a simple and contented life. Even though she is in Heaven, her heart remains in the world of mortals. Never does she forget the deep love she has for Hou Yi and the love she feels for the people who have shared their sadness and happiness.Another legend explained the role of the Old Man on the Moon, the Divine Match-maker. The Chinese believed that marriages were made in Heaven but prepared on the moon. The Old Man on the Moon tied the feet of young men and women with red cords for marriage. Thus a maiden made offerings and prayed to him during the Mid-Autumn Festival, hoping that some day she would ride in the red bridal sedan chair.

Mid-Autumn Festival

Here is the story behind the Mid-Autumn Festival which is going on this weekend in Hong Kong. The story is interesting, and the fact that we get Monday off is fantastic. There are millions of paper lanterns hung inside and outside of all the buildings in Hong Kong, and there will be dragon parades in the evenings all weekend. For Amy Tan readers, this is also the festival during which mooncakes are eaten. This story comes from Lilian Wong one of the Year one teachers who has lived in Hong Kong most of her life.

Mid-Autum Festival

The story of Hou Yi and Cheng'e is a famous legend associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival and the moon. In addition to Cheng'e, some people say that there is a rabbit and an old man on the moon. Do you believe that? Do you know what is actually on the moon?

Most of us eat moon cakes during this festival. Do you know there is a story behind this popular sweet food? In the Yuan Dynasty, Chinese leaders planned to overthrow the corrupt Mongolian government. They made special cakes for the coming August Moon Festival. Messages were inserted into the cakes, telling people to start a coup together on the night of the Moon Festival. Finally, they succeeded. To commemorate this, Chinese people started eating moon cakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Try the game "Message in the Mooncakes" below and learn some cool phrases and idioms with "moon" and "cake"!

Excuse Errors

Hi! I can't seem to correctly fix errors such as "my apartment huge." I followed all directions for editing and republishing, but it isn't working. If you know how to do it, please write a comment, and enlighten me. Thanks!

Intelligent Court

Location, Location, Location

My new apartment is in a corner of three major areas of Hong Kong Island: Tin Hau, Tia Hang, and Causeway Bay. It is five minutes from the busiest intersection (in terms of pedestrian traffic) in the world, four minutes from a MTR station (metro), one minute from the bus stop where I catch a bus to school, and three minutes from Victoria park where I run in the mornings.

Specs and Quirks

My apartment is huge compared to what I was expecting (approx. 625 square feet). It has two bedrooms, a newly remodeled kitchen and bathroom, a huge window in the living room. The window looks out on a view of green trees and the gigantic Central library. My bedroom window looks out on a trees and a small hill that leads up to another main road.

The apartment is beautiful, modern, and furnished. I lucked out because the owners were fixing it up for their daughter who decided that it wasn't convenient enough for her. The place is in great condition because no one has lived in it since it was remodeled. The floors are new and the place is freshly painted. One side of living room is bright yellow but will hopefully be tamed down a bit by the pictures that I bought in Stanley Market.

Now on to the quirks. There is an extremely loud water drain just outside my kitchen window which is rather annoying in the morning. The drain actually backed up on my first morning in the apartment and flooded the backroom which leads to the fire escape door. Conveniently, the room is slightly angled, so all the water drained out under the door and down the back stairs. No damage was done because the backroom is all tile. It was during a period of Amber rain (the lowest but still significant rain level indicator). The flooding has not occurred again, but currently the lighting in my bedroom is going haywire.