In the ancient past, there was a hero named 

Hou Yi who was excellent at archery. His wife was

Chang'e. One year, the ten suns rose in the sky together, causing great disaster to the 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 Chang'e and be immortal without her, so he let
Chang'e keep the elixir. However, Peng Meng, one of his apprentices, knew this secret. So, on the
fifteenth of August in the Chinese lunisolar calendar, when Yi went hunting, Peng Meng broke into
Yi's house and forced Chang'e to give the elixir to him. Chang'e refused to do so. Instead, she
swallowed it and flew into the sky. Since she loved her husband 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 Chang'e liked in the yard and gave sacrifices to his wife. People
soon learned about these activities, and since they also were sympathetic to Chang'e they
participated in these sacrifices with Yi.
“when people learned of this story, they burnt incense on a long altar and prayed to Chang'e, now
the goddess of the Moon, for luck and safety. The custom of praying to the Moon on Mid-Autumn
Day has been handed down for thousands of years since that time." [19]
Handbook of Chinese Mythology also describes an alternate common version of the myth: [18]
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 from Xiwangmu. But his wife, Chang'e, 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 Chang'e
took the elixir, he shot at his wife as she flew toward the moon, though he missed. Chang'e 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 Chang'e on every fifteenth day of eighth month to
commemorate Chang'e's action.
The story of Chang E is the most widely accepted tale regarding the moon and the origin of the Mid-
Autumn Festival. It is said that in ancient times, ten suns existed and the extreme heat made people’s
lives very difficult. It was the hero Hou Yi, who, owing to his great strength, shot down nine of the ten
suns. On hearing of this amazing feat and the hero who performed it, people came from far and wide to
learn from him.

Peng Meng was among these people. Later, Hou Yi married a beautiful and kind-hearted woman named
Chang E and lived a happy life. One day, Hou Yi came upon Wangmu (the queen of heaven) on the way
to meet his old friend. Wangmu presented him an elixir which, it taken, would cause him to ascend
immediately to heaven and become a god/goddess. Instead of drinking the potion himself, Hou Yi took it
home and presented it to Chang E to keep.

Unfortunately, Peng Meng secretly saw Hou Yi give the potion to his wife and three days later, while Hou
Yi was out hunting, Peng Meng rushed into the backyard and demanded that Chang E hand over the
elixir. Knowing that she could not win, she took out the elixir and swallowed it immediately. The moment
she drank it, she flew out of the window and up into the sky. Chang E’s great love for her husband drew
her towards the Moon, which is the nearest place to the earth on the heaven. On realizing what happened
to his wife, Hou Yi was so grieved that he shouted Chang E’s name to the sky.

He was amazed to see a figure which looked just like his wife appeared in the Moon. He took the food
liked by Chang E to an altar and offered it as a sacrifice for her. After hearing that Chang E became a
goddess, folk people also offered sacrifices to Chang E to pray for peace and good luck. Since then, the
custom of sacrificing to the moon has been spread among the folklore.
Chang'e and Houyi the Archer (Version 1)
Legend has it that Chang’e was a beautiful and kind woman, and her husband
Hou Yi (后羿, Hòu Yì /ho ee/) was a brilliant archer.
During a time, thousands of years ago, when there were 10 suns, the Earth
could not endure the smoldering heat. To save the earth, 'Lord Archer' Hou Yi
shot down nine of the 10 suns, leaving behind just one.  

Hou Yi was respected as the Earth’s hero and received an elixir of immortality
from the Queen Mother of the West as a reward for saving the Earth and its
people.
However, the elixir was only enough for one person, and Hou Yi didn’t want to
gain immortality without his beloved wife. So, he did not consume it straight
away, but let Chang'e keep it with her.
But one day, one of Hou Yi’s students named Pang Meng tried to steal the elixir
when Hou Yi wasn’t home. In order to protect the elixir from the evil person,
Chang’e drank the elixir of immortality. Then she flew to the moon and became
the Moon Godness, leaving her husband behind.

Hou Yi was heartbroken when he was told what had happened to Chang'e. He
shouted to the sky and surprisingly discovered the moon was extremely bright
that night. He caught sight of a swaying figure that was exactly like
Chang'e. Then he displayed the fruits and cakes that Chang'e had enjoyed to
convey to Chang’e that he missed her.
Moved by their true love, the Mother of the Moon allowed Chang'e to reunite
with Hou Yi every year on the full moon of the eighth lunar month.
Since then, on lunar month 8 day 15 every year, which has become Mid-
Autumn Festival, people look forward to their reunion (and their own family
reunions). Worshipping the moon and eating mooncakes have become
traditions of Mid-Autumn Festival.
There is a well-known folk story about the Mid Autumn Festival.  It is a
story about a famous archer, Hòu Yį 后羿 and his wife, Cháng’é 嫦娥.  
In the ancient time, there were ten suns in the sky and people were
suffering from the heat and the drought.  This well-known archer, Hòu Yį
came to the rescue and shot down nine suns. 
After that, the archer received elixir of immortality as a reward.  But a
friend of  Hòu Yį wanted to steal it and take it.  Cháng’é, Hòu Yį’s wife
wanted to stop the stealing and drank up the magic potion. 
After Cháng’é drank it her body felt lighter and lighter and she started
floating.  Cháng’é floated all the way to the moon.  When Cháng’é
coughed up the magic potion after she landed in the moon.  What she
coughed out turned into a rabbit.  The rabbit’s name is “Jade Rabbit 玉
兔.”  It was the only companion of Cháng’é. 
That is why Chinese people take a walk and look at the moon on the
evening of the Moon Festival.  Children will  search for the shadow of the
Moon Fairy, Cháng’é and her companion, Jade Rabbit. 

Today, on the fifteenth evening of the eighth lunar month, Chinese people
still join Houyi in sending wishes to Chang’e who misses him, up on the
moon.
 Mid-Autumn Festival

The Moon Festival, also called the Mid-Autumn Festival or Mid-Autumn Day, is second in
importance only to the Spring Festival. It falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar
month when the moon is believed to be the fullest and roundest. Members of the family
gather together for a reunion dinner and to appreciate the moon while eating moon-cakes
of various flavors. It is also a festival for farmers to celebrate their harvest. With more than
3,000 years of history, there are different takes on the origin of this festival. Even the most
popular one, the story of Hou Yi and Chang E, has different versions.

The Legend of the Moon Festival

The Moon Festival legend about Hou Yi and Chang E is always told to children at this time.
Once upon a time, there were ten suns in the sky, scorching many crops and people to death.
The Emperor of Heaven summoned Hou Yi to shoot down nine of the suns. Hou Yi
succeeded, the weather soon recovered and life was saved. Hou Yi was rewarded with the
elixir of immortality. While Hou Yi was still on the Earth, he met Chang E, they fell in love
and were married.

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. 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 returned home and told his wife. They decided to drink it together on the
15th day of the 8th lunar month when the moon was round and bright. But a wicked man
named Feng Meng overheard them and wanted the elixir for himself.

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. She knew that she could not defeat Feng
Meng so, with no other choice, she drank the elixir all by herself. When Hou Yi came back,
he found that his wife had been lifted to Heaven. Chang E decided to live on the Moon
because it's closest to the Earth. Hou Yi looked up at the moon and put the foods Chang E
used to love in the garden as a sacrifice. Thus, people started admiring the moon on this day.
Later, Chang E and Hou Yi came to represent the yin and yang respectively (the moon and
the sun).