What can you see in this picture?

If you can't see a pretty girl, a rabbit, and a tree…

Don’t worry, you are not alone. I can’t identify them neither.

But, as an esteem student at Startalk program, you really should know the legend of “Chang'e flies to the moon”, one of the most sentimental legends in Chinese Mythology.

嫦娥奔月Chang’e flies to

the moon

女主角：嫦娥 Actress in the leading role: Chang’e嫦娥是中国神话人物 , 后羿的老婆。神话中因为偷吃后羿从西王母那里拿来的不死药而奔月。

Key Words: 嫦娥， 神话(Mythology) ，后羿 (Chang’e’s husband), 老婆 (wife), 偷吃 (steal and eat), 西王母 (Queen mother of the west), 不死 (immortal), 药(medicine pills)

How to write Chang’e ’s name in Chinese ?

Challenge

!

男主角：后羿 Actor in the leading role: Houyi

后羿是个英雄，擅长射箭。他得到西王母的一包长生不老药。他的老婆嫦娥偷吃了药，飞到 了月球上。嫦娥得到的是长生不老和永远的寂寞。

Key Words: 后羿，英雄 (hero), 擅长(good at) ，射箭 (archery), 得到(get), 飞到 (fly to), 月球 (the moon), 长生不老 (immortal), 永远 (forever), 寂寞 (loneliness )

How to write Houyi ’s name in Chinese ?

Challenge

!

嫦娥Name interpretation:Chinese words are highly constructive and imaginative. Let’s see what can we learn from these names.

女We can tell 嫦娥 is a female character. Her name carries 女 as a part.

What are these parts?

常 我What are these parts mean?

often I , myself, egocentricWe can tell 嫦娥 is a female character with a kind of

egeocentricism.

后羿Name interpretation:Chinese words are highly constructive and imaginative. Let’s see what can we learn from these names.

羿We need to interpret the word 羿 to figure out the meaning

What are these parts?

羽 升What are these parts mean?

feather

rising up, ascend

We can tell 后羿’ s job from his name. He is an archer.

If you have a Chinese name and the name happens to be highly informative. Please come forward, write your Chinese name, and explain it to us. If you have a Genealogy, please share it with us also.

According to legend, Chang'e and her husband Houyi were immortals living in heaven. One day, the ten sons of the Jade Emperor transformed into ten suns, causing the earth to scorch. Having failed to order his sons to stop ruining the earth, the Jade Emperor summoned Houyi for help. Houyi, using his legendary archery skills, shot down nine of the sons, but spared one son to be the sun. The Jade Emperor was obviously not pleased with Houyi's solution to save the earth: nine of his sons were dead. As punishment, the Jade Emperor banished Houyi and Chang'e to live as mere mortals on earth.

The story of Chang’e flies to the moon (Version 1)– from wikipedia

Seeing that Chang'e felt extremely miserable over her loss of immortality, Houyi decided to journey on a long, perilous quest to find the pill of immortality so that the couple could be immortals again. At the end of his quest he met the Queen mother of the west who agreed to give him the pill, but warned him that each person would only need half the pill to become immortal.

Houyi brought the pill home and stored it in a case. He warned Chang'e not to open the case and then left home for a while. However, Chang'e was too curious: she opened up the case and found the pill just as Houyi was returning home. Nervous that Houyi would catch her discovering the contents of the case, she accidentally swallowed the entire pill. She started to float into the sky because of the overdose. Although Houyi wanted to shoot her in order to prevent her from floating further, he could not bear to aim the arrow at her. Chang'e kept on floating until she landed on the moon.While she became lonely on the moon without her husband, she did have company. A jade rabbit who manufactured elixirs, also lived on the moon. The mythologies of Japan and Korea also feature references about rabbits living on the moon.Another companion is the woodcutter Wu Gang. The woodcutter offended the gods in his attempt to achieve immortality and was therefore banished on the moon. Wu Gang was allowed to leave the moon if he could cut down a tree that grew there. The problem was that each time he chopped the tree, the tree would instantly grow back, effectively condemning him to live on the moon for eternity.

The story of Chang’e flies to the moon (Version 2)– from wikipedia

Chang'e was a beautiful young girl working in the Jade Emperor's palace in heaven, where immortals, good people and fairies lived. One day, she accidentally broke a precious porcelain jar. Angered, the Jade Emperor banished her to live on earth, where ordinary people lived. She could return to the Heaven, if she contributed a valuable service on earth. Chang'e was transformed into a member of a rich farming family. When she was 18, a young hunter named Houyi from another village spotted her, now a beautiful young woman. They became friends.One day, a strange phenomenon occurred—10 suns arose in the sky instead of one, blazing the earth. Houyi, an expert archer, stepped forward to try to save the earth. He successfully shot down nine of the suns, becoming an instant hero. He eventually became king and married Chang'e. But Houyi grew to become greedy and selfish. He sought immortality by ordering an elixir be created to prolong his life. The elixir in the form of a single pill was almost ready when Chang'e came upon it. She either accidentally or purposely swallowed the pill. This angered King Houyi, who went after his wife. Trying to flee, she jumped out the window of a chamber at the top of palace—and, instead of falling, she floated into the sky toward the moon. King Houyi tried unsuccessfully to shoot her down with arrows.

In contrast to the first version, her companion, rabbit, does not create elixir of life. Aside from the rabbit, the moon is also inhabited by a woodcutter who tries to cut down the cassia tree, giver of life. But as fast as he cuts into the tree, it heals itself, and he never makes any progress. The Chinese use this image of the cassia tree to explain mortal life on earth—the limbs are constantly being cut away by death, but new buds continually appear. Meanwhile, King Houyi ascended to the sun and built a palace. So Chang'e and Houyi came to represent the yin and yang, the moon and the sun.

Quiz:

1. Houyi was a 英雄 in Chinese legend. What is “ 英雄 .”

A.bachelor

B.emperor

C.hero

D. immortal

2. What is “ 老婆” in Chinese language?

A.old granny

B.boss

C.princess

D. wife

3. What is “ 寂寞” ?

A.Queen mother of the West

B.Loneliness

B.Jade emperor

C. steal and eat

嫦娥奔月的故事

http://children.cca.gov.tw/garden/animation.php?id=200209A01

中秋节 （ Mid-Autumn Festival) 中秋节是农历八月十五号，今年 (2010)

是阳历九月二十二号。

Key words: 农历（ Chinese calendar) ， 阳历（ Western calendar)

中秋节要吃什么？

月饼 （ mooncake) 柚子 (pomelo)

中秋节要做什么？

赏月 （ admiring the moon)烤肉（ barbecue)—a modern tradition

我们来做调查 （ Let’s do a survey) Instructions:

Copy down the following survey questions.

Find a partner. Write your partner’s name at the top of

the paper. Ask your partner the survey questions. Record his/her answers.

调查问题（ Survey questions) 1 ）中秋节 是几月几号？

2) 中秋节要吃什么？

3) 中秋节要做什么？

4) 谁住在月球上？

邀请卡　（ Invitation)

Write an invitation in Chinese to a friend or family member inviting them to a Mid-Autumn Festival celebration.

Tell them: The date The time The place The activity The snacks served

邀请卡 (Invitation)

亲爱的 ______,你好！我想请你来我家庆祝中秋节。

日期：时间：地点：活动：点心：

希望你能来！

你的朋友，

_________

Dear ________,Hello! I would like to invite

you to my house to celebrate the Mid-Autumn festival.

Date: Time: Place: Activity: Snack:

I hope you can come!

Your friend,

_____________

月饼的由来

http://my.tv.sohu.com/us/5645791/4305562.shtml