Mid-Autumn Festival
01 · Historical Records
As early as the Zhou dynasty there were the activities of 'greeting the cold on the night of mid-autumn', 'presenting fine furs at mid-autumn', and 'worshipping the moon at the autumnal equinox (worshipping the moon)'. In the Han dynasty, on the day of mid-autumn or of the beginning of autumn, the elderly were honoured and provided for. By the Jin dynasty, the practice of moon-gazing at mid-autumn already existed. It was in the Tang dynasty that mid-autumn was combined with such myths and stories as Chang'e flying to the moon, Wu Gang chopping the cassia tree, the jade rabbit pounding medicine, Consort Yang becoming a moon goddess and Emperor Minghuang touring the moon palace, filling it with romantic colour; only then did the fashion of moon appreciation flourish. In the Northern Song dynasty, the fifteenth day of the eighth month was fixed as the Mid-Autumn Festival, and seasonal foods appeared such as 'small cakes one chews as if savouring the moon, with flaky pastry and malt sugar inside'.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. It is also called the 'Moon Evening' (Yuexi), 'Autumn Festival' (Qiujie), 'Second-Autumn Festival' (Zhongqiujie), 'Eighth-Month Festival' (Bayuejie), 'Eighth-Month Fair' (Bayuehui), 'Moon-Chasing Festival' (Zhuyuejie), 'Moon-Playing Festival' (Wanyuejie), 'Moon-Worshipping Festival' (Baiyuejie), 'Girls' Festival' (Nü'erjie) and 'Reunion Festival' (Tuanyuanjie), and is a traditional cultural festival popular among many of the nation's ethnic groups. Because it falls in the middle of the three autumn months, it bears this name. It is said that on this night the moon is at its largest, roundest and brightest. From ancient times to the present, people have kept the custom of feasting and moon-gazing on the night of mid-autumn; married women who have returned to their parents' home must go back to their husbands' home on this day, symbolising completeness and auspicious celebration. In Hong Kong, when the ardour of mid-autumn is not yet spent, people revel once more on the night of the sixteenth; this is called 'chasing the moon' (zhuiyue). The Mid-Autumn Festival is an ancient custom of revering the moon. The related activities of the Mid-Autumn Festival include: 1. circulating legends of the moon, Chang'e, the jade rabbit and Wu Gang; 2. holding moon-worship ceremonies; 3. eating mooncakes; 4. sacrificing to the Earth God on his birthday; 5. performing divination; 6. presenting melons as a blessing for offspring; and 7. moon-gazing, cricket fighting and keeping katydids during the festival. The main implements and artifacts produced during the Mid-Autumn Festival include the moon god's horse effigy (Yueliang Shenma), mooncake moulds, mooncakes themselves, the Rabbit Lord figure (Tuye), cricket jars and katydid cages. The greatest characteristic of the Mid-Autumn Festival is that it entrusts to the heavens the beautiful wishes of humankind and of nature. The Mid-Autumn Festival coincides with the season of the agricultural harvest; mooncakes, melons and fruits serve both as the medium for offering to the gods and as concrete symbols of the people's joyous celebration of the harvest. At mid-autumn, while people pursue the beauty of 'flowers in bloom and a full moon', the bonds of kinship are strengthened; this traditional festival is therefore of important value to the building of a harmonious society. The Mid-Autumn Festival is a major festival of reunion and liveliness; although its reverential content is fading, its entertainments and festival foods remain quite lively.
The moon worship
A table is set under the moon with cakes, fruit and water; the family bows to the moon in gratitude for its light.
Moonlight walks
Women and children walk out in groups to visit kin and watch the lanterns, an all-night stroll kept alive in the Jiangnan towns.
Cutting the moon cake
The moulded moon cake is cut and shared out, and melons are given away with the blessing of many sons.
Crickets and katydids
Cool autumn weather makes the season for fighting crickets, and the jars for keeping them become seasonal objects in their own right.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Regional differences in the Mid-Autumn Festival are most evident at the two ends of the custom, worshipping the moon and receiving the moon. The north lays emphasis on moon sacrifice: the 'moonlight horse' effigy (Yueguangma), mooncakes, melons and fruits are set out beneath the moon, and households pass down the belief that moon sacrifice is the source of remembering one's roots. In the Jiangnan region the customs are 'gathering the moon' (tuanyue), burning incense braziers (shaodouxiang) and 'walking the moon' (zou yueliang); the moon walk is mostly made on the night of mid-autumn by women and children in groups, visiting relatives and neighbours along the way and viewing lanterns and the moon. In Guangfu and southern Fujian (Minnan), the essentials are eating mid-autumn cakes, fried rice, taro and pomelo; the peel is cut and fitted to make lanterns, such lanterns being called pomelo lanterns or 'running horse' lanterns. In Hong Kong, when the ardour of mid-autumn is not yet spent, people revel once more on the night of the sixteenth, called 'chasing the moon' (zhuiyue). In old Taiwanese custom, besides mooncakes there are also such local flavours as moonlight cakes and roast-pork rice cakes.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Mid-Autumn Festival · Mid-Autumn Festival · Mid-Autumn Festival · Mid-Autumn Festival · Mid-Autumn Festival · Mid-Autumn Festival · Mid-Autumn Festival.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a festival second only to the Spring Festival, and its traditional connotations are fading: observances such as moon worship, divination and presenting melons as a blessing for offspring mostly survive in name only, and what remains in daily life is chiefly the recreational part — feasting, moon-gazing and walking the moon. In recent years many places have held lantern fairs, archaeological experiences and displays of traditional costume around the Mid-Autumn Festival, extending the festival into broader public cultural activities.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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