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How does the Mid-Autumn Festival story of Chang’e end? Was the Chinese moon goddess selfish or selfless?
- There are different versions of the Mid-Autumn Festival legend of how Chang’e, the Chinese moon goddess, ended up on the moon
- Was she a virtuous wife who sacrificed her life on Earth, or a greedy woman who wanted to live forever?
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The tale of Chang’e’s ascent to the moon is one long associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival, but there are many versions of this Chinese legend. Here are two that have been widely told.
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Many moons ago, there were 10 suns in the sky and they took turns travelling across the sky. One day, they decided to rebel and they all came out at once.
The suns scorched the Earth so much that the planet was left in a permanent drought, crops withered and died, humans faced the possibility of dying out completely and there was no evening.
A brave and valiant archer named Hou Yi was called upon by the Emperor of Heaven to save the planet. Raising his bow and arrow to the suns, he shot nine of the suns – leaving one to rise and set – saving the planet and human life.
He was hailed as a hero and the Queen Mother of the West, a goddess also known as Xiwangmu, gifted him the elixir of immortality.
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