Jenny Yu
Dr. Lauren Holt
English Second Language
Feb.4th, 2014
When the night falls, will you miss your family? When the round moon rises, will you think of moon cakes? When Mid-Autumn comes, will you be looking forward to reunion with your family? I will. I believe all Chinese people who are distant from their families will, because this is our traditional culture. The Moon Cake Festival, also called The Mid-Autumn Festival, is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth month by all Chinese people. Traditionally, all family members and relatives will gather together, giving and eating moon cakes and enjoying beautiful night views with the round moon. The moon cake, which symbolizes reunion and blessing, has been associated with Chinese traditional culture---the union of people’s spirits in order to achieve love and harmony. Its distinctive appearance, internal deeper meaning towards families and relatives, and its allusion to Chinese old folklore of unity make moon cakes the most powerful representative of Chinese traditional cultural food.
In its external appearance, the moon cake is made into the shape of the moon---a round shape--- transmitting the message of love and harmony from the giver to the receiver. The roundness signifies reunion, in which the pronunciation of “roundness” in Chinese is similar to the pronunciation of “reunion”. On Rangan Datta’s public website, she makes briefly describes moon cakes: “The moon cakes come with a wide variety of rich filling, consisting of lotus seed and sweet bean paste…Some moon cakes even contain intricate Chinese calligraphy, mentioning the name of the bakery and the filling, engraved on its outer surface.” The sweetness of the moon cake symbolizes love. Its uniqueness is shown by engraving different words on the surface of each moon cake. Besides the name of the bakery and the filling, people use Chinese calligraphy to engrave blessing words such as “Wealth,” “Caring”, “Harmony,” and “Happiness” on the outer surface of moon cake. These words contain deep blessings which convey love and harmony to the person who receives the moon cakes. In her journal article called “A Comparative Study of Sino-US Festival Culture,” Lü Jing-xia indicates that: “To celebrate the festival, people send moon cakes to their relatives and friends as gifts in expression of their best wishes to them” (127). In this sense, the moon cake effectively reflects a close relationship between the giver and the receiver.
Dr. Lauren Holt
English Second Language
Feb.4th, 2014
When the night falls, will you miss your family? When the round moon rises, will you think of moon cakes? When Mid-Autumn comes, will you be looking forward to reunion with your family? I will. I believe all Chinese people who are distant from their families will, because this is our traditional culture. The Moon Cake Festival, also called The Mid-Autumn Festival, is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth month by all Chinese people. Traditionally, all family members and relatives will gather together, giving and eating moon cakes and enjoying beautiful night views with the round moon. The moon cake, which symbolizes reunion and blessing, has been associated with Chinese traditional culture---the union of people’s spirits in order to achieve love and harmony. Its distinctive appearance, internal deeper meaning towards families and relatives, and its allusion to Chinese old folklore of unity make moon cakes the most powerful representative of Chinese traditional cultural food.
In its external appearance, the moon cake is made into the shape of the moon---a round shape--- transmitting the message of love and harmony from the giver to the receiver. The roundness signifies reunion, in which the pronunciation of “roundness” in Chinese is similar to the pronunciation of “reunion”. On Rangan Datta’s public website, she makes briefly describes moon cakes: “The moon cakes come with a wide variety of rich filling, consisting of lotus seed and sweet bean paste…Some moon cakes even contain intricate Chinese calligraphy, mentioning the name of the bakery and the filling, engraved on its outer surface.” The sweetness of the moon cake symbolizes love. Its uniqueness is shown by engraving different words on the surface of each moon cake. Besides the name of the bakery and the filling, people use Chinese calligraphy to engrave blessing words such as “Wealth,” “Caring”, “Harmony,” and “Happiness” on the outer surface of moon cake. These words contain deep blessings which convey love and harmony to the person who receives the moon cakes. In her journal article called “A Comparative Study of Sino-US Festival Culture,” Lü Jing-xia indicates that: “To celebrate the festival, people send moon cakes to their relatives and friends as gifts in expression of their best wishes to them” (127). In this sense, the moon cake effectively reflects a close relationship between the giver and the receiver.
From its outer appearance, the moon cake
has been given deeper meanings in terms of nostalgia. As Lü Jing-xia writes in
her article: “The roundedness of the cake
symbolizes the full moon, which gives rise to the person who is far away from
home a desire of reunion, especially the reunion with one’s sweetheart. ‘Being
together with the beloved ones when the moon is full, at least sharing the
moment of appreciating the moon on the festival day’ is the hope of those who
are away from home” (128). The moon cake reminds
people of the full moon because of their similar shapes. Closely associated
with the full moon, the moon cake has the power to
evoke a feeling of nostalgia and a desire of reunion, because people hope to
gather together and celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with their families. Chinese
people who are distant from their families usually are much more sentimental
when seeing moon cakes. Li Bai, a Chinese poet during Tang dynasty, has written
a famous poem called “Thoughts in the Silent Night” to demonstrate his
homesickness while away from his home town ( “Mid-Autumn Festival Poems” ). Because
the moon cake stands for reunion, and people who are far away from home have
only a few chances to reunite each year. It is especially depressing when some
people cannot go back home and enjoy the moon and the moon cakes with their
families on the Mid-Autumn Festival. They lose the chance to share happiness
and feel the connected spirit with their families.
Another meaning given to the moon cake is related to the celebration of harvest. “Second, mid-autumn is at the end of the harvest season. Farmers have just finished gathering in their crops and bringing in fruits from the orchards. It is a time for people to see their harvest and to relax from busy farming work” (Lü, 127). Besides reunion, there is another purpose for people, especially farmers, to gather together and eat moon cakes on the Mid-Autumn Festival, sharing the happiness of harvest. The moon cake is like a medium that spreads happiness. People eat moon cakes and enjoy the union of their spirits, which is closely attached to the coming harvest. That moment is filled with harmony.
Another meaning given to the moon cake is related to the celebration of harvest. “Second, mid-autumn is at the end of the harvest season. Farmers have just finished gathering in their crops and bringing in fruits from the orchards. It is a time for people to see their harvest and to relax from busy farming work” (Lü, 127). Besides reunion, there is another purpose for people, especially farmers, to gather together and eat moon cakes on the Mid-Autumn Festival, sharing the happiness of harvest. The moon cake is like a medium that spreads happiness. People eat moon cakes and enjoy the union of their spirits, which is closely attached to the coming harvest. That moment is filled with harmony.
Finally, the moon cake alludes
to two ancient Chinese legends which further connect the moon cake to the
concepts of unity and blessing and strengthen moon cake’s association with
Chinese culture. Amy Ma introduces the first tale in her publication titled “Mooncake.”
In the tale, moon cakes become an important tool that notifies Han Chinese
rebels to prepare for a revolt which ended the cruel Mongol-led Yuan dynasty
(Ma). The moon cake was so traditional that people everywhere used moon cakes
for gifting and worship; therefore, the smart leader of the rebels, General Zhu
Yuan Chang, recognized the great utility of moon cake in transferring important
messages to all the underground rebels while beguiling the Mongols’ eyes. As a
result, all the underground rebels successfully received the command to kill
the Mongols after they saw the hidden notes underneath the moon cake skins.
Those underground rebels originally might have never thought about this killing
command by their leader until they ate the moon cakes. It then led to a well-prepared
and successful rebellion. Without the fog created by the moon cake, Han Chinese
rebels could have never ended the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. It is the moon cake
which acts as a herald to reunite Han Chinese people’s rebellious spirit so as
to achieve one goal, harmony brought by the end of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty.
Consequently, the moon cake is regarded by Chinese people as a hero and occupies
important position in their minds.
In addition, the moon cake demonstrates respect and love for Luna, a goddess on the moon, which is illustrated by the second tale called “The Myth of Chang E.” In the story, in order to stop a greedy person’s robbery for an elixir, Chang E is forced to swallow it and ascends to the moon becoming Luna. (Yang, 263-264). This is a beautifully sad story. Due to a bad person’s greedy behavior, Chang E gets separated from her husband and lives alone on the moon. So people lay out some tables with moon cakes and pray for their kindhearted Luna to get peace and harmony. By praying for Chang E using moon cakes, people demonstrate their hope to make her feel that she is not alone. The incorporation of this event into Chinese traditional culture also shows people’s determination to believe in Luna forever and that Chinese people will never abandon her. The moon cake unites people’s spirits---hoping Chang E could live in peace and harmony on the moon. It embodies people’s love and blessings for her. People wish to use the moon cake as a medium to deliver to Luna the message that she will be remembered. The importance of love and harmony to Chinese people elevates the moon cake to the most typical Chinese cultural food.
In addition, the moon cake demonstrates respect and love for Luna, a goddess on the moon, which is illustrated by the second tale called “The Myth of Chang E.” In the story, in order to stop a greedy person’s robbery for an elixir, Chang E is forced to swallow it and ascends to the moon becoming Luna. (Yang, 263-264). This is a beautifully sad story. Due to a bad person’s greedy behavior, Chang E gets separated from her husband and lives alone on the moon. So people lay out some tables with moon cakes and pray for their kindhearted Luna to get peace and harmony. By praying for Chang E using moon cakes, people demonstrate their hope to make her feel that she is not alone. The incorporation of this event into Chinese traditional culture also shows people’s determination to believe in Luna forever and that Chinese people will never abandon her. The moon cake unites people’s spirits---hoping Chang E could live in peace and harmony on the moon. It embodies people’s love and blessings for her. People wish to use the moon cake as a medium to deliver to Luna the message that she will be remembered. The importance of love and harmony to Chinese people elevates the moon cake to the most typical Chinese cultural food.
In
conclusion, the moon cake is seen as a symbol for reunion and blessing. In
Chinese traditional culture, the moon cake has been closely related to the
union of man's spirit in terms of its external appearance, its deeper meanings of nostalgia and harvest, and its
different functions in two Chinese old folklores. Chinese people value the moon
cake as the most powerful representative of Chinese traditional cultural food
because of its strong cultural background. However, today, moon cake is not
only eaten on the Mid-Autumn Festival, but also has become a popular pastry
which people eat at anytime. The importance of the moon cake to Chinese people
has largely increased. Fuchsia Dunlop, an award-winning food writer, believes
that “What we eat is an essential part of who we are and how we define
ourselves” (13). By largely enhancing moon cake production and consumption, we
Chinese people attempt to emphasize the ideology of reunion and blessing and
make it an essential part of our daily lives. We define ourselves as human
beings who value reunion and blessing, love and harmony.
Work Cited
Datta, Rangan. “Chinese Moon Cake.” Rangan Datta. Wordpress. 12 Feb. 2014. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
Dunlop, Fuchsia. Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2008. Print.
Lü, Jing-xia. “A Comparative Study of Sino-US Festival Culture.” Canadian Social Science. Vol. 6, No. 3. (2010): 125-132. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
Ma, Amy. "Mooncake The folklore behind China's seasonal pastries." The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 24 Sep. 2009. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
“Mid-Autumn Festival Poems.” China Highlights. n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2014.
Yang, Lemei. "China's Mid-Autumn Day." Journal of Folklore Research. Vol. 43, No.3.September-December (2006): 263-270. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
Work Cited
Datta, Rangan. “Chinese Moon Cake.” Rangan Datta. Wordpress. 12 Feb. 2014. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
Dunlop, Fuchsia. Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-Sour Memoir of Eating in China. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2008. Print.
Lü, Jing-xia. “A Comparative Study of Sino-US Festival Culture.” Canadian Social Science. Vol. 6, No. 3. (2010): 125-132. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
Ma, Amy. "Mooncake The folklore behind China's seasonal pastries." The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 24 Sep. 2009. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
“Mid-Autumn Festival Poems.” China Highlights. n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2014.
Yang, Lemei. "China's Mid-Autumn Day." Journal of Folklore Research. Vol. 43, No.3.September-December (2006): 263-270. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.