{"id":12943,"date":"2019-11-15T14:19:40","date_gmt":"2019-11-15T14:19:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/chinese-literature-2\/moon-festival-origin-and-poem-zhong-qiu-jie\/"},"modified":"2019-11-15T14:19:40","modified_gmt":"2019-11-15T14:19:40","slug":"moon-festival-origin-and-poem-zhong-qiu-jie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/th\/moon-festival-origin-and-poem-zhong-qiu-jie\/","title":{"rendered":"Moon Festival: Origin and Poem \u4e2d\u79cb\u8282"},"content":{"rendered":"
Moon Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival<\/p>\n

This Sunday, September 14 will be the lunar calendar Mid-Autumn Festival in Chinese tradition. There are many classic poems a<\/em>bout the moon from Chinese poets for thousands of years. Do you know which is the most popular one? I’ll let you know following a brief intriduction a<\/em>bout the festival. ChineseHour is very happy to share the happy hours of the Moon Festival with our Chinese learners, and wish you would have a good day at the festival, a good taste of the moon cake and a good taste of Chinese learning too.<\/p>\n

j\u01d4 tóu wàng míngyuè
\u4e3e  \u5934  \u671b   \u660e \u6708\uff0c
I gaze upwards toward the moon in the skies,
d\u012b tóu s\u012b gùxi\u0101ng
\u4f4e \u5934  \u601d  \u6545 \u4e61\u3002
And downwards look when a nostalgia does arise.<\/p>\n

míngyuè j\u01d0shí y\u01d2u
\u660e \u6708   \u51e0\u65f6  \u6709\uff0c
Bright moon, when was your birth?
b\u01ce ji\u01d4 wèn q\u012bngti\u0101n
\u628a \u9152  \u95ee  \u9752 \u5929\u3002
Winecup in hand, I ask the deep blue sky.<\/p>\n

It is now the eighth mo<\/em>nth in the lunar calendar, the time for the Chinese to celebrate the Mid-Autumn festival. It is so called because it is in the middle of the eighth month, which is a full moon. We used to celebrate the full moon by fruit, moon cake, and children played their lanterns with neighbor.<\/p>\n

On the 15th day of the 8th mo<\/em>nth of the lunar calendar the moon is full and it is time for the Chinese people to mark their Moon Festival, or the Mid-Autumn Festival. The round shape symbolizes family reunio. Therefore the day is a holiday for family members to get together and enjoy the full moon – an auspicious token of abundance, harmony and luck.<\/p>\n

Sons and daughters will come back to their parents’ house. Sometimes people who have already settled overseas will return to visit their parents on that day. Adults will usually indulge in fragrant moon cakes of many varieties with a good cup of piping hot Chinese tea, while the little o<\/em>nes run around with their brightly-lit lanterns. After nightfall, entire families go out under the stars for a walk or picnics, looking up at the full silver moon, thinking of their nearby relatives or friends, as well as those who are far from home. A line from a verse “The moon at the home village is exceptio<\/em>nally brighter” expresses those feelings. It is also a romantic night for the lovers, who sit holding hands on riverbanks and park benches, enraptured by the brightest moon of the year.<\/p>\n

Round “moon cakes”, made of fruit, ice cream, yogurt, pork, mushrooms, green tea, flowers, jelly etc., are a traditio<\/em>nal food eaten during the festival. People also enjoy pomelos on this day; yu, the Chinese word for pomelo, sounds the same as another Chinese word to beseech the moon god for protection.<\/p>\n

“\u6c34\u8c03\u6b4c\u5934 Shui diao ge tou” is the most popular poem a<\/em>bout the moon and the moon festival. It is primarily recommended in the Chinese school textbooks and most students can memorize it without missing a word.<\/p>\n

\u6c34\u8c03\u6b4c\u5934 The Moon Festival  (\u82cf\u8f7c Su shi)
–
   <\/p>\n

Also, you may  click here to listen to the pop song of the poem.
 –
\u660e\u6708\u51e0\u65f6\u6709\uff0c      míngyuè j\u01d0shí y\u01d2u
\u628a\u9152\u95ee\u9752\u5929\u3002      b\u01ce ji\u01d4 wèn q\u012bngti\u0101n
\u4e0d\u77e5\u5929\u4e0a\u5bab\u9619\uff0c   bùzh\u012b ti\u0101nshàng g\u014dngquè
\u4eca\u5915\u662f\u4f55\u5e74\uff1f      j\u012bnx\u012b shì hé nián
\u6211\u6b32\u4e58\u98ce\u5f52\u53bb\uff0c   w\u01d2 yù chéngf\u0113ng gu\u012bqù
\u53c8\u6050\u743c\u697c\u7389\u5b87\uff0c   yòu k\u01d2ng qiónglóu yùy\u01d4
\u9ad8\u5904\u4e0d\u80dc\u5bd2\u3002      g\u0101ochù bú sh\u0113ng hán
\u8d77\u821e\u5f04\u6e05\u5f71\uff0c      q\u01d0w\u01d4 nòng q\u012bng y\u01d0ng
\u4f55\u4f3c\u5728\u4eba\u95f4\uff01      hé sì zài rénji\u0101n
 
\u8f6c\u6731\u9601\uff0c\u4f4e\u7eee\u6237\uff0c\u7167\u65e0\u7720\u3002zhu\u01cen zh\u016bgé, d\u012b q\u01d0 hù, zhào wúmián
\u4e0d\u5e94\u6709\u6068\uff0c             bù y\u012bng y\u01d2u hèn
\u4f55\u4e8b\u957f\u5411\u522b\u65f6\u5706\uff1f    héshì chángxiàng bié shí yuán
\u4eba\u6709\u60b2\u6b22\u79bb\u5408\uff0c       rén y\u01d2u b\u0113ihu\u0101n líhé
\u6708\u6709\u9634\u6674\u5706\u7f3a\uff0c       yuè y\u01d2u y\u012bnqíng yuánqu\u0113
\u6b64\u4e8b\u53e4\u96be\u5168\u3002          c\u01d0 shì g\u01d4 nán quán
\u4f46\u613f\u4eba\u957f\u4e45\uff0c          dànyuàn rén chángji\u01d4
\u5343\u91cc\u5171\u5a75\u5a1f\u3002          qi\u0101nl\u01d0 gòng chánju\u0101n<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

Bright moon, when was your birth?
Winecup in hand, I ask the deep blue sky;
Not knowing what year it is tonight
In those celestial palaces on high. I long to fly back one the wind,
Yet dread those crystal towers, those courts of jade,
Freezing to death among those icy heights!
Instead I rise to dance with my pale shadow;
Better off, after all, in the world of men.<\/p>\n

Rounding the red pavilion,
Stooping to look through gauze windows,
She shines on the sleepless.
The moon should know no sadness;
Why, then, is she always full when dear o<\/em>nes are parted?
For men the grief of parting, joy of reunio,
Just as the moon wanes and waxes, is bright or dim:
Always some flaw-and so it has been since of old.
My one wish for you, is long life
And a share in this loveliness far, far away!
<\/div>\n