Mid Autumn Day 2019 Shunstone 

“Zhong Qiu Jie”, which is also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. It is a time for family members and loved ones to congregate and enjoy the full moon – an auspicious symbol of abundance, harmony and luck. Adults will usually indulge in fragrant moon-cakes of many varieties with a good cup of piping hot Chinese tea, while the little ones run around with their brightly-lit lanterns.

“Zhong Qiu Jie” probably began as a harvest festival. The festival was later given a mythological flavor with legends of Chang-Er, the beautiful lady in the moon.

According to Chinese mythology, the earth once had 10 suns circling over it. One day, all 10 suns appeared together, scorching the earth with their heat. The earth was saved when a strong archer, Hou Yi, succeeded in shooting down 9 of the suns. Yi stole the elixir of life to save the people from his tyrannical rule, but his wife, Chang-E drank it. Thus started the legend of the lady in the moon to whom young Chinese girls would pray at the Mid-Autumn Festival.

In the 14th century, the eating of moon-cakes at “Zhong Qiu Jie” was given a new significance. The story goes that when Zhu Yuan Zhang was plotting to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty started by the Mongolians, the rebels hid their messages in the Mid-Autumn moon-cakes. Zhong Qiu Jie is hence also a commemoration of the overthrow of the Mongolians by the Han people.

During the Yuan Dynasty (A.D.1206-1368) China was ruled by the Mongolian people. Leaders from the preceding Sung Dynasty(A.D.960-1279) were unhappy at submitting to foreign rule, and set how to coordinate the rebellion without it being discovered. The leaders of the rebellion, knowing that the Moon Festival was drawing near, ordered the making of special cakes. Packed into each moon-cake was a message with the outline of the attack. On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government. What followed was the establishment of the Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644). Today, moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this event.

Mid-Autumn Day is a traditional festival in China. Almost everyone likes to eat moon-cakes on that day. Most families have a dinner together to celebrate the festival. A saying goes, “The moon in your hometown is almost always the brightest and roundest”. Many people who live far away from homes want to go back to have a family reunion. How happy it is to enjoy the moon cakes while watching the full moon with your family members.

Mooncake gambling （厦门博饼英文介绍)

All the “Bo Bing” game requires are six dice and a china bowl. Just throw the dice into the bowl – and the different pips you get stand for different ranks of awards you will win.

The gambling game has six ranks of awards, which are named as the winners in ancient imperial examinations.
From the lowest to the highest, the titles of six ranks are

Xiucai (the one who passed the examination at the county level),

Juren (a successful candidate at the provincial level),

Jinshi (a successful candidate , in the highest imperial examination),

Tanhua,

Bangyan

and Zhuangyuan (respectively, the number three to number one winners in the imperial examination at the presence,of the emperor
Game players throw the dice by turns.
The game has something to do with the number “four.” In mooncake gambling, the pips for most ranks of the awards are related to this number.
For instance, one die of four pips wins you “Xiucai”. And if you get four or more dice of four pips, then congratulations – you win “Zhuangyuan.”  Different pips牌点mean different “title” and will get a relevant prizes.
The lucky player who gets the pips to make it the title of “Zhuangyuan,” will be the biggest winner in the game, and gain the best prize. Only one player will win the lucky title “Zhuangyuan.”

Xiamen people believe that the person who wins “Zhuangyuan” in the game, will have good luck that year. And the Mid-Autumn Festival is the second important holiday in Xiamen besides Spring Festival.
Nowadays, the mooncakes are not the only kind of award. With the upgrade of people’s living standards, daily necessities household appliances and even money can also be won.

Ivy Miss from Shunstone , 2019 Zhuangyuan In Shunstone !