會員專享Mid-Autumn Festival: The Chinese Culture of the Moon

The Mid-Autumn Festival is often associated with mooncakes, family reunions, and the full moon. But these traditions did not emerge at the same time.

In this lesson, Mr. He traces the cultural history of the Mid-Autumn Festival—from ancient seasonal rites and Tang-dynasty moon viewing to the establishment of the festival in the Song dynasty and its later association with family reunion.

Along the way, we explore the traditions of jì yuè 祭月 (offering to the moon), shǎng yuè 賞月 (admiring the moon), and yǒng yuè 詠月 (writing poetry about the moon), as well as the cultural meanings behind mooncakes, osmanthus, Chang’e, Wu Gang, and other lunar imagery.

The lesson concludes with one of the most enduring expressions of the Chinese culture of the moon: Su Shi’s Shuǐ Diào Gē Tóu 水調歌頭, including an introduction to the traditional Chinese practice of wén dú 文讀—the literary recitation of classical poetry.

Through ritual, reunion, mythology, and poetry, the moon became far more than a celestial object in Chinese culture. It became an image of fullness, harmony, longing, and connection across distance.

HECHINESE Substack:
https://wenyanwen201609.substack.com/

Chapters

00:00 What “Mid-Autumn” Originally Meant
03:11 From Ancient Rites to Moon Viewing
12:15 Reunion, Mooncakes, and the Meaning of Roundness
29:12 Chang’e, Wu Gang, and Lunar Imagery
39:30 The Moon in Chinese Poetry: Li Bai and Su Shi