The traditional food of the Mid-Autumn Festival is moon cakes. Moon cakes are round, symbolizing reunion and reflecting people's good wishes for reunion with their families. It is said that eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival began in the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, the vast number of people in the Central Plains could not bear the cruel rule of the Yuan Dynasty's ruling class, and they revolted against the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang united various resistance forces to prepare for the uprising. However, the officers and soldiers of the court conducted a very strict search, making it very difficult to convey the news. Military counselor Liu Bowen came up with a plan and ordered his subordinates to hide the note with "uprising on August 15th" in the cakes, and then sent people to deliver it to the insurrectionary armies in various places, informing them to respond to the uprising on the night of August 15th. . On the day of the uprising, all rebel armies responded together, and the insurrectionary army was like a spark igniting a prairie fire.
Soon, Xu Da captured Yuan Dadu and the uprising was successful. When the news came, Zhu Yuanzhang was so happy that he quickly handed down an oral order to let all the soldiers and the people enjoy the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, and to reward the ministers with the "mooncakes" that were used to secretly convey the message when the army was launched as seasonal cakes. Since then, the production of "mooncakes" has become more and more sophisticated, with more varieties, and the large ones are as big as discs, which have become a good gift. From then on, the custom of eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival spread among the people. Many special Mid-Autumn Festival customs have also been formed in some places. In addition to appreciating the moon, offering sacrifices to the moon, and eating moon cakes, there are also fire dragon dances in Hong Kong, pagodas in Anhui, tree Mid-Autumn Festival in Guangzhou, burning pagodas in Jinjiang, watching the moon at Shihu Lake in Suzhou, moon worship by the Dai people, and moon dancing by the Miao people. , Dong people’s moon-stealing vegetables, Gaoshan people’s ball dance, etc. The English spelling is: mooncake.
Later, Zhu Yuanzhang finally overthrew the Yuan Dynasty and became the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Although the Manchu Qing Dynasty later occupied China, people still celebrated this festival that symbolized the overthrow of alien rule. [Edit this paragraph] Related records It is said that in ancient my country, emperors had the ritual system of worshiping the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. Among the people, during the Mid-Autumn Festival in August, there is also the custom of worshiping or offering sacrifices to the moon. "The moon is full on August and fifteenth, and the Mid-Autumn moon cakes are fragrant and sweet." This famous proverb describes the custom of urban and rural people eating moon cakes on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Mooncakes were originally used as sacrifices to worship the moon god. Later, people gradually took the Mid-Autumn moon appreciation and tasting mooncakes as a symbol of family reunion, and gradually mooncakes became festival gifts.
Moon cakes originally originated as a food for the Tang Dynasty army to celebrate victory. During the reign of Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty, General Li Jing conquered the Huns and returned in triumph on August 15th.
At that time, some Turpan people doing business offered cakes to the emperor of the Tang Dynasty to celebrate his victory. The great ancestor Li Yuan took the gorgeous cake box, took out the round cake, pointed at the bright moon in the sky with a smile and said: "You should invite the toad with the Hu cake." After speaking, he distributed the cake to the ministers to eat together.
The word "mooncake" has been found in the book "Old Martial Arts" of the Southern Song Dynasty. It can be seen from the book that mooncakes at that time were steamed. This steamed noodle cake is a must-eat during the Mid-Autumn Festival and is still a popular custom in Shandong, Henan and other places.
The word "mooncake" already exists in Wu Zimu's "Mengliang Lu" of the Southern Song Dynasty, but the description of appreciating the moon and eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival was only recorded in the "West Lake Tour Zhihui" of the Ming Dynasty: "The 15th day of August is called the Mid-Autumn Festival, and people send moon cakes to each other to symbolize reunion." By the Qing Dynasty, there were more records about mooncakes, and their production became more and more sophisticated.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, mooncakes have become a Mid-Autumn Festival delicacy throughout our country. "History of the Ming Dynasty" records that "in August, begonias and hostas were admired in the palace. From the beginning of the year, there were mooncake sellers... By the 15th, every family offered mooncakes, fruits... If there were any leftover mooncakes, they were all sold separately. Collect them in a dry and cool place and share them with the family at the end of the year, which is called 'Reunion Cake'." Shen Bang's "Wanshu Miscellaneous Notes" recorded the customs in Beijing during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty: "Moon cakes are given to the common people in August. The moon cakes are served in different sizes and are called "moon cakes".
Today, moon cakes have become more diverse and have different flavors depending on the region. Moon cakes are widely eaten by people from all over the north and south of my country.
Moon cakes symbolize reunion and are a must-eat during the Mid-Autumn Festival. On the festival night, people also like to eat watermelon and other reunion fruits to pray for their families. Life is happy, sweet and peaceful.
[Edit this paragraph] Moon cake history Moon cakes, also known as Hu cakes, palace cakes, small cakes, moon dumplings, reunion cakes, etc., are offerings to worship the moon god during the Mid-Autumn Festival in ancient times. Passed down, the custom of eating moon cakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival has been formed.
Mooncakes have a long history in our country. According to historical records, as early as the Yin and Zhou dynasties, there was a kind of "Taishi cake" with thin edges and thick heart in Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas to commemorate Taishi Wenzhong. This is the "ancestor" of Chinese mooncakes. When Zhang Qian of the Han Dynasty was on his mission to the Western Regions, he introduced sesame seeds and walnuts to add auxiliary ingredients to the production of moon cakes. At this time, round cakes filled with walnut kernels appeared, called "Hu cakes".
In the Tang Dynasty, there were already private bakers engaged in production, and bakery shops began to appear in Chang'an, the capital. It is said that on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival one year, when Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty and Concubine Yang Guifei were admiring the moon and eating Hu cakes, Emperor Xuanzong thought the name "Hu cakes" was not nice. The name "Mooncake" gradually spread among the people.
On the Mid-Autumn Festival, the royal family of the Northern Song Dynasty liked to eat a kind of "palace cake", which is commonly known as "small cake" and "moon cake" among the people. Su Dongpo has a poem that says: "Small cakes are like chewing the moon, with crispness and joy in the middle."
Zhou Mi, a writer in the Song Dynasty, mentioned "moon cakes" for the first time in "Old Martial Arts", which described what he saw in Lin'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty. name.
In the Ming Dynasty, eating mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival gradually became popular among the people. At that time, the ingenious bakers printed the mythical story of Chang'e flying to the moon as a food art pattern on mooncakes, making mooncakes a must-have food for the Mid-Autumn Festival that is more popular among people.
In the folk, during the Mid-Autumn Festival in August, there is a custom of worshiping or offering sacrifices to the moon. The moon is full on August and fifteenth, and the Mid-Autumn mooncakes are fragrant and sweet. This famous saying goes out
On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, it is the custom of people in urban and rural areas to eat mooncakes. Mooncakes were first used as sacrifices to worship the moon god. Later, people gradually began to appreciate the moon and taste mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival as a symbol of family reunion. Gradually, mooncakes also became festival gifts.