英文话中秋

The Beautiful Myth about the Mid-Autumn Festival

(one of many versions)

关于中秋节的美丽神话

In the ancient past, there was a hero named Hou Yi who was excellent at archery. His wife was Chang'e. One year, the ten suns rose in the sky together, causing great disaster to the people. Hou Yi shot down nine of the suns and left only one to provide light. An immortal admired Hou Yi and sent him the elixir of immortality. Hou Yi did not want to leave Chang'e and be immortal without her, so he let Chang'e keep the elixir. However, Pang Meng, one of his apprentices, knew this secret. So, on the fifteenth of August in the Chinese lunar calendar, when Hou Yi went hunting, Pang Meng broke into Hou Yi's house and forced Chang'e to give the elixir to him. Chang'e refused to do so. Instead, she swallowed it and flew into the sky. Since she loved her husband and hoped to live nearby, she chose the moon for her residence. When Hou Yi came back and learned what had happened, he felt so sad that he displayed the fruits and cakes Chang'e liked in the yard and gave sacrifices to his wife. when people learned of this story, they burnt incense on a long altar and prayed to Chang ‘e, now the goddess of the moon, for luck and safety. The custom of praying to the moon on Mid-Autumn Day has been handed down for thousands of years since that time.

在古代，有个名叫后羿的英雄，擅长射箭。他的妻子是嫦娥。有一年，十个太阳同时升起，给人们带来了巨大的灾难。后羿射下了九个太阳，只留下一个用来照明。一位仙人很欣赏后羿，送给了他长生不老的灵药。后羿不想离开嫦娥而独自成仙，所以他让嫦娥保管着长生不老药。然而，他的一个徒弟逄蒙知道了这个秘密。在中国农历八月十五，当后羿去打猎时，逄蒙破门而入，强迫嫦娥把长生不老药交给他。嫦娥拒绝了。相反，她把药吞了下去，飞上了天空。由于她对丈夫的爱，因此她希望能住在丈夫的附近，于是她选择了月亮作为她的住所。后羿回来后得知了事情的经过，感到非常难过，他在院子里摆上了嫦娥喜欢的水果和糕点，并为他的妻子献祭。当人们知道这个故事后，便在一个长长的祭坛上焚香，祈求月亮女神嫦娥好运平安。于是在中秋节向月亮祈祷的习俗从那时起就流传了几千年。