The Mid-Autumn Festival, a festival with rich historical and cultural heritage, is like a bright pearl, embedded in the magnificent treasure house of Chinese civilization. Whenever the golden autumn is cool and the moon is empty, the family will gather together to spend the festival together. On that warm night, the family sat around, laughing, admiring the picturesque moonlight and tasting the endless taste of moon cakes. There are different opinions about the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Some believe that it is derived from the "seasonal solar terms". The word "Mid-Autumn Festival" first appeared in the "Zhou Li", referring to the middle month of autumn. In the Wei and Jin dynasties, the folk had the custom of admiring the moon in the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Book of Jin and the Relics of Kaiyuan both left records about the Mid-Autumn Festival and the moon, and with the passage of time, this custom gradually flourished and became a lively scene for people to celebrate the festival. 
Another view is that the Mid-Autumn Festival is closely linked to the mythical story of "Emperor Tang Ming's Tour to the Moon Palace". Legend has it that Emperor Tang Ming once dreamed of traveling to the Moon Palace, and the Taoist priest Luo Gongyuan used magic to help him realize his wish. Later, this story was compiled into popular ** by literati and widely circulated among the people. Tang's "Relics of Kaiyuan" also has a record of the Mid-Autumn Festival moon appreciation, which was imitated by the government and the people, and gradually formed the custom of the Mid-Autumn Festival moon appreciation. However, some people questioned the statement that "Emperor Tang Ming visited the Moon Palace", thinking that it might be a fabrication by curious people or a false rumor by palace people. There is also a view that the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival is closely related to the myth of "Chang'e running to the moon". In ancient times, the heat of the ten suns dried up the earth, and the hero Hou Yi shot down nine suns, becoming famous all over the world. Hou Yi's wife Chang'e is beautiful and kind, and in order to save the people, she swallowed the elixir and flew to the Moon Palace. Hou Yi was in great pain when he learned about it, and the people followed his example and set up an offering table, offering Chang'e's favorite fruits, and offering sacrifices to Chang'e. Since then, people have designated this day as the Mid-Autumn Festival. These beautiful myths and stories are not historical, but they add a lot of fun to our festival. 
On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, mooncakes, as a must-have food, have an irreplaceable status. The earliest moon cakes appeared in the Southern Song Dynasty's "Menglianglu", but at that time they were just cake-shaped foods like rhombic cakes. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, moon cakes began to prevail and were endowed with the meaning of reunion. There are many theories about the origin of moon cakes, among which a story from the late Yuan Dynasty is widely circulated: the imperial court forbade the use of iron tools among the people, and also stipulated that ten families shared a kitchen knife and a soldier. Zhang Shicheng, a Gaoyou man, took advantage of the opportunity of the Mid-Autumn Festival to exchange wheat cakes, and put a small note in the cake, agreeing to revolt on the night of August 15. On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, all families broke the wheat cake and saw the note, and they revolted against the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty. Since then, people have eaten mooncakes every Mid-Autumn Festival to commemorate this struggle. Another theory is that Li Shimin, Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, received richly decorated round cakes from Tibetan merchants during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and then distributed the round cakes to the ministers to eat. Later, this round cake became popular and evolved into the current mooncake. Search Topic Full Time Challenge December