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生词(shēngcí) Vocabulary:
后羿(Hòu Yì): n a hero's name
嫦娥(Cháng É): n a fairy's name
尊敬(zūnjìng): v to respect or admire
奸诈(jiānzhà): adj treacherous
心术不正(xīnshùbúzhèng): adj to harbor evil intentions
当机立断(dāngjīlìduàn): v to decide without any hesitation; to make a prompt decision
赏月(shǎngyuè): v to appreciate the moon
八月十五月儿明呀，
Bā yuè shí wǔ yuè ér míng ya,
The moon is bright during Mid-Autumn Festival,
爷爷为我打月饼呀。
Yéye wèi wǒ dǎ yuèbǐng ya.
Grandpa makes moon cake for me.
月饼圆圆甜又香啊，
Yuèbǐng yuányuán tián yòu xiāng ā,
The moon cake is round and delicious,
一块月饼一片情啊。
Yí kuài yuèbǐng yí piàn qíng ā.
Every piece of moon cake shows Grandpa's love for me.
爷爷是个老红军哪，
Yéye shì gè lǎo hóngjūn na,
Grandpa is an old Red Army soldier,
爷爷待我亲又亲哪。
Yéye dài wǒ qīn yòu qīn na.
He is nice to me.
我为爷爷唱歌谣啊，
Wǒ wèi yéye chàng gē yáo ā,
I sing songs to him
献给爷爷一片心哪。
Xiàn gěi yéye yí piàn xīn na.
To show my heart for him.
Moon cake comes from the Yuan Dynasty. During that time, people would not stand the cruel domination taking place, so many people staged uprisings to fight against the Yuan Dynasty rulers. Zhu Yuanzhang, the most prominent one, united all the people to start the uprisings. Unfortunately, government soldiers checked correspondences so strictly that it was hard for him to deliver messages to his fellow rebels. Soon the leader had a good idea: to hide messages in a cake to inform his people. Finally the uprising succeeded, and Zhu Yuanzhang designated the "message cake" as the main food in the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival. From then on, moon cake has always played an important role in the festival's celebrations.
Everyone will eat moon cakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Moon cake is the most traditional and important food in this holiday. It is round in shape, signifying family reunions and best wishes. That's why people in China buy and send moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival. There are all kinds of moon cakes to choose from, and those hailing from Beijing, Suzhou, and Guangdong tend to be most popular. What's especially important in moon cakes is the filling. The traditional fillings are sweetened bean paste, sesame, sugar and others. But now there are new fillings being invented all the time.
Modern Style Moon Cake
Recently, the concept of moon cake has been updated to incorporate better into our lives today. Let's hear about some new styles of moon cake:
冰淇淋月饼(bīngqílín yuèbǐng) Ice Cream Moon Cake
Ice cream moon cake is made completely of ice cream, and made to look just like moon cake. Although the festival happens in mid-autumn, the weather often stays fairly warm, so many people enjoy eating ice cream moon cake—especially kids.
保健月饼(bǎojiàn yuèbǐng) Health Food Moon Cake
Health food moon cake is a style of cake that is meant to benefit people's health. It is made of many healthy ingredients such as ginseng, calcium, medicated food and other things that are good for health.
纳凉月饼(nàliáng yuèbǐng) Naliang Moon Cake
This is the latest creation of moon cake. Its fillings are made with lily, green bean or tea. All of them have a cooling effect on the body.
生词(shēngcí) Vocabulary:
冰淇淋(bīngqílín): n ice cream
保健(bǎojiàn): n health food; health care
纳凉(nàliáng): v to enjoy a cool weather
tōucài qiúláng) is to steal vegetables to court men. A single woman will wear a new dress and go to her Mr. Right's garden to steal green Chinese onion or other vegetables under the moonlight. A successful theft heralds a happy marriage.
Chinese Greetings on Mid–Autumn Festival
1. 月亮代表我的心，月饼代表我的情，愿你幸福永健康，好运财运长伴你！中秋快乐！
Yuèliang dàibiǎo wǒ de xīn, yuèbǐng dàibiǎo wǒ de qíng, yuàn nǐ xìngfú yǒng jiànkāng, hǎoyùn cáiyùn cháng bàn nǐ! Zhōngqiū kuàilè!
The moon represents my heart, and these moon cakes represent my love. I wish you health and happiness forever, good luck and wealth be with you forever! Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!
2. 中秋佳节到，祝福不迟到，祝您月圆，人圆，事事圆；好花，好景，好事连。
Zhōngqiū jiājié dào, zhùfú bù chídào, zhù nín yuè yuán, rén yuán, shìshì yuán; hǎohuā, hǎojǐng, hǎoshì lián.
The Mid-Autumn Festival has come, and festival greetings follow close behind. I hope you can enjoy the full moon, a reunion with your family, smooth sailing, good flowers, good times, and good things following you.
生词(shēngcí) Vocabulary:
团圆饭(tuányuánfàn): n family reunion dinner on an important festival like Mid-Autumn Festival or the Spring
Festival
家常(jiācháng): n the daily life of a family; domestic trivia
短信(duǎnxìn): n short message; text message
偷菜求郎(tōucài qiúláng): n to steal vegetables to court men, the custom of an ethnic group called Dong in Taiwan on Mid-Autumn Festival
This poem is the most famous Mid-Autumn Festival poem. The author wrote it for his brother, whom he missed dearly after not having seen him for seven years. There are two sentences in the poem that are often quoted by people now. 人有悲欢离合, 月有阴晴圆缺, 此事古难全. (Rén yǒu bēihuānlíhé, yuè yǒu yīnqíngyuánquē, cǐshì gǔ nán quán.) has a philosophical connotation. It tells people that not everything is perfect, and we should learn to endure ordeals. 但愿人长久, 千里共婵娟. (Dànyuàn rén chángjiǔ, qiānlǐ gòng chánjuān.) is a famous sentence of blessing during a time of reunion. It expresses blessings of health and relationships to others. It is one of the many poems of the Song Dynasty that has also been made into beautiful songs.
明月几时有，把酒问青天。
Míngyuè jǐshí yǒu, bǎjiǔ wèn qīngtiān.
How long until the full moon appears? Wine cup in hand, I ask the sky.
不知天上宫阙，今夕是何年？
Bù zhī tiānshàng gōngquè, jīnxī shì hénián?
I do not know what time of year. It could be tonight in the palace on high.
我欲乘风归去，惟恐琼楼玉宇，高处不胜寒。
Wǒ yù chéngfēng guīqù, wéikǒng qiónglóuyùyǔ, gāochù bú shèng hán.
Riding the wind, there I would fly, yet I'm afraid the crystalline palace would be too high and cold for me.
起舞弄清影，何似在人间！
Qǐwǔ nòng qīngyǐng, hé sì zài rénjiān!
I rise and dance, with my shadow I play. It is like on the earth!
转朱阁，低绮户，照无眠。
Zhuǎn zhūgé, dī qǐhù, zhào wúmián.
The moon goes round the red mansions through gauze-draped windows, soft to shed
her light upon the sleepless bed.
不应有恨，何事长向别时圆？
Bù yīng yǒu hèn, héshì cháng xiàng bié shí yuán?
Why then when people are apart, is the moon oft full and bright?
人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全。
Rén yǒu bēihuānlíhé, yuè yǒu yīnqíngyuánquē, cǐshì gǔ nán quán.
People have sorrow and joy, they separate or meet again; the moon is bright or dim and the moon may wax or wane. There has not been anything perfect since the olden days.
但愿人长久，千里共婵娟。
Dànyuàn rén chángjiǔ, qiānlǐ gòng chánjuān.
So let us wish that people live as long as they can! Though miles apart, we'll share the beauty they display.
生词(shēngcí) Vocabulary:
几时(jǐshí): adv when
把酒(bǎjiǔ): v to hold a glass of liquor
不胜(búshèng): v cannot stand or bear
弄(nòng): v to play and enjoy
朱(zhū): adj red
婵娟(chánjuān): n the beautiful things
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