Soon, Xu Da captured the capital of Yuan Dynasty, and the uprising was successful. When the news came, Zhu Yuanzhang was so happy that he quickly gave a message that all the soldiers would have fun with the people in the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, and he would give the "moon cakes" that were sent in secret when he started fighting that year as seasonal cakes to his ministers. Since then, the production of "moon cakes" has become more and more elaborate, with more varieties, such as discs, and has become a good gift. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the custom of eating moon cakes spread among the people. Some places have also formed many special Mid-Autumn Festival customs. Besides enjoying the moon, offering sacrifices to the moon and eating moon cakes, there are Hong Kong's dancing dragon, Anhui's piling pagoda, Guangzhou's Mid-Autumn Festival, Jinjiang's burning tower boy, Suzhou Shihu's watching the moon, Dai's Yue Bai, Miao's jumping on the moon, Dong's stealing moon dishes and Gaoshan's holding dance. The English spelling is: mooncake.
Later, Zhu Yuanzhang finally overthrew the Yuan Dynasty and became the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Although Manchu occupied China later, people still celebrated this festival symbolizing the overthrow of alien rule. [Edit this paragraph] Relevant records According to legend, in ancient China, emperors had the ritual of offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and the moon in autumn. In the folk, every Mid-Autumn Festival in August, there are also customs about Yue Bai or offering sacrifices to the moon. The famous proverb "The moon is full on August 15th, and the moon cakes in Mid-Autumn Festival are sweet and fragrant" tells the custom of urban and rural people eating moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival night. At first, mooncakes were used as sacrifices to the moon god. Later, people gradually regarded the Mid-Autumn Festival as a symbol of family reunion, and gradually mooncakes became holiday gifts.
moon cakes originally originated from the food for celebrating the victory of the Tang army. During Tang Gaozu's reign, General Li Jing conquered the Huns and returned home in triumph on August 15th.
At that time, Turpan people who were doing business presented cakes to the emperor of the Tang Dynasty to celebrate his victory. Gao Zu Li Yuan took the gorgeous cake box, took out the round cakes, smiled at the bright moon in the sky and said, "We should invite toads with Hu cakes.". After that, share the cake with the ministers.
The word "moon cake" was found in the book Old Stories of Wulin in the Southern Song Dynasty. According to the book, the moon cakes at that time were steamed. As a must-eat product in Mid-Autumn Festival, this kind of steamed bread in cages is still a popular custom in Shandong, Henan and other places.
The word "moon cake" has been used in Wu Zimu's book "Dream of the Liang" in the Southern Song Dynasty. However, the description of enjoying the moon and eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival was only recorded in the West Lake Touring Society in the Ming Dynasty: "August 15th is called the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the people take the meaning of reunion with moon cakes". By the Qing Dynasty, there were more records about moon cakes, and the production became more and more elaborate.
In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, moon cakes have become the Mid-Autumn Festival delicacies in all parts of China. "History of Ming Palace" contains "In August, begonia and Hosta flowers were enjoyed in the palace. From the first day, there were mooncake sellers ... until the fifteenth day, every family provided mooncakes and fruits ... If there were any leftover mooncakes, they were collected in a dry and cool place and shared by the family at the end of the year, which was also called' reunion cakes'. " Shen Bang's Miscellaneous Notes of Wan Department describes the customs in Beijing during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, saying: "Mooncakes are given in August, and ordinary furniture is given with mooncakes of different sizes, which are called' mooncakes'.
With the development of moon cakes, there are more varieties and different flavors in different places. Among them, Beijing-style, Soviet-style, Guangdong-style and Chaozhou-style moon cakes are widely enjoyed by people all over China.
Moon cakes symbolize reunion and are a must-eat item in the Mid-Autumn Festival. On the night of the festival, people also like to eat some reunion fruits such as watermelons, and wish their families a happy, sweet and safe life. [Edit this paragraph] Moon cakes Historical moon cakes, also known as Hu cakes, palace cakes, small cakes, moon cakes, reunion cakes, etc., are offerings to worship the moon god in the ancient Mid-Autumn Festival, and they have been handed down from time to time, forming the custom of eating moon cakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Moon cakes have a long history in China. According to historical records, as early as the Yin and Zhou Dynasties, there was a kind of "Taishi cake" in memory of Taishi Wen Zhong, which was the "ancestor" of moon cakes in China. When Zhang Qian was sent to the Western Regions in the Han Dynasty, sesame seeds and walnuts were introduced, which added auxiliary materials to the production of moon cakes. At this time, a round cake filled with walnuts appeared, which was called "Hu cake".
In the Tang Dynasty, there were already bakers engaged in production among the people, and there were also bakeries in Chang 'an, the capital. It is said that one year in the Mid-Autumn Festival, when Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei enjoyed the moon and ate Hu Bing, Tang Xuanzong thought the name of Hu Bing was not nice. Yang Guifei looked up at the bright moon and felt a surge of emotion, and casually came up with "moon cake". Since then, the name of "moon cake" has gradually spread among the people.
The royal Mid-Autumn Festival in the Northern Song Dynasty likes to eat a kind of "palace cake", which is commonly known as "small cake" and "moon group" among the people. Su Dongpo has a poem: "A small cake is like chewing the moon, and there is crisp and pleasant in it."
The writers of the Song Dynasty were thorough, and they first mentioned the name of "moon cake" in Old Wulin, which narrated the experiences of Lin 'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty.
in the Ming dynasty, eating moon cakes in the mid-autumn festival gradually spread among the people. At that time, ingenious bakers printed the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon's fairy tales on mooncakes as food art drawings, making mooncakes a necessary food for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
among the people, every Mid-Autumn Festival in August, there is a custom of Yue Bai or offering sacrifices to the moon. On August 15th, the moon is full, and Mid-Autumn moon cakes are fragrant and sweet. This famous saying tells the custom of people in urban and rural areas eating moon cakes on Mid-Autumn night. Mooncakes are mostly used as sacrifices to the moon god. Later, people gradually regarded the Mid-Autumn Festival as a symbol of family reunion, and gradually mooncakes became holiday gifts.