世外之声 | Sara reads Mid-autumn Festival

中秋节 Mid-Autumn Festival

The fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month is the Mid-Autumn Festival, a celebration that focuses on the moon.

每年的农历八月十五是中秋节，这是一个关于月亮的节日。

Enjoying the beauty of the full moon on this day has been a long-standing tradition Chinese custom for centuries.

在这一天欣赏满月是中国人从古至今的习俗。

The West Lake "Three Pools Mirroring the Moon" in Hangzhou East China's Zhejiang province is a great spot to appreciate the full moon.

浙江省杭州市的西湖“三潭印月”是赏月的绝佳地点。

There are three hollow stone towers in the center of the West Lake.

西湖的正中央有三座中空石塔。

On the night of Mid-Autumn Festival, the lights in the tower reflects fifteen "moons" across the surface of the water around the towers.

每当中秋之夜点燃塔内灯光后，塔周围的湖面就倒映出十五个“月亮”。

The true moon and its reflected counterparts are difficult to distinguish giving rise to the name, "Three Pools Mirroring the Moon".

真月假月，其影难辨，“三潭印月”由此得名。

The Chinese loved the moon of the Mid-Autumn Festival so much and even printed the picture of the "Three Pools Mirroring the Moon" on the back of one yuan note.

深爱着中秋圆月的中国人，甚至把三潭印月的奇景印在一元人民币的纸币上。

According to the legend, in ancient times there were ten suns in the sky simultaneously and the strong exposure and extremely hot temperature made people's lives a misery.

相传远古时期，天上有十个太阳同时出现，暴晒和高温使得民不聊生。

A hero named Houyi came along, shot down nine suns and saved the world.

有一名叫后羿的英雄出现，射下了九个太阳，拯救了世界。

To reward his bravery, the Queen Mother gave him an elixir as a reward.

因此王母娘娘赠予他不死神丹以示嘉奖。

Chang'e, Houyi's wife, drank the elixir by accident and became immortal. Since immortals cannot remain in a mortal realm, she had to leave the earth ascended to the moon and could only watch the human world from afar.

嫦娥，后羿的妻子，因误食神丹而羽化成仙，自此不能下凡，她只得飞向月亮，常居月宫之中，遥遥望着人间。

China's "Chang'e Moon Exploration Project" is named after this story.

中国嫦娥探月工程就得名于嫦娥奔月的故事。

On Jan 3, 2019, Chang'e detector No.4 successfully landed on the moon returning the world's first close-range image of the dark side of the moon.

2019 年 1 月 3 日，嫦娥四号探测器成功着陆在月球背面，传回了世界第一张近距离拍摄的月背影像图。

Aside from Spring Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival is the most important festival symbolizing reunion.

除春节之外，中秋节是最重要的团圆节日。

The roundness of the full moon expresses people's desire for a wholesome happy family.

圆圆的月亮寄托了人们对家庭圆满的愿望。

Eating moon cakes is an important custom during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

吃月饼是中秋节的重要习俗。

Due to the different diet habits in different regions, moon cakes vary in taste. Traditional flavours include fillings of five kernel, egg yolk, jujube paste and bean paste.

因各地饮食习俗不同，月饼的口味五花八门，包括传统的五仁、蛋黄、枣泥、豆沙。

Now there are new flavors like ice cream and durian.

如今还演变出冰激凌、榴莲月饼等等。

Although the taste of moon cake is changing, the symbolic meaning of the full moon remains unchanged and the Chinese custom of eating moon cake and longing for reunion during the Mid-Autumn Festival will never fade away.

虽然月饼的口味在变，但团圆的寓意一直未变，中国人吃月饼的习俗和对中秋团圆的期盼也从未改变。

After a short get-together during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Double Ninth Festival, a festival of renewal growth and cherishing the past is just around the corner, led by the old and the wise.

短暂的中秋欢聚之后，将迎来登高怀古的重阳节，这一天的主角是富有智慧的老人们。

文本来自《话说中国节》（Festive China）