奇速英语

Long long ago, there were ten suns in the sky. The extreme heat burned the earth, turning crops into ashes. People’s lives were threatened. This was when Houyi appeared. Though it was tough, he climbed to the top of Mount Kunlun without hesitation. He aimed his bow and arrow up to the suns, leaving only one to bring warmth. He earned deep respect and affection. To reward him, the Queen Mother of the West presented him with the elixir (长生不老药) which could make him become an immortal (神仙) and live forever. Houyi was unwilling to leave his beautiful wife Chang’e behind so he gave the elixir to her to keep. 
The legend of Houyi was known far and wide. Many people came to learn from him and became his disciples (追随者). One of the disciples was Pang Meng. He learned about the elixir by chance and decided to steal it. One day, while Houyi was out, Pang Meng broke into their house, forcing Chang’e to hand over the elixir. Chang’e had no other choice but to take the elixir out. But she did not want the bad person to live forever, so she swallowed it herself. Her feet rose from the ground and carried her slowly upward into the sky. Missing her husband, she finally managed to make her home on the moon, which was the closest to the earth.
When Houyi returned home, he could not find his wife. Looking up at the moon, he saw Chang’e standing on the moon, looking into his eyes lovingly. Houyi called out her name, longing to fly to the moon too.   But no matter what he did, he could never fly there. The brokenhearted man set out her favorite food and kept praying, hoping that fate could somehow bring his wife back to him again. 
Moved by his sincere devotion, the Queen Mother of the West allowed them to meet once a year on August 15 of the Chinese lunar calendar, when the moon is at its fullest. The loving couple’s annual meeting since then has been observed as a festival for family reunions — Mid-Autumn Festival.
The festival’s origin is closely associated with the moon, as are the customs.