There are two legends which claim to explain the tradition of eating
mooncakes.
關(guān)于吃月餅這個(gè)傳統的來(lái)歷有兩個(gè)傳說(shuō)。
One Tang Dynasty myth holds that the Earth once had 10 suns circling it. One
day all 10 suns appeared at once, scorching the planet with their heat. It was
thanks to a skillful archer named Hou Yi that the Earth was saved. He shot down
all but one of the suns.
一個(gè)是唐朝的神話(huà)故事，說(shuō)的是當時(shí)地球被10個(gè)太陽(yáng)包圍著(zhù)。有一天10個(gè)太陽(yáng)同時(shí)出現在天空中，巨大的熱量幾乎把地球烤焦了。多虧一位名叫后羿的神箭手射下了9個(gè)太陽(yáng)，地球才被保住。
As his reward, the Heavenly Queen Mother gave Hou Yi the Elixir of
Immortality, but she warned him that he must use it wisely. Hou Yi ignored her
advice and, corrupted by fame and fortune, became a tyrannical leader.
為了獎勵后羿，王母娘娘賜給后羿一種長(cháng)生不老藥，但是王母警告他必須正當使用。然而后羿沒(méi)有理會(huì )王母娘娘的警告，他被名利沖昏了頭腦，變成了一個(gè)暴君。
Chang-Er, his beautiful wife, could no longer stand by and watch him abuse
his power so she stole his Elixir and fled to the moon to escape his angry
wrath.
后羿美麗的妻子嫦娥對他的暴行再也不能袖手旁觀(guān)，于是她偷走了后羿的長(cháng)生不老藥，飛到月亮上逃避后羿的狂怒。
And thus began the legend of the beautiful woman in the moon, the Moon
Fairy.
從此就有了關(guān)于月宮仙子嫦娥，這個(gè)月亮上的美麗女人的傳說(shuō)。
The second legend has it that during the Yuan Dynasty, an underground group
led by Zhu Yuan Zang was determined to rid the country of Mongolian
dominance.
第二個(gè)傳說(shuō)講的是在元朝，朱元璋領(lǐng)導的起義軍計劃起義來(lái)擺脫蒙古族的統治。
The moon cake was created to carry a secret message. When the cake was opened
and the message read, an uprising was unleashed which successfully routed the
Mongolians.
他們用月餅來(lái)傳遞密信。掰開(kāi)月餅就可以找到里面的密信，起義軍通過(guò)這種方式成功的發(fā)動(dòng)了起義，趕走了元朝的統治者。
It happened at the time of the full moon, which, some say, explains why
mooncakes are eaten at this time.
這場(chǎng)起義發(fā)生在八月十五之時(shí)，于是中秋節吃月餅的習俗便在民間傳開(kāi)來(lái)。
