5 Chang’e & Hou Yi

A Couple Important to Chinese Culture

In China, Chang’e, a pretty young girl, was a household name for her legendary story of flying toward the moon. For thousands of years, she stayed lonely at the Broad & Chilly Palace in the moon accompanied only by a white rabbit and a golden frog. In recent decades, China has launched series of moon-probing satellites “Chang’e 1” and “Chang’e 2” …, which were after the pretty girl’s name. Chang’e was a daughter of a leader of a prehistoric clan community, and married Houyi, a brave warrior of a neighboring community. By then, there were ten suns in the sky, radiating lights all day and night, scorching all species of plants in fields, mountains and valleys. On seeing people’s disaster, Houyi held out and drew his bow targeting at the sky and shooting arrows at the suns. He consecutively shot down nine suns with nine shootings, and left single one. Ever since, people could grow crops and enjoy happy life. Houyi afterward became the leader of his tribe.

Houyi once got a kind of mysterious immortal drug from the Wang Fairy Mother staying at Yaotai Palace over the West Heaven. He kept the drug in the room. One day, when Houyi was absent, Chang’e, out of curiosity, took stealthily the drug and ate it. When Houyi returned home, he saw his wife suddenly elevate from the garden, and fly slowly and directly toward the moon. The couple since then had to separate with each other, one on the earth, the other over the heaven.