嫦娥奔月　(cháng é bēn yuè)

Restless Chang’e Flees

After the God of Archery, Houyi, shot down nine suns who were actually the sons of the God of the Eastern Heaven, he and his wife Chang’e were banished from the heaven to live on earth as mortals.

While Houyi went out every day to hunt, Chang’e stayed at home and took care of the house chores.

As years went by, Chang’e could no longer stand the harsh life they led as mortals and she began to continually complain to her husband.

Houyi felt extremely guilty that his wife, originally a fairy lady living in the heaven, now had to live on earth as a mortal just because he had offended the God of the Eastern Heaven by killing nine of his 10 sons.

So, he decided to travel the world to find the elixir of life that could transform them into immortals again.

He trudged thousands of kilometers through deep forests and perilous marshlands and eventually he came to Kunlun Mountain where the Queen Mother of the West resided.

The Queen Mother had the elixir of life but she would only give Houyi one pill, the dose for just one person to become immortal.

Houyi didn’t want to leave his wife behind, nor did he want to live on the earth alone. Therefore, when he returned home, he hid the pill in a wooden case.

But Chang’e found the pill when her husband was away one day. She was extremely curious about the pill and wondered for a long time what to do about it. But when she heard her husband coming home, she hurriedly swallowed the pill.

Immediately, she started to float toward the sky. Houyi was grieved to see Chang’e flying alone to the heaven but he didn’t have the heart to use his magic arrow to shoot her down.

Meanwhile, Chang’e panicked. She didn’t know where to go. She didn’t dare go back to the heaven where she used to live for fear that all the gods there would reprimand her for betraying her husband.

In a hurry she flew to relocate to the moon but Chang’e found it was almost totally deserted.

There was only one jade rabbit, who was making elixir all the time, and an old man who kept cutting a tree that always instantly grew back.

Although Chang’e became an immortal again, she could not leave the moon and live with her husband any more. Looking back on the happy days she spent with Houyi, she became remorseful for what she had done. But it was too late.

Back on earth, Houyi continued to make a living by hunting. Eventually he taught a group of students about archery.

One of his students was particularly talented, but he was also very ambitious. He wanted to be the best archer in the world and second to none. So, one day, he sneaked to the back of his master and shot him dead.

Chang’e later became known as the lonely “Goddess of the Moon.”