| Chang'e, Ch'ang-O, or Chang-Ngo Chang'e is considered the Chinese complement to the Western notion of a man in the moon. |
Goddesses of the World
| Every September, when the moon is full and at its brilliant, the Chinese enjoy a moon festival, the celebration is held in honor of women. It also honors Chang-o , the moon goddess, who is believed to live on the moon with a white rabbit. People bake special, round treats called "moon cakes". As they eat them, they are reminded of the magic potion of immortality that transformed Chang-o into the queen of the moon. Before Chang-o became a moon goddess, she lived among the other gods and goddess with her husband, Yi, the divine archer. But when Yi shot nine suns out of the sky, leaving only one to warm the earth, the unlucky couple were stripped of their immortality and force to live among humans. Chang-o was dismay. She begged her husband to go and seek the potion of immortality from the goddess Hsi Wang Mu, who made it from magickal peaches. Hsi Wang Mu was sympathetic, so she gave Yi enough for them to become immortal but not enough for them to become god and goddess again. When Yi returned, Chang-o was delighted by his success. But yi did not want to drink the potion straight away, instead he told his wife to watch over it while he went hunting. As time passed Chang-o became more and more agitated. Then she had an idea. If she drank Yi's potion as well as her own, perhaps she would become a goddess again. After all, she reasoned, she was not the one who had shot down the suns, so why should she be punished? Too tempted to resist, she drank the entire potion. Soon Chang-o felt herself becoming lighter and lighter, and she floated towards the heavens. Before she knew it, she was on the moon, once again a beautiful goddess, but unable to leave because of her weightlessness. Though Yi was angry at first with Chang-o, he did love her and quickly forgave her. To make her more comfortable on the cold moon, he built her a magnificent palace out of fragrant cinnamon wood. But Yi can only visit his wife once a month on the night of the new moon. |
