Hou Yi and Chang'e

The celestial emperor sent Hou Yi, the greatest archer in the world, to solve the crisis. Hou Yi climbed to the top of a mountain, drew his great bow, and fired. His arrows pierced the sky, and one by one, the suns fell. He shot down nine suns, leaving only one to light and warm the earth.

Hou Yi also slew the monsters that had emerged during the disaster. He saved the world — but his solution angered the celestial emperor, who had only wanted his sons to be frightened, not killed. As punishment, Hou Yi and his wife Chang'e were exiled from heaven to live as mortals on earth.

Hou Yi could not bear the thought of mortality. He traveled to the Queen Mother of the West (Xiwangmu) and begged for the Elixir of Immortality. She gave it to him — enough for one person. Hou Yi could not bear to live forever without Chang'e, so he kept the elixir hidden, planning to find a way to obtain a second dose.

While [Hou Yi](/myths/hou-yi-and-change) was away hunting, Chang'e discovered the elixir. In some versions, she was forced to drink it to protect it from Hou Yi's treacherous apprentice Feng Meng. In others, curiosity overcame her. Either way, the moment she swallowed it, she began to float upward, toward the sky.

She tried to grab hold of the furniture, the curtains, the roof — but the pull was irresistible. She rose higher and higher, and chose to land on the moon, the closest celestial body, because it was the nearest to her husband on earth. There she remains, beautiful, immortal, and alone, in the Guanghan Palace.

When [Hou Yi](/gods/hou-yi) returned and found his wife gone, he looked up at the full moon and saw her shadow. He set up an altar with her favorite foods — mooncakes, fruits, sweet osmanthus wine — and offered them to the moon. This became the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Today, the [Mid-Autumn](/folklore/mid-autumn-festival) Festival (15th day of the 8th lunar month) is the second most important holiday in Chinese culture. Families gather under the full moon, eat mooncakes, and remember [Chang'e](/gods/change) — a woman whose story is about the impossible choice between love and [immortal](/gods/buddha-shakyamuni)ity.

Primary classical texts: Shanhaijing (山海经, Classic of Mountains and Seas, c. 4th-2nd century BCE) · Fengshen Yanyi (封神演义, Investiture of the Gods, c. 16th century) · Journey to the West (西游记, Xiyouji, c. 16th century) · Records of the Grand Historian (史记, Shiji, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE) · Classic of Mountains and Seas commentary (郭璞注 Shanhaijing, c. 4th century) · Bamboo Annals (竹书纪年, c. 4th century BCE onwards)

Classical translations: Legge, James (trans.). The Sacred Books of the East (1879-1910, 50 volumes covering Chinese classics) · Girardot, Norman J. Myth and Meaning in Early Taoism (University of California Press, 1983) · Werner, E.T.C. A Dictionary of Chinese Mythology (Shanghai: Kelly & Walsh, 1932)

Modern academic references: Birrell, Anne. Chinese Mythology: An Introduction (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993) · Yang, Lihui, and Deming An. Handbook of Chinese Mythology (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005) · Strassberg, Richard E. A Chinese Bestiary: Strange Creatures from the Guideways Through Mountains and Seas (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002)

Digital encyclopedias and online resources: Wikipedia — Chinese mythology portal (continuously updated, citations to primary sources) · Encyclopedia Britannica — Mythology and Religion section