Traditional Chinese legend, retold in simple Mandarin
Chang'e and the Moon
嫦娥奔月
Chang'e and the Moon (嫦娥奔月, Cháng'é bēn yuè) is a Chinese legend, retold in simple Mandarin as a 3-chapter story with audio for learners at about HSK 3 (Intermediate).
The legend behind the Mid-Autumn Festival: an archer who shoots down nine suns, an elixir meant for only one, and a wife who chooses the moon to keep it from a thief.
Meet the voices
- Narrator · 旁白 — Tells the story families share under the full moon each autumn.
- Chang'e · 嫦娥 — Hou Yi's wife — gentle, clever, and braver than anyone expects.
- Hou Yi · 后羿 — The finest archer in the world, and a man who wants only one thing to last forever.
- Peng Meng · 蓬蒙 — One of Hou Yi's students. Something in his eyes is never quite right.
- The Neighbor · 大娘 — An older woman next door who sees what happens in Hou Yi's courtyard, and who misses a son far from home.
3 chapters, one journey
Chapter 1: Ten Suns
十个太阳
Ten suns are burning up the earth. An archer takes up his great red bow, and soon he holds a gift meant for only one person.
Free to read
Chapter 2: The Elixir
不死药
It's the night of the full moon, and Hou Yi is away. Peng Meng comes for the elixir, and Chang'e has one terrible choice to make.
Free to read
Chapter 3: When the Moon Is Closest
月亮最近的时候
A year later, Hou Yi sets a table under the full moon. Chang'e watches from above, a neighbor asks who it's for, and something new begins.
Free to read
Key words in Chang'e and the Moon
Behind the story
Chang'e flying to the moon (嫦娥奔月) is the legend behind the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节), on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, when families eat mooncakes and look at the full moon together.
It begins with another famous myth, Hou Yi shooting down the suns (后羿射日). There are many versions. Ours follows the best-loved one, where Chang'e swallows the elixir to keep it from a thief.
Did you know?
- China's moon missions are named after her. Their rovers are called Yutu (玉兔), the Jade Rabbit who lives with Chang'e on the moon.
- In 2019, Chang'e 4 made the first ever landing on the far side of the moon.
- The laurel tree on the moon belongs to Wu Gang (吴刚), who must chop at it forever while it keeps growing back.