Chang'e - Goddess of the Moon
What a moving story. It tells of the fate of Chang'e, the moon goddess and niece of the sky god. Her husband Houyi was also immortal, a bold god of war whose arrows never missed their target.
Back then, in the early days of human history, the earth was in a terrible state and barely habitable. Wild animals and poisonous snakes roamed everywhere, terrorizing the inhabitants. The situation was so dire that the god of heaven decided to send his best archer, Houyi, to Earth to restore peace and tranquility.
Houyi was horrified when he arrived with his wife Chang'e. It was worse than he had imagined in his worst fantasies. Dead bodies of humans and animals lay everywhere, and no sooner had the two deities set foot on solid ground than they were attacked by an oversized olive-green lizard that lashed out menacingly with its poisonous tail. Without hesitation, Houyi reached for his bow, took an arrow from his large quiver, and killed the monster with a well-aimed shot to the heart.
It didn't take long for Houyi to bring the situation on Earth under complete control. He was about to end his mission when ten suns appeared in the sky at the same time. They were actually the sons of the King of Heaven, who, out of pure boredom and youthful exuberance, wanted to really “heat up” the earth. An unbearable heat developed on earth. All the plants dried up, forests and grain fields went up in flames, and people and animals died en masse from dehydration and overheating.
When Houyi saw this, he tried to mediate with the sons of heaven to get them to stop their evil game. Only when it became obvious that they would not see reason did he, out of pity for the tormented creatures, reach for his bow and shoot nine arrows into the sky one after the other. One sun after another went out and disappeared from the sky. Only when the last sun surrendered and confessed its guilt did the archer cease firing.
Enraged by the sacrilege against his sons, the King of Heaven then cast a spell on the two deities Houyi and Chang'e, denying them access to the heavenly gate for all eternity. “Those who value life on Earth above the sons of Heaven do not deserve to live among my kind,” he roared, beside himself with indignation. “I banish you to earthly life for eternity!”
At first, the two seemed to appreciate the beautiful days on the planet, which was awakening to new life. Soon, however, Chang'e began to miss her divine friends and supernatural prosperity. Her homesickness for the heavenly world tormented her heart so much that she increasingly showered her husband with heavy reproaches. After all, it was his fault that they had to lead such a desolate existence here in exile.
Houyi loved his Chang'e very much. He felt guilty for his wife's emotional suffering and began to look for ways to break the spell and return to heaven. After weeks of unsuccessful searching, he met an old man who told him about the goddess Xi Wangmu. She lived in the Kunlun Mountains and possessed great magical powers and extensive medical knowledge.
“It is said that she has developed a medicine that can be used to ascend to heaven,” whispered the old man. Houyi did not hesitate: he set out on foot on the long and arduous journey to the western Kunlun Mountains. The goddess Xi Wangmu received him with great kindness and invited him to a banquet.
Moved by his story, she gladly agreed to give him the medicine. She had originally developed it for herself, but now felt so happy in her beloved Kunlun Mountains that she would probably never again wish to ascend to heaven. “However, the drops are only enough for one person,” Xi Wangmu said regretfully. “You will have to think carefully about whether you want to live on Earth without your Chang'e. Unfortunately, I cannot make any more drops because I have forgotten the recipe.”
In order not to offend the goddess, Houyi accepted the gift, but decided never to tell his wife about the medicine. He did not want to lose his beloved wife under any circumstances. Back home, he hid the small bottle in a cupboard that only he used and told his wife that he had not found the goddess's castle.
Chang'e suspected that her husband was hiding something from her. She couldn't stand it and rummaged through all her husband's boxes and cupboards. Finally, she held the mysterious bottle with Xi Wangmu's inscription in her hand.
She loved her husband Houyi very much, but her curiosity and longing for the sky were so great that, after some hesitation, she took the drops. After a short time, she was overcome by a feeling of lightness. It didn't take long before she lifted off the ground and began to ascend into the sky.
The pain was great when Houyi returned home and found only the empty bottle with the drops from the Kunlun Mountains. He knew that he would probably never see his Chang'e again. Since he loved her very much and did not want to endanger her with his arrows, he refrained from attacking the sky and lived in deep mourning over the loss of his beloved wife.
It did not take long for word to spread throughout the heavens that Chang'e had returned to her heavenly palace.
It was inevitable that the King of Heaven would also hear about it. Although he had imposed the ban primarily on her husband, he was outraged by Chang'e's unauthorized and imperious return to heaven. As punishment, he decreed her eternal banishment to the moon. Chang'e had to move to the uninhabited moon, where she lived in deep solitude in the Guanghan Palace.
Her only companion was a small rabbit who cooked her food and prepared her medicine. She often thought back to the happy days with her husband. She was always particularly sad when the moonlight shone especially brightly around the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. She would then sit next to her little rabbit on a moonstone and cry bitter tears.
October 2016
What a moving story. It tells of the fate of Chang'e, the moon goddess and niece of the sky god. Her husband Houyi was also immortal, a bold god of war whose arrows never missed their target.
Back then, in the early days of human history, the earth was in a terrible state and barely habitable. Wild animals and poisonous snakes roamed everywhere, terrorizing the inhabitants. The situation was so dire that the god of heaven decided to send his best archer, Houyi, to Earth to restore peace and tranquility.
Houyi was horrified when he arrived with his wife Chang'e. It was worse than he had imagined in his worst fantasies. Dead bodies of humans and animals lay everywhere, and no sooner had the two deities set foot on solid ground than they were attacked by an oversized olive-green lizard that lashed out menacingly with its poisonous tail. Without hesitation, Houyi reached for his bow, took an arrow from his large quiver, and killed the monster with a well-aimed shot to the heart.
It didn't take long for Houyi to bring the situation on Earth under complete control. He was about to end his mission when ten suns appeared in the sky at the same time. They were actually the sons of the King of Heaven, who, out of pure boredom and youthful exuberance, wanted to really “heat up” the earth. An unbearable heat developed on earth. All the plants dried up, forests and grain fields went up in flames, and people and animals died en masse from dehydration and overheating.
When Houyi saw this, he tried to mediate with the sons of heaven to get them to stop their evil game. Only when it became obvious that they would not see reason did he, out of pity for the tormented creatures, reach for his bow and shoot nine arrows into the sky one after the other. One sun after another went out and disappeared from the sky. Only when the last sun surrendered and confessed its guilt did the archer cease firing.
Enraged by the sacrilege against his sons, the King of Heaven then cast a spell on the two deities Houyi and Chang'e, denying them access to the heavenly gate for all eternity. “Those who value life on Earth above the sons of Heaven do not deserve to live among my kind,” he roared, beside himself with indignation. “I banish you to earthly life for eternity!”
At first, the two seemed to appreciate the beautiful days on the planet, which was awakening to new life. Soon, however, Chang'e began to miss her divine friends and supernatural prosperity. Her homesickness for the heavenly world tormented her heart so much that she increasingly showered her husband with heavy reproaches. After all, it was his fault that they had to lead such a desolate existence here in exile.
Houyi loved his Chang'e very much. He felt guilty for his wife's emotional suffering and began to look for ways to break the spell and return to heaven. After weeks of unsuccessful searching, he met an old man who told him about the goddess Xi Wangmu. She lived in the Kunlun Mountains and possessed great magical powers and extensive medical knowledge.
“It is said that she has developed a medicine that can be used to ascend to heaven,” whispered the old man. Houyi did not hesitate: he set out on foot on the long and arduous journey to the western Kunlun Mountains. The goddess Xi Wangmu received him with great kindness and invited him to a banquet.
Moved by his story, she gladly agreed to give him the medicine. She had originally developed it for herself, but now felt so happy in her beloved Kunlun Mountains that she would probably never again wish to ascend to heaven. “However, the drops are only enough for one person,” Xi Wangmu said regretfully. “You will have to think carefully about whether you want to live on Earth without your Chang'e. Unfortunately, I cannot make any more drops because I have forgotten the recipe.”
In order not to offend the goddess, Houyi accepted the gift, but decided never to tell his wife about the medicine. He did not want to lose his beloved wife under any circumstances. Back home, he hid the small bottle in a cupboard that only he used and told his wife that he had not found the goddess's castle.
Chang'e suspected that her husband was hiding something from her. She couldn't stand it and rummaged through all her husband's boxes and cupboards. Finally, she held the mysterious bottle with Xi Wangmu's inscription in her hand.
She loved her husband Houyi very much, but her curiosity and longing for the sky were so great that, after some hesitation, she took the drops. After a short time, she was overcome by a feeling of lightness. It didn't take long before she lifted off the ground and began to ascend into the sky.
The pain was great when Houyi returned home and found only the empty bottle with the drops from the Kunlun Mountains. He knew that he would probably never see his Chang'e again. Since he loved her very much and did not want to endanger her with his arrows, he refrained from attacking the sky and lived in deep mourning over the loss of his beloved wife.
It did not take long for word to spread throughout the heavens that Chang'e had returned to her heavenly palace.
It was inevitable that the King of Heaven would also hear about it. Although he had imposed the ban primarily on her husband, he was outraged by Chang'e's unauthorized and imperious return to heaven. As punishment, he decreed her eternal banishment to the moon. Chang'e had to move to the uninhabited moon, where she lived in deep solitude in the Guanghan Palace.
Her only companion was a small rabbit who cooked her food and prepared her medicine. She often thought back to the happy days with her husband. She was always particularly sad when the moonlight shone especially brightly around the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. She would then sit next to her little rabbit on a moonstone and cry bitter tears.
October 2016