Page 242 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book

A-Z 235
However, autumn is also the time when executions are carried out, as all of nature is
dying. For this reason, the moon was sometimes linked with the execution of criminals,
while the sun symbolised the virtuous. Finally, since the Emperor is associated with
the sun, the moon symbolises the Empress.
The Chinese see a toad or a hare in the moon, but then again a man who is
busy cutting down a cinnamon tree, which promptly grows up again. Emperor Xuan-
cong of the Tang Dynasty is supposed to have been taken up to the moon by a magician
and shown the palaces and the beautiful fairies who live there. From them, Xuan-
cong is said to have learned an unearthly melody, an episode which in expanded form has
provided the material for many stories and plays.
The Moon-palace is called Guang-han (‘Wide coldness’). The ‘Moon-blossom’ or
‘Moon-pearl’ falls from time to time on to the earth, and any woman who swallows it
becomes pregnant. Women’s feet mutilated by binding were much admired in ancient
times, and compared with the beauty of the new moon – as were the eyebrows of
beautiful women. The full moon, on the other hand, symbolised an attractive female
posterior: though the phrase ‘admiring the full moon’ refers to a homosexual’s bottom.
‘The old man under the moon’ has everybody’s records in safe keeping, and from
studying these he can tell which man will marry which woman: marriage is
determined by fate, a theme which underlies many Chinese novels. Given the nature
of the old lunar calendar, it was to be expected that certain numbers – seven,
twelve, thirteen and twenty-eight – should acquire symbolical meaning (see also
Number mysticism).
The extent to which the mid-autumn festival, the moon festival, has changed in
character in recent times can be gauged from reports by two German eye-witnesses: First,
Richard Wilhelm in 1926:

The sacrifice to the moon takes place in the open air on the 15th day of the
8th month. All the fruits which are offered in sacrifice have symbolical
meaning: the gourds express the wish that the family may always
remain united; the pomegranates symbolise many children, the
apples augur peace. The cakes are round in shape like the full moon.

Secondly, Erwin Wickert in 1982:

For dessert, our cook Lao Huo had provided small round cakes which
were very sweet. The Chinese were moved to see these, because today
being the 15th of the 8th month according to the old lunar calendar, was
the day when the moon-feast used to be celebrated. This was one of the
most popular of the Chinese festivals, when people went about in
processions carrying Chinese lanterns. ‘In our village,’ said the Vice-
President of the Academia Sinica, ‘there was a moon-cake society. Every
month, poor families paid ten pence into a fund kept by the baker. He
could use the capital for his own purposes during the year, but on the day
of the moon-feast he had to supply every member of the society with
moon-cakes.’ I asked him if this still went on nowadays. Our guest
replied: ‘No. But you can still get moon-cakes.’