The Story of Changé & Hou Yi

Long, long ago, there were 10 suns in the sky. The suns burnt all the plants on Earth. People were dying. One day, Hou Yi used his bow and arrows to shoot down nine of them. All the people on Earth were saved.

The Queen Mother of the West gave Hou Yi a bottle of elixir that could make him immortal. But the elixir was only for one person. Although Hou Yi did want to become immortal, he wanted to stay with Chang'e more. Therefore, he didn't drink the elixir and asked Chang'e to keep it safe for him.

Hou Yi became more and more famous after he shot down the nine suns. People wanted him to be their master and most of them were accepted by Hou Yi.

Not every student of Hou Yi had good morality. Pang Meng, one such student, wanted to seize his elixir.

One day, Hou Yi went hunting with his students, but Pang Meng pretended to be ill and stay at home. After making sure Hou Yi had gone, he went to Hou Yi's house and tried to force Chang'e to give him the elixir. Chang'e knew she couldn't defeat Pang Meng, so she drank the elixir immediately.

The elixir made her fly higher and higher. In the end, she stopped on the moon. She became immortal.

Hou Yi was heartbroken when he was told what had happened to Chang'e. He shouted to the sky and surprisingly discovered the moon was extremely bright that night. He caught sight of a swaying figure that was exactly like Chang'e. Then he displayed the fruits and cakes that Chang'e had enjoyed to convey to Chang'e that he missed her.

Since then, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, people have offered fruits and mooncakes to worship the moon.

The Story of Chang e and Hou Yi :

illustrated by Fay,

Learn More at

Leeton Mooncake Festival

21 September 2024

4.00 pm - 8.00 pm

Mountford Park

Leeton NSW 2705