Mooncake (simplified Chinese: 月饼; traditional Chinese: 月餅; pinyin: yuè bĭng) is a
Chinese bakery product traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival / Zhongqiu
Festival. The festival is for lunar worship and moon watching; mooncakes are regarded
as an indispensable delicacy on this occasion. Mooncakes are offered between friends or
on family gatherings while celebrating the festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of
the four most important Chinese festivals.
Typical mooncakes are round or rectangular pastries, measuring about 10 cm in diameter
and 4–5 cm thick. A thick filling usually made from lotus seed paste is surrounded by a
relatively thin (2–3 mm) crust and may contain yolks from salted duck eggs. Mooncakes
are usually eaten in small wedges accompanied by Chinese tea. Today, it is customary for
businessmen and families to present them to their clients or relatives as presents, helping
to fuel a demand for high-end mooncake styles. Mooncake calorie intake can vary with
the filling and size. The average moon cake is within the calorie range of 800 to 1200
(0.8–1.2 C).
History
Mid-Autumn Festival
The festival is intricately linked to the legends of Chang E, the mythical Moon Goddess of
Immortality. According to "Li-Ji", an ancient Chinese book recording customs and
ceremonies, the Chinese Emperor should offer sacrifices to the sun in spring and the moon
in autumn. The 15th day of the 8th lunar month is the day called "Mid-Autumn". The night
on the 15th of the 8th lunar month is also called "Night of the Moon". Under the Song
Dynasty (420), the day was officially declared for Mid-Autumn Festival.
Because of its central role in the Mid-Autumn festival, mooncakes remained popular even in
recent years. For many, mooncakes form a central part of the Mid-Autumn festival
experience such that it is now commonly known as‘Mooncake Festival'.
Ming revolution
There is a folk tale about the overthrow of Mongol rule facilitated by messages smuggled in
moon cakes.
Mooncakes were used as a medium by the Ming revolutionaries in their espionage effort to
secretly distribute letters in order to overthrow the Mongolian rulers of China in the Yuan
dynasty. The idea is said to be conceived by Zhu Yuanzhang (朱元璋) and his advisor Liu
Bowen (刘伯温), who circulated a rumor that a deadly plague was spreading and the only
way to prevent it was to eat special mooncakes. This prompted the quick distribution of
mooncakes, which were used to hide a secret message coordinating the Han Chinese revolt
on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month.
Another method of hiding the message was printed in the surface of mooncakes as a
simple puzzle or mosaic. In order to read the encrypted message, each of the four
mooncakes packaged together must be cut into four parts each. The 16 pieces of
mooncake, must then be pieced together in such a fashion that the secret messages
can be read. The pieces of mooncake are then eaten to destroy the message
* 月饼的种类 yuè bǐng de zhǒnglèi：The kind of mooncake
* 五仁 wǔ rén: five nuts
* 双黄白莲蓉 shuāng huáng bái lián róng: white lotus seed paste with double egg yolk
* 豆沙 dòu shā: bean paste
* 蛋黄 dànhuáng: Golden Yolk
* 火腿 huǒtuǐ： Ham
* 冰皮 bīng pí: snowy mooncakes
