Our Story

Our story starts off with the Jade Emperor, the king of all of the other gods in the heavens. One day, the ten sons of the Jade Emperor transformed themselves into ten suns, scorching and charring the Earth. All of the mortals were suffering under the intense light and heat. There was not enough water for everyone and the farmers' crops all failed to grow.

One day, Hòu Yì (后羿), a renowned archer saw the hardships everyone was going through. He then came down to Earth and shot down the suns one by one with his arrows. In the end, he decided to leave one sun for the mortals on Earth in order to provide sufficient warmth and light. When the Jade Emperor found out that Hòu Yì had killed nine of his ten sons, he was so furious that he stripped him and his wife, Cháng'é, of their immortality and forced them to live on Earth with the mortals. They were devastated as they did not want to face death and wanted to return home to the heavens.

However, Hòu Yì suddenly remembered that Xī Wáng Mǔ (西王母) or the Queen Mother of the West, who was known for causing prosperity and longevity, had an elixir of immortality. Hòu Yì traveled a long and arduous journey to finally meet the Queen Mother and obtain the elixir. But, on his journey, he also learned the troubles that the elixir might bring. If somebody drinks the entire elixir, then he or she will be sent up to the heavens forever. Hòu Yì later returned home to Cháng'é.

One day, a jealous apprentice of Hòu Yì, Féng Méng (逢蒙), arrived at Hòu Yì's house upon hearing that there was an exilir that could grant immortality. Unfortunately, Hòu Yì was out hunting that day. When Féng Méng met face to face with Cháng'é, he demanded she hands the exilir to him. She refused. After a struggle, she realized that the only way out was to drink the exilir herself, and she did. After a while, her body suddenly became light and she started to fly towards the heavens. When Hòu Yì found out, he was heartbroken. However, when Cháng'é was flying towards the heavens, she decided to pick a place where she could be most near her husband and that place was the moon.

It is said that Cháng'é has been living on the moon for the past 4,000 years. Also, on nights when there is a full moon, some people say that they can actually see the beautiful figure of Cháng'é.