The M̶a̶n̶ Bunny in the Moon

10 days of quarantine down, 4 to go! (But who’s counting?)

I started last week off with 3 days of classes. Though the experience of teaching online while they are all in the classroom is certainly not new to me, the experience of doing so while the sun was out was a wonderfully welcome change! I’m now falling asleep at 9:30 pm and waking up around 6:00 am each day — no more need for an eye mask and noise canceller, and no fear that I’ll wake up to go to the bathroom, see the sun, and be unable to fall back asleep! I am so thrilled and thankful. The night shift was not a good look for me.

In drama classes, my kiddos had their final performances of their monologues – their first time really getting up and acting in front of the class. To say I am proud of them would be a gross understatement. They are rockstars. If this is where we are after just finishing our first unit for the year, I cannot wait to see what else they will be able to do – it’s going to be a fun year. Last week, we also had our first rehearsal for our fall play: The Odyssey. We’ve got a cast of 28, a tech team of 12, and only about 15 hours of rehearsal total to put up a show… wish me luck! (Taking bets now – how many hours outside of rehearsal do we think I will spend building puppets for the cyclops and sea monsters?? My guess is… 35?) On Thursday we went on holiday break, so I didn’t (and don’t) have school to keep me occupied any longer in my quarantine prison cell. So I had to get a bit creative and tackle other projects…

My first adventure was: laundry! As I didn’t pack very many clothes, and a majority of what I did pack are my “teacher outfits” (which aren’t quite comfortable enough to lounge around in all day), I pulled out my Wilderness Wash and prepared to wash up my comfy clothes. First obstacle? The stopper in the sink wouldn’t go all the way down. Nice try, Sink – as though I could be defeated by something as small as that. I grabbed my collapsible camping bowl, warmed up some water in the kettle, and set about washing my clothes one tiny bowl at a time! Did my pants fit into that tiny bowl? Not even a little bit! But after a half hour of sloshing around in my sink, I managed to get everything cleaned. My shower was already equipped with a retractable laundry line (truly, the only thing that shower gets points for…) so after my makeshift wash-scrub-rinse conglomeration of bowls and glasses near the sink, I was able to hang everything up to dry. Are my clothes the cleanest they’ve ever been? Certainly not. But when the only other human contact I get is with someone in a hazmat suit taking my temperature twice a day, I think this will do just fine.

Though I haven’t had school the past few days, I have had something new and exciting to learn about here in China: October 1st began the Mid-Autumn Festival (also known as the Moon Festival) and October 1st-7th is China’s National Day/Golden Week. National Day commemorates the day that the People’s Republic of China was formally established – October 1st, 1949. (Sort of like the 4th of July, for my readers from the States!) The National Day celebrations last a full week, and millions of people travel home or go on a vacation for the holidays.

Mid-Autumn Festival does not always fall on the same date as National Day, though it happened to this year. The festival traditionally falls on the 15th day of the 8th month in the Chinese lunar calendar – around the day of the harvest moon – so there is some variation year to year. (It’s “mid-autumn” in the lunar calendar!) This holiday is over 3,000 years old, and began as a ceremony to worship the moon, hoping for a good harvest the following year. It is a time to be with family, and, for some, to honor the moon goddess. Though not necessarily believed to be true anymore, the story of Cháng’é and her journey to the moon is a classic Chinese legend associated with this holiday. So, me being me, I spent approximately 3 hours researching the many different versions of this story that exist. Here’s my best attempt at putting them together for you:

Once every thousand years, the Jade Emperor and the other immortals living up in the heavens must drink an elixir of immortality that grants them their youth for the next thousand years. It is the role of one being to make this medicine for all of the immortals, and so, is a very important job. After being disappointed by the previous elixir maker (long story short, he was caught giving out the elixir to some humans, which was super not cool) the Jade Emperor decided that next to fill the role would not be a human – way too selfish and corrupt – but an animal. He disguised himself as an old beggar and flew down to Earth in search of the most deserving animal. When he landed in a forest, he called out, “Help! Someone, please! I haven’t eaten in days, and I am so hungry.”

A monkey, a fox, and a rabbit heard the (disguised) Jade Emperor’s call, and set out to find him some food. The monkey grabbed fruit from the trees, and brought it to the Jade Emperor. The fox managed to snatch some fish from the river, and gave the Jade Emperor his gift as well. The rabbit, however, was not as lucky. All he could find was grass, and he knew that would not be suitable for a man to eat. (Poor little guy was STRESSED, y’all.) When he came back to the fire that the Jade Emperor and the two other animals were sitting around, the rabbit confessed that he had not been able to find any food to offer. “Because I could not bring you back any food,” the stressed little rabbit said, “please, take my meat and fill your stomach!” With that, the rabbit jumped into the fire and died.

The Jade Emperor was so touched by the rabbit’s selflessness that he revived the rabbit and brought him up to the heavens. The Jade Emperor gave the rabbit a beautiful, white coat, like that of white jade, and so the Jade Rabbit began his new life as an immortal, making the special elixir for the gods. (Talk about an upgrade, eh? )

Meanwhile, down on Earth, a bit of a problem had sprung up. Ten of the Jade Emperor’s sons had decided to turn themselves into suns (typical) and now the Earth was being scorched by the heat of ten suns in the sky all at once. Rivers and oceans dried up, crops were dying, and things were not looking great for our friends the humans. When it seemed like all hope was lost, Hòu Yì, a skilled archer, stepped forward. “Something must be done,” he proclaimed. He strung his bow and, with great skill, shot down sun after sun (or should I say, son after son?) until there was only one sun left in the sky. The people rejoiced, and news spread far and wide of Hòu Yì’s heroic act. One day, news reached the Queen Mother of the West, an ancient and renowned goddess. She wanted to reward Hòu Yì for his bravery, and it was then that the Jade Rabbit received a very important visitor.

The Queen Mother asked the Jade Rabbit for an extra elixir of immortality, as a favor to her. “I’m sorry, but gods and goddesses are only allowed one elixir every thousand years, and so I cannot give you another,” the Jade Rabbit dutifully responded. The Queen Mother was… not thrilled with this answer. After what we can only assume was a show of “do you know who you are speaking to?!” and “refuse me again and see what happens,” the Jade Rabbit finally succumbed and handed over an elixir to the Queen Mother. She thanked him, and left.

When the Queen Mother presented Hòu Yì with her gift, she told him that if he drank this elixir, he would become immortal and live forever in the heavens with the gods. A tempting offer, certainly. But as Hòu Yì returned home, considering what the Queen Mother had said, he knew he could never be happy living somewhere without his wife, Cháng’é. His love for her was greater than his desire to be immortal, and she felt the same way about him, and so Hòu Yì and Cháng’é decided to hide the elixir in their home where no one would ever know about it. No one, that is, except for Féng Méng, a student of Hòu Yì’s who happened to overhear their conversation. (Cue dramatic reveal.)

One day soon after, when Hòu Yì was out hunting, Féng Méng broke into the house and threatened Cháng’é with his sword, demanding that she hand the elixir of immortality over to him. She refused, and Féng Méng charged after her. Cháng’é understood that if she did not act she would be killed, and so, realizing it was her only other option, grabbed the elixir and drank it herself. Immediately, her body grew light and began to float toward the heavens. Just as Hòu Yì was about to make his way home, he looked up to the sky to see his wife being pulled away, and cried out to her in grief. In an attempt to remain as close to Hòu Yì as she could, Cháng’é landed on the moon. If he looked closely, Hòu Yì could just make out her outline as he gazed up at the moon, and each year would bring mooncakes and round fruits to her altar as tokens of his love and devotion.

Meanwhile, the Jade Emperor was not pleased with the Jade Rabbit’s disobedience. (“What part of ‘no more mortals get immortality elixirs don’t you understand?!”) He asked the Jade Rabbit to think of a punishment befitting his mistake. After much thought, the Jade Rabbit replied: since he was ultimately the one responsible for Cháng’é’s being sent to live alone on the moon for eternity, perhaps he could serve a similar sentence and join her there on the moon as her companion. Pleased with this answer, and glad to know that no more immortals would be able to go seeking extra medicine, the Jade Emperor agreed and sent the Jade Rabbit off to join Cháng’é. The two of them live there on the moon together, as they have for the past 4,000 years, and as they will for the rest of time.

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In keeping with the traditions of this myth, during the Mid-Autumn Festival people now gift each other mooncakes and round fruits (the shape of the moon!), just as Hòu Yì first started doing for Cháng’é. In Chinese culture, a round shape symbolizes togetherness, completeness, and reunion; this is a time for families to come together and spend time with one another. (Like Thanksgiving!) Additionally, beautiful lanterns of all shapes and sizes are displayed and released – as beacons to light the way towards good fortune, and, some may say, to let Cháng’é know that we still honor her.

Though my celebrations in quarantine have been limited to my solitary breakfast mooncake (I continue to keep looking out my window for lanterns each evening, but alas, no luck – I’m like freaking Rapunzel over here) I have so enjoyed taking these past few days to learn about this holiday and the traditions surrounding it. And while it may be a bummer that I have to miss out on the festivities this year, I’m closer than I’ve ever been to diving in to my life over here. 4 more days, and I begin. Who knows, maybe next year I’ll be able to light my own lantern and send it off into the night sky, along with a wish for good fortune and a message of gratitude for the goddess and the bunny in the moon.