Chang’e (in simplified Chinese 嫦娥) is actually the wife of Hou Yi, the hero who shot down 9 suns in the sky. In fact, after Hou Yi shot down the suns and became the hero, he was chosen to be the leader of the country. During the first few years of Hou Yi’s governance, people got a good life and the country could have a peaceful development and was quite prosperous. However, after decades of governance, Hou Yi changed and he became a dictator. He refused to give out power to other people and he would like to life forever and become the leader of the country forever, therefore, he tried to steal some special medicines from the Queen of the West.

This medicine could actually help people get rid of death, that means with the medicine, Hou Yi could live forever. However, Chang’e witnessed the bad behavior of her husband and she knew that if Hou Yi became long live, it would not be good for all the people because the present Hou Yi was no longer the heroic Hou Yi who bravely shot down the suns. Therefore, she stole the medicine and Hou Yi discovered it and chased Chang’e for the medicine. All in a sudden, Chang’e took all the medicines and she discovered that her body was lighter and lighter and she gradually left the land and flew to the sky. In Chinese legend, Chang’e flew to the moon and therefore, she met a rabbit. Therefore, till now, some people think that shadows in the moon are actually the shadow of Chang’e as well as the moon rabbit.

As Chang’e stole all the medicines, Hou Yi also could not live forever and therefore, soon after Chang’e left him, Hou Yi died.

Of course, this is just one of the most famous legends of ancient China and there are also a lot of more interesting and dramatic myths and legends from ancient Chinese. These legends add a lot of ideas to present storytellers of China and some directors even use these legends to create a lot of movies and dramas.

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Filed under: Ancient China • Chinese Mythology

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