Moon bathes festival in its glow

Origin debate

Zhang Bo, a folklore researcher at Beijing Union University, believes Mid-Autumn Festival originated in the Tang Dynasty, while other scholars, including Xiao, argue it became a folk festival during the Song Dynasty.

Both sides agree that the custom of paying tribute to the moon on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar year started in the Tang Dynasty.

However, they are split on when and how it officially became a public festival.

Zhang said in the Quan Tangshi (Complete Tang Poems), which was commissioned in 1705, scholars have counted 111 poems with references to Mid-Autumn Festival.

"Besides descriptions of the beauty of the moon and moonlit nights, many of the poets express emotions through the notion of the moon," Zhang said.

She said the poets were anxious and sad about life being short, and used the fleeting time of a full moon as a metaphor.

"They thought about life and death, and as a result they turned to the skies to encourage us to cherish the present," she said.

Zhang said during the Tang Dynasty there was an expression "to play with the moon" which implies pure entertainment, however, writers and thinkers used it as a metaphor to express deeper ideas.

Xiao believes Mid-Autumn Festival became an official folk festival during the Song Dynasty. Song Emperor Zhao Jiong (939-997) officially set the 15th day of the eighth lunar month as Mid-Autumn Festival.

Xiao said in the Song Dynasty it was common for people to compare phases of the moon to changes in human relationships. The importance of family reunions at this time of year also spread during the Song Dynasty.