Legend has it that Cháng’é was a beautiful woman married to the master archer, Hòu Yì. He was so legendary that he shot down nine of ten suns that had risen together in those distant times, which were scorching the Earth and causing hardship for the people, thus leaving the one sun we have to this day. As a reward for his skill and valor, he was given the elixir of immortality. We don’t know who gave him this magic elixir. We assume it was the gods, but who can say? Anyway, Yì decided not to drink it just then, but instead hid it away at home in the care of his wife, Cháng’é. Continue reading “The Hare, the Moon Maiden and the Magpies: The Meaning”