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    THE MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL

    Written by: Jin Zhilin
    Posted on: September 18, 2013 | | 中文

    It is a belief of Chinese folk custom that spring is the time to worship and autumn is the time to pay dues. Spring worship is to welcome all saints from heaven and earth, mainly the god of the sun, and autumn is for paying tribute to the generous, load carrying mother earth at the end of a harvest year. To offer respect to the land, the moon, and the mother's body is a culture that emanates from a matriarchal society.

    Eating moon cake is a custom of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The moon cake relief patterns are numerous and colorful, both in terms of art and cultural implication. Fairy tales told through moon cake relief patterns include A pairing fish, Baby with coiled hair, Sal tree of life, and Story of the jade hare from the moon palace.

    Folk customs of moon worship vary from region to region in China. The most unforgettable I have seen was in central Shanxi. An altar was set up in the yard to burn incense and candles. Layers of fruit had been piled up on the altar as offerings to the moon fairy. Placed in the middle of the altar was a huge round cake, one-meter in diameter, showing patterns of lotus petals radiating from the center outwards and colorful flowers along with various figures, such as Monkey eating a peach. In between the lotus petals were jujubes, symbolic of life and propagation. The cake, likening the lotus to the moon and the mother's body, was a prayer for a bumper harvest, family reunion and prosperity.

    From the ancient folk fables and unearthed articles, the sun is always connected with a golden crow or a legendary Fusang tree, while the moon is linked to the moon toad, the jade hare and the laurel. The sun and the moon always move around the sky, rising from the east and setting in the west. This is reflective of man’s basic knowledge of life and its perpetuity. The moon toad and the medicine mortar are female symbols in the family of the universe. The rabbit is the god of proliferation, and the Fusang, the Laurel and the Sal are the trees of life. Together, those symbols and images made up a fairy tale that has been told and passed down for thousands of years. Obviously, moon worship is the main theme of folk art works on the Mid-Autumn Festival.

    China is a multi-ethnic nation. Each nationality and every geographical region has its own customary festivities. The Miao ethnic group worships ancestors by thumping cows; the Yi and Bai ethnic groups have the Torch Festival. Other celebrations include the Pan King's Day of the Yao ethnic group, the Tibetan New Year (as pre their lunar calendar), the Oboo Festival in Inner Mongolia, and the Paiwan ethnic group's celebration of harvest in Taiwan. It is through this array of festivals that folk art is seeded, grows and blossoms.


    As the new year begins, let us also start anew. I’m delighted to extend, on behalf of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and in my own name, new year’s greeting and sincere wishes to YOULIN magazine’s staff and readers.

    Only in hard times can courage and perseverance be manifested. Only with courage can we live to the fullest. 2020 was an extraordinary year. Confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Pakistan supported each other and took on the challenge in solidarity. The ironclad China-Pakistan friendship grew stronger as time went by. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects advanced steadily in difficult times, become a standard-bearer project of the Belt and Road Initiative in balancing pandemic prevention and project achievement. The handling capacity of the Gwadar Port has continued to rise and Afghanistan transit trade through the port has officially been launched. The Karakoram Highway Phase II upgrade project is fully open to traffic. The Lahore Orange Line project has been put into operation. The construction of Matiari-Lahore HVDC project was fully completed. A batch of green and clean energy projects, such as the Kohala and Azad Pattan hydropower plants have been substantially promoted. Development agreement for the Rashakai SEZ has been signed. The China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future has become closer and closer.

    Reviewing the past and looking to the future, we are confident to write a brilliant new chapter. The year 2021 is the 100th birthday of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. The 100-year journey of CPC surges forward with great momentum and China-Pakistan relationship has flourished in the past 70 years. Standing at a new historic point, China is willing to work together with Pakistan to further implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, connect the CPEC cooperation with the vision of the “Naya Pakistan”, promote the long-term development of the China-Pakistan All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with love, dedication and commitment. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan said, “We are going through fire. The sunshine has yet to come.” Yes, Pakistan’s best days are ahead, China will stand with Pakistan firmly all the way.

    YOULIN magazine is dedicated to promoting cultural exchanges between China and Pakistan and is a window for Pakistani friends to learn about China, especially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is hoped that with the joint efforts of China and Pakistan, YOULIN can listen more to the voices of readers in China and Pakistan, better play its role as a bridge to promote more effectively people-to-people bond.

    Last but not least, I would like to wish all the staff and readers of YOULIN a warm and prosper year in 2021.

    Nong Rong Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
    The People’s Republic of China to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
    January 2021