One Story of How the Confection Was First Used Different answers have been given to the question which has been raised during practically every Mid-'Autumn Festival, "Why do Chinese eat moon cakes" during the Chumg-Chin-Chien?" "The most popular answer is that the cakes are eaten to commemorate the fullest and brightest moon of the year, but the following is probably tite most inter-
About 500 or 600 years ago, China was conquered by 1s under the "great Genghis Khan. The Mongols treated the Chinese cruelly and, not only were the rights -of handling national funds and political affairs seized by the Tartars but every Chinese family was orderod: to supply food and lodging to the invaders who thus bad their daily wants supplied without spending a single cent and who, at the same time, kept the Chinese under strict surveillance, The Chinese, of course wished to revolt but they found: no means of getting together to plan for a revolution At last, a cake-maker, whose name is unknown, devised a means of dealing with the invaders. He declared that he had prepared some extraordinary cakes for the celebra tion of the Mid-Autumn Festival and that, if the people ate those, they would be free from disease and fortune throughout the year. He further promised to assume full responsibility if his cakes did not have the desired effect and the Chinese, being superstitious and lacking in knowledge, came to the shop and soon Bought up all the cakes.
And they Did It During the of paper beating the following ssentence:—
"Brethren, if you want to secure freedom, kill every Mongol living in your house to-night."
Bent oh revenge ayainst their op= pressors, the Chinese obeyed this order and, in one night, all the Mongols living in the homes of the Chinese were murdered.
Shortly afterwards, Chu Yuan-chang, later known as'fing Tal-tsu, the first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, mobilized a strong Chinese army in the Yangtze regions and, after they had gained victory upon Vistory, succeeded in driving the Mongols from China.
Thus came the custom among the Chinese people of cating moon cakes" during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Te Commission for the Res organization of Shanghai Commerial Organizations have sent letters to. the different public organiza~ tions urging them to. subscribe to the army reorganization and Dandment bonds which are. being issued by the National Government 30 that the army disbandment feramme may be carried out without delay and the sufferings of the people mitigated.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.