18 September 2005

Mooncakes anyone?


This is the story about mooncakes which I found off the internet:
During the Yuan dynasty (A.D. 1280-1368) China was ruled by the Mongolian people. Leaders from the preceding Sung dynasty (A.D. 960-1280) were unhappy at submitting to the foreign rule, and set how to coordinate the rebellion without being discovered.
The leaders of the rebellion, knowing that the Moon Festival was drawing near, ordered the making of special cakes. Baked into each moon caked was a message with the outline of the attack. And since these messages were distributed as 'Cakes', they managed to avoid the detection of the Mongolians.
On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government. What followed was the establishment of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644).
Today, mooncakes are eaten to commemorate this momentous event in History.
For generations, mooncakes have been made with sweet fillings of nuts, mashed red beans, lotus-seed paste or Chinese dates, wrapped in a pastry. Some mooncakes have one or two cooked duck egg yolk in the middle of the rich tasting dessert. People compare mooncakes to the plum pudding and fruit cakes which are served in the English holiday seasons. Nowadays, there are hundreds varieties of mooncakes on sale a month before the arrival of Moon Festival.

1 Comments:

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13 October, 2005 21:42  

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