The Tale of the Moon Lady

Long ago, in the time when ten suns blazed simultaneously in the sky, scorching the earth and causing terrible suffering to all living creatures, there lived a skilled archer named Hou Yi, whose courage and marksmanship were legendary throughout the land.

The ten suns, which were the sons of the Jade Emperor, had grown bored with their celestial duties and decided to appear in the sky all at once instead of taking turns as they were supposed to do. Their combined heat was so intense that rivers dried up, crops withered and died, and people and animals suffered terribly from the unbearable temperature.

Seeing the distress of humanity, Hou Yi took up his magical bow and arrows and climbed to the highest mountain peak. With extraordinary skill and determination, he shot down nine of the ten suns, leaving only one to provide light and warmth for the earth.

The people rejoiced and hailed Hou Yi as their savior, but his heroic actions had serious consequences in the celestial realm. The Jade Emperor, grieving for his nine fallen sons, was furious with the archer who had destroyed them, even though Hou Yi had acted to save humanity.

As punishment for killing the celestial princes, the Jade Emperor stripped Hou Yi of his immortality and banished him to live as a mortal on earth. Though he had saved countless lives, Hou Yi now faced the prospect of aging and dying like any ordinary human being.

Hou Yi’s wife, Chang’e, was devastated by this turn of events. She had been immortal herself, sharing in her husband’s divine nature, but now she too was condemned to mortal life because of his actions.

“My beloved husband,” Chang’e said with tears in her eyes, “though I understand why you had to save the people from the ten suns, I cannot bear the thought of growing old and dying. There must be some way to restore our immortality.”

Hou Yi, whose love for his wife was as strong as his dedication to justice, decided to seek a solution to their predicament. He had heard legends of the Queen Mother of the West, who possessed the elixir of immortality—a magical potion that could restore eternal life to those who had lost it.

The journey to the Queen Mother’s palace was long and treacherous, taking Hou Yi through dangerous mountains, across burning deserts, and past monsters that guarded the approaches to the celestial realm. But his love for Chang’e gave him strength to overcome every obstacle.

When he finally reached the Queen Mother’s magnificent palace, Hou Yi prostrated himself before her throne and humbly explained his situation.

“Great Queen Mother,” he said respectfully, “I shot down the nine suns not for personal glory, but to save humanity from destruction. Though I accept my punishment, I beg you to have compassion on my innocent wife, who suffers for my actions.”

The Queen Mother of the West, impressed by Hou Yi’s selfless courage and his devotion to both humanity and his wife, decided to help him.

“Brave archer,” she said, “your heart is noble, and your love is true. I will give you one pill of immortality—but only one. It contains enough magic to restore eternal life to a single person, or if divided between two people, it will grant both a much longer life, though not complete immortality.”

Hou Yi accepted the precious gift with deep gratitude and returned home to share the wonderful news with Chang’e.

“My dear wife,” he said, presenting the glowing pill, “we can divide this between us and both live for many hundreds of years, long enough to enjoy countless generations together. While we may not be truly immortal, we will have more time than most mortals could ever dream of.”

Chang’e took the pill in her hands and examined it carefully. As she held the magical elixir, she began to think about what her husband was proposing.

“Why should we settle for a longer mortal life when complete immortality is within our reach?” she wondered to herself. “If one of us takes the entire pill, at least that person will live forever. And surely, as the wife of the great archer who saved humanity, I deserve immortality more than anyone.”

Pride and selfishness began to grow in Chang’e’s heart like weeds in a garden. Instead of feeling grateful for her husband’s sacrifice and the Queen Mother’s generosity, she became consumed with the desire for complete immortality for herself alone.

One evening, while Hou Yi was away hunting to provide food for their household, Chang’e made a decision that would change both their lives forever. Unable to resist the temptation of eternal life, she swallowed the entire immortality pill without sharing it with her husband.

The moment the pill dissolved in her body, Chang’e felt a strange sensation spreading through her limbs. Her body became lighter and lighter until she could no longer remain on the ground. Despite her desperate attempts to stay in her home, she began to float upward, rising toward the sky against her will.

Higher and higher Chang’e floated, past the clouds, past the birds, past the very air itself, until she landed on the cold, silent surface of the moon.

When Hou Yi returned home that evening, he found his house empty and the immortality pill gone. Looking up at the sky, he saw a figure on the moon that he recognized as his beloved wife.

“Chang’e!” he called out in anguish, “Why did you take the pill alone? Why didn’t you wait for me so we could share it together?”

But Chang’e, now trapped on the lonely moon, could only weep in response. She had gained the immortality she craved, but at the cost of everything that had made life worth living—her husband’s love, human companionship, the warmth of earthly existence, and the joy of sharing experiences with others.

On the moon, Chang’e discovered that her only companion was a jade rabbit who had been living there since ancient times. The rabbit, though kind and sympathetic, could not replace the human connection she had lost through her selfish choice.

Every night, Chang’e would look down at the earth and see her husband looking up at her with longing and sadness. She realized too late that immortality without love, companionship, and the ability to share life’s joys and sorrows with others was not a blessing but a curse.

“I have gained eternal life,” she would say to the jade rabbit, “but I have lost everything that made life meaningful. My selfishness has condemned me to an eternity of solitude.”

Meanwhile, on earth, Hou Yi grew old alone, never remarrying because his love for Chang’e remained constant despite her betrayal. He would spend his evenings gazing at the moon, hoping that somehow his wife would find a way to return to him, or at least that she had found happiness in her celestial exile.

The people of Vietnam, learning Chang’e’s story, began to see her not as a villain but as a tragic figure whose mistake served as a warning about the dangers of selfishness and pride. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, they would look up at the full moon and remember the Moon Lady’s tale.

“See how clearly we can see Chang’e tonight,” parents would tell their children as they shared mooncakes and admired the harvest moon. “She reminds us that true happiness comes not from what we possess, but from what we share with the people we love.”

The Tale of the Moon Lady became one of Vietnam’s most popular stories for teaching children about the importance of generosity, the dangers of greed, and the value of considering others before ourselves.

In Vietnamese tradition, Chang’e is not seen as entirely evil, but as a woman who made a terrible mistake and now serves as an eternal example of how selfish choices can lead to lasting regret. Her story encourages people to think carefully about the consequences of their actions and to remember that the greatest treasures in life—love, family, and friendship—cannot be hoarded like material possessions.

Some versions of the tale say that once each year, during the Mid-Autumn Festival when the moon is fullest and brightest, Chang’e’s loneliness becomes so intense that her tears fall to earth as dewdrops, reminding everyone of the price she pays for her immortal solitude.

And so Chang’e remains on the moon to this day, a beautiful but solitary figure who gained everything she thought she wanted but lost everything that truly mattered. Her story continues to shine down on Vietnam each night, a luminous reminder that wisdom lies not in grasping for more than we need, but in sharing what we have with grateful and generous hearts.