The Origin of the Sun and the Moon
There is a story dating from the ancient time.In the old days，there was no sun and no moon.People had only stars like the scattered sesame，and the earth was dark and dim.
At that time，a mother and her son lived in a thatched house under an old chestnut tree at the foot of the Qingshi Mountain.They took oats and buckwheat as a meal，palm barks as quilts，and they hardly made ends meet.
The son didn't go to school，so he had no great ability.His mother decided to send him out to seek guidance.Before leaving，the son cried，“Mother，I am going out to learn some skills.If I make a fortune，I will come back to pick you up to live a happy life with me.If I make a fortune，but I do not come back，you can let five oxen pull me into five parts.”
After the son left，the old mother cried for three days and missed her son for three years.She felt like a piece of her heart was cut.Where's the son？After three years，there was no news from him，and his mother was painful every day as if a needle pricked her.
Gritting her teeth，the mother put on a broken palm-bark rain cape and held a wooden bowl.With a cane，she begged for food to look for her son.
The older woman kept walking day and night，and then one day she came to the foot of a high mountain.Suddenly she saw something like two pieces of fire mirror falling slowly from the top of the mountain.It turned out to be a gray-haired granny with a round cake in each hand.The granny came to the older woman and said，“Kind-hearted woman！You're looking for your son，aren't you？”The mother nodded.The gray-haired granny said again，“Are you hungry？I'll give you these two cakes，but you can't eat them today or tomorrow，or eat them in the future.Save them for a disaster.When the day comes，the cakes are good for everyone.”The old mother took the cakes and put them in her pocket.After showing her gratitude to the granny，the mother kept walking her way.From that day on，she did not feel thirsty，hungry，or tired when walking.Eat or not，she felt good.She was puzzled：The two cakes are obviously in my pocket，but why do I not feel hungry？It is too strange.
The old mother was thinking about it while walking，and then finally she came to a big city.There was a big sky lantern，which was much brighter than the one in her hometown.The old mother finally got wind of her son's situation.In fact，after the son had learned some skills，he became a major official under the city lord.Someone told her，“There！Over there，with a sheepskin drum beating and a horn blowing，a group of warriors swarming him to this way，comes your precious son.”
The older woman jumped with joy and went forward to call her son's name.However，her son said to her coldly on the large horse，“I haven't had a mother since I was a child.How dare you，the blind old beggar，say you are the official relative？Go away！”The warriors pushed the old mother down and she fell into the deep ditch under the bridge.At this moment，the sky lantern went out，and everything became gray，and people could not distinguish day from night.
A strong man heard the older woman crying in the ditch.He picked up the cane and stuck it into the ditch，and pulled the older woman up.Later，he carried her on his back to his home.
After they got back to the man's home，the man's wife felt sympathy for the older woman's misfortune.She quickly changed the older woman's clothes with clean clothes and hung the older woman's old clothes containing the two cakes on a pile of low walls.This couple regarded the old mother as their mother and supported her.
Since that day，no matter how many fatwood people added to the lantern，the lantern could not be lit，the sky was no longer bright again，and people complained bitterly.The city lord was anxious and posted a notice：Whoever can bring light to the world，I will give up my throne to him.
Hearing the news，the old mother remembered what the gray-haired granny had told her.She went to look for her worn clothes with her daughter.The low wall was poured down with continuous rain，and her worn clothes were buried in the soil.They dug through the dirt in the dark and with great difficulties，they found the clothes finally.Strange as it was，as soon as one corner of her clothes was exposed，one corner of the sky got bright；when the clothes were stripped out，it was bright everywhere.As soon as the old mother took out a cake，the cake flew to the sky，giving off dazzling light.When the old mother took out the other cake，the cake flew to the sky too，giving off bright light.People called the first cake the sun and the second the moon.Since then，we have had day and night.The sun shines once a day and the moon becomes round once a month.
The people were thrilled happy to have bright light.The city lord came to ask the old mother to replace him to be the lord，but she refused.The lord asked her son to be the lord，but she did not agree either.The king asked her for the reason.The old mother said，“It's easy for a high-rank official to change his moral nature，yet easier for a lord to degenerate into a tyrant.”
The lord was confused to hear her words.After he learned that the old mother's son had become an official and denied his mother，he sent for five oxen and had the son's hands，feet and neck tied with hemp ropes.Then a cannon was lit.With a bang，five oxen ran away in fear.In this way，the old mother's son ended up with a split of five oxen.
It is said that since then，each year on the Mid-Autumn Festival，the 15th of August in the lunar calendar，people have baked“Sun and Moon Cake”to pay their respects to the old mother.