The Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for Chinese people all over the world to come together, eat special cakes and gaze at the full moon.
中秋節(jié)是一個(gè)全世界的華人和家人聚在一起吃月餅、賞月亮的節(jié)日。

Though a happy occasion, there's a heartbreaking story that explains how it came to be.
雖然這是一個(gè)快樂(lè)的節(jié)日，但這背后卻有著一段令人心碎的傳說(shuō)。

Chinese legend tells of the hero Houyi and his beautiful wife Chang'e.
在中國(guó)的傳說(shuō)中，有位英雄叫做后羿，他有個(gè)美麗的妻子名叫嫦娥。

As with many legends, there are differing and often contradictory accounts.
和其他很多傳說(shuō)一樣，有關(guān)中秋節(jié)的傳說(shuō)也有很多不同的甚至是相互矛盾的版本。

One tells that Chang'e was a heavenly girl who worked among fairies and immortals in the palace of the Jade Emperor. One day, she broke a special porcelain jar and was banished to live among humans on earth, with the promise that she could return if she performed valuable deeds there.
有一種版本中稱(chēng)，嫦娥原是玉皇大帝天宮中同其他仙女天神一起工作的女子。有一天，她打碎了一個(gè)特殊的瓷罐，因此被驅(qū)逐到凡間和人類(lèi)生活在一起，只有當(dāng)她做了好事她才能重新返回天上。

Joining a family of farmers, she met Houyi, a hunter and master archer, and eventually, they would marry.
嫦娥在一戶農(nóng)民家里遇到了身為獵人和射手的后羿，后來(lái)他們結(jié)婚了。

But the world of mortals soon found itself in peril. The Jade Emperor had 10 mischievous sons who transformed themselves into 10 suns, scorching the earth and its people. Houyi took it upon himself to save them. Using incredible strength and superior marksmanship, he shot down nine of the suns and left one in the sky so that humans could draw upon its warmth and light.
但是凡間隨后就出現(xiàn)了危險(xiǎn)。玉皇大帝的10個(gè)愛(ài)搞怪的兒子化作10個(gè)太陽(yáng)，炙烤著大地和人類(lèi)。后羿主動(dòng)承擔(dān)責(zé)任以拯救大家，他力大無(wú)比，射術(shù)超群，一口氣射下了9個(gè)太陽(yáng)，只留下一個(gè)給人們帶來(lái)溫暖和光芒。

It is here, again, that accounts diverge. One version has it that both Houyi and Chang'e were heavenly beings, and that a vengeful emperor condemned them to live on Earth as mortals thereafter. Houyi wished to avert death, so he acquired an elixir that would confer immortality. He was warned to drink only half the potion, and he reasoned that his wife could drink the rest.
故事到這里又分成了不同的版本。一個(gè)版本說(shuō)后羿和嫦娥都是天上的神仙，皇帝想要報(bào)復(fù)他們所以罰他們下凡間成為人類(lèi)。后羿為了能夠長(zhǎng)生不死拿到了不死藥。但他只被允許喝半瓶，剩下的半瓶他準(zhǔn)備留給妻子。

In one account of the legend, a greedy friend of Houyi's named Peng Meng tried to obtain the formula for himself, but Chang'e wouldn't let him, and drank it all. Another states that Chang'e could not resist immortality, and so consumed it herself.
一個(gè)版本的傳說(shuō)中，后羿有一個(gè)名叫蓬蒙的朋友，他為人奸詐，一心想偷那瓶不死藥。嫦娥為了不讓他偷走把整瓶都喝掉了。而另一個(gè)版本中，嫦娥是因?yàn)槭懿涣朔踩说纳疃鹊袅苏坎凰浪帯?/div>

However you interpret the legend, it eventually transpired that Chang'e's body became light, and she flew out a window up to the moon, leaving her husband all alone on the Earth.
但是不論哪個(gè)版本，最后的結(jié)果都是嫦娥的身體變得越來(lái)越輕，接著她從窗戶飛出飛向了月亮，把他的丈夫獨(dú)自一人留在了凡間。

On a clear night, Houyi saw Chang'e in the moon, called out to her and even tried to shoot it down, but it was too late.
在一個(gè)月朗風(fēng)清的夜晚，后羿看到了月亮上的嫦娥，他大聲喊她并試圖把她射下來(lái)，可一切都太晚了。

Now a lunar goddess, Chang'e was doomed to be apart from her husband forever. Houyi honoured his wife by arranging a table with incense, meats and fruits that she loved. The tradition of making sacrifices to the moon carried through the ages, from the Western Zhou Dynasty (1045 to 770 B.C.) onward.
如今作為月亮女神，嫦娥注定與她的丈夫永遠(yuǎn)分離。后羿為了紀(jì)念妻子會(huì)在桌子上擺上香爐以及她愛(ài)吃的肉類(lèi)和水果。祭祀月亮的傳統(tǒng)就這樣從西周時(shí)期（公元前1045年-前770年）傳承至今。

And so it is today, that Chinese all over the world meet outside, eat together and gaze at a plentiful moon, like the legendary and historical ancestors who came before.
因此今天世界各地的中國(guó)人在這個(gè)節(jié)日里都會(huì)聚在一起，像傳說(shuō)里的先人們一樣，吃月餅、賞月亮。