The Moon Goddess

Waiting, she finds her silk stockings
soaked with the dew drops
glistening on the marble steps.
Finally, she is moving
to let the crystal-woven curtain fall
when she casts one more glance
at the glamorous autumn moon.

     Li Bai, aka Li Po (701-762)
     An Imperial Concubine Waiting at Night

Chang'e, Ch'ang-O or Chang-Ngo, also known as Heng-E or Heng-O, is the Chinese Goddess of the Moon. Unlike many other lunar deities, Chang'e does not personify the moon but lives on it. She and her husband Hou Yi, the Excellent Archer, are the subjects of one of the most popular Chinese mythological legends.

To receive the pill of immortality and bring it to his beloved wife, Yi killed all but one of the 10 suns by shooting at them. He put the pill in a box and asked Chang'e not to open it before his return, and then left on another task. But Chang'e could not resist- she opened the box and found the pill. She accidentally swallowed the entire pill and started to float toward the sky. . Chang’e kept on floating until she landed on the moon where she became a goddess accompanied by a jade rabbit.

Once a year, on the 15th day of the full moon, Yi visits his wife. That is why the moon is full and beautiful on that night.