An ancient Chinese legend tells of a time when ten suns appeared together in the sky, scorching the earth and threatening to destroy all the crops and people, until a skilled archer named Hou Yi arrived. He shot down nine of the ten suns, leaving only one to light the earth, becoming a beloved hero — and his wife, Chang'e, loved him deeply.

A goddess rewarded Hou Yi with an elixir of immortality, but he chose not to drink it, wishing to stay with his wife rather than live forever alone while she grew old and passed away. He gave the elixir to Chang'e to keep safe, but one of his treacherous students tried to steal it from her one day while her husband was away, forcing Chang'e to drink it herself to keep it from falling into the wrong hands.

After drinking the elixir, Chang'e felt her body grow light and rise into the sky, drifting until she finally settled upon the moon, far from the husband she loved. Hou Yi grieved deeply, and began leaving her favorite foods outside his home every night the moon grew full, in loving remembrance of her. This tradition became the origin of the Mid-Autumn Festival, still celebrated across China every year with moon cakes and gazing up at the full moon — honoring a love story separated only by the sky itself.