中秋节就要到来了。新东方网留学频道为大家准备了中秋节之月饼的历史（中英文），看看月饼是怎么成为中秋节的标志。

　　Mooncakes symbolize the gathering of friends and family and are an indispensable part of the offerings made to the Earth God， Tu Ti Kung. According to popular belief， the custom of eating mooncakes began in the late Yuan dynasty. As the story goes， the Han people of that time resented the Mongol rule of the Yuan Dynasty and revolutionaries， led by Chu Yuan-chang， plotted to usurp the throne. Chu needed to find a way of uniting the people to revolt on the same day without letting the Mongol rulers learn of the plan. Chu‘s close advisor， Liu Po-wen， finally came up with a brilliant idea. A rumor was spread that a plague was ravaging the land and that only by eating a special mooncake distributed by the revolutionaries could the disaster be prevented. The mooncakes were then distributed only to the Han people， who found， upon cutting the cakes open， the message “Revolt on the fifteenth of the eighth month.” Thus informed， the people rose together on the designated day to overthrow the Yuan， and since that time mooncakes have become an integral part of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

　　月饼不仅象征着家人、朋友的团聚，也是献给土地神的一种祭品。民间认为，吃月饼的习俗始于元朝末期。据说当时的汉人对蒙古人的统治恨之入骨，于是由朱元璋统帅的革命军企图篡权。朱元璋需要找到一种秘密的将所有革命军在同一天纠集起来的方法。他的贴身智囊刘伯温最终想出了一个绝妙的点子。一条“瘟疫即将来袭，只有吃革命军分发的特殊月饼才能够抵御”的谣言散播开来。而这种月饼只分发给了汉人，他们在切开月饼的时候发现了一条“于八月初十五起义”的信息。后来，人们在八月十五那天集合起来推翻了元朝统治。从那以后，月饼成为中秋节不可或缺的元素。

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