Mooncakes symbolize¹ the gathering² 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 usurp³ 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 advisor⁴, Liu Po-wen, finally came up with a brilliant idea. A rumor⁵ was spread that a plague was ravaging⁶ 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 overthrow⁷ 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。

There are four types of mooncakes : ping, su, kuang, and tai. Ping style mooncakes originated in Peking and resemble sesame cakes, with a crisp and savory⁸ outer crust. The su style of mooncakes are sweet with a thin, delicate layered crust. The kuang style are famous for their meticulously⁹ prepared fillings. The tai style is also known as "Moonlight Cakes." These cakes use sweet potatoes for filling and are sweet, tender, and tasty without being oily.

月饼有四种类型：京式、苏式、广式、台式。京式月饼起源于北京，与芝麻饼类似，皮脆而味美。苏式月饼味甜、皮薄而多层。广式月饼以馅料精致而著名。台式月饼也叫“月光饼”，用甜土豆做为馅料，味甜酥软而不油腻。