The earthly lights and the moon in the sky, the most beautiful thing is reunion. As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches once again, mooncakes are an indispensable part. A box of mooncakes is not only a delicious pastry that delights the taste buds, but also carries heartfelt wishes and folk stories.
Museums across China have also presented creative mooncakes, incorporating the cultural treasures of Chinese heritage, adding a touch of romantic national aesthetics to the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The Palace Museum
In the collection of the Palace Museum, there is an imperial seal of Emperor Qianlong: “The moon is depicted with colors, water has sound”. The brushwork is exquisite, capturing the scenery of the moon in the mountains and lakes.
This year, the Palace Museum's mooncake gift box is inspired by this theme, combining traditional Chinese colors and dyeing techniques to appreciate the beauty of the country amidst mountains, rivers, and the moon.
“Only the clear wind on the river and the bright moon in the mountains, the sound is heard in the ears, and the color is seen in the eyes.” Take a bite of the Palace Museum mooncake, and the clear wind and bright moon will be in your heart.
Nanjing Museum
The romance of the Chinese people is always associated with the moon. The moon rises in the east, following the shadow, like a bright mirror in the sleepless night.
The mooncake gift box from the Nanjing Museum is inspired by the first-class cultural relic in its collection – Gold Plate with Ruyi Cloud Pattern.
The Ruyi symbolizes good fortune, with the homophonic sound of “Si (四)” and “everything” in Chinese, implying “everything goes well”. The plate is adorned with intertwining floral patterns, featuring peonies, lotus flowers, and pomegranates, symbolizing wealth and auspiciousness.
The filling of mashed potato, salted egg yolk, and shredded meat is savory and satisfying, without being greasy. The oversized size is suitable for the whole family to sit together, enjoy the moon, and share it. Paired with a customized handbag, it feels like carrying a clear and bright full moon at any time, heading to a special Mid-Autumn feast.
Suzhou Museum
In the Year of the Rabbit, Suzhou Museum has chosen Zhang Yu's painting “Moonlit Osmanthus and Rabbits” from its collection as the inspiration, depicting the beautiful scene of two rabbits accompanying the moon to celebrate the reunion during the blooming of osmanthus flowers.
The gift box comes with a paper screen, depicting a serene scene of moonlit osmanthus and rabbits. The back of the screen is made of paper, which can be used to write Mid-Autumn Festival wishes for others or record one's own moon appreciation experiences.
The mooncakes inside the box are specially designed with black and white rabbits and gold and silver osmanthus shapes, with bright colors and delicate texture.
The classic Suzhou-style mooncakes are golden in color, with a crispy and fragrant crust. Paired with a pot of good tea, the moon of the Jiangnan region in poems becomes the moon of the present time.
Dunhuang Museum
In the Mogao Grottoes of Dunhuang, the dignified and wonderful images, floral patterns, and auspicious animals are all precious symbols, representing the ancient people's pursuit of completeness and beauty.
The Dunhuang Museum has incorporated the intricate and exquisite floral patterns, adding joy and wishes for a happy reunion, and transformed them into Dunhuang mooncakes that carry auspicious meanings. Every gift of these mooncakes represents heartfelt wishes.
The beautifully wrapped bag with traditional Chinese motifs, wrapping the exquisite mooncakes, also symbolizes the beauty and blessings of auspicious symbols. Among them, the unique flavor of sea buckthorn and goji berries is sweet and sour, nourishing and invigorating, allowing one to savor the magnificent scenery of Northwestern China with every taste bud. The Tang Dynasty elegance depicted in Dunhuang murals has been infused into these mooncakes, wishing you all the best and adding a touch of elegance.
Gansu Museum
When it comes to modern artistic interpretation of cultural relics, Gansu Museum has a strong voice that goes beyond the conventional seriousness. Their mooncake gift box is inspired by the star cultural relic – the Bronze Galloping Horse, boldly combining it with contemporary art to present a unique cultural delicacy.
Not only was the design imagined and completed by AI, but the flavors were also explored with the help of AI. Coconut latte, mango pomelo sago, West Lake Longjing, and taro basil seed – these four soft-centered mochi mooncakes, wonder if AI has truly captured the desires of the people. While most cultural and creative endeavors are still experimenting with the fusion of tradition and modernity, Gansu Museum seems to have already entered the next stage.
Mid-Autumn Festival Peripheral Products
If you don't like mooncakes but still want to immerse yourself in the festive atmosphere of Mid-Autumn Festival, perhaps you can take a look at these cultural creations from museums below.
The Palace Museum – Mooncake Rabbit House
The legend of the Jade Rabbit is well-known to everyone. If there really were a group of rabbits living in the Palace of the Moon, would their houses be shaped like mooncakes?
This rabbit-themed cultural creation from the Palace Museum comes in four styles and four types of floor plans, which, when combined, form a whole mooncake. The little jade rabbits gather together, sending their longing and thoughts to the moon, hoping for reunions in the mortal world as well.
National Library of China – Autumn Moon Evening
Legend has it that not only does the Palace of the Moon house a group of rabbits, but it also bears an everlasting osmanthus tree. Even before Mid-Autumn Festival arrives, the air is already filled with the fragrance of osmanthus.
In addition to the delicious food on the tip of the tongue, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also a time for olfactory enjoyment. The National Library of China has created an ultimate oriental aesthetic fragrance ornament, incorporating the elements of osmanthus, jade rabbits, and the full moon.
The round moon represents the fragrance of osmanthus, refreshing and long-lasting. The desktop screen of the book and shadow is selected from classic masterpieces related to the Mid-Autumn Festival in the collection of the library, complementing the moonlit osmanthus rabbits, adding a touch of literary elegance.
As the wind flips the pages and the moon permeates the room with the fragrance of osmanthus, let's appreciate the bright moon together, surrounded by the scent of osmanthus.
May we witness the Mid-Autumn moon year after year. Perhaps due to various reasons, loved ones and friends cannot be together, but even though we may be far apart, as long as our hearts are together, it is a reunion. In advance, I wish you all a happy Mid-Autumn Festival.
