Abstract: The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional Chinese festival that traces back to the rituals of offering sacrifices to the moon before the 3rd century B.C., thus its witchcraft and religious color. With the development of society and pass of time, its cultural connotation has undergone fundamental change and the original worship for the moon goddess gradually gave way to the notion of reunion. This process is related to the rewriting of Chang'e's image by the literati in the Tang and the Song Dynasties. In their works, Chang'e evolves from a medicine thief to a pathetic woman separated from her husband, a dramatization naturally associating separation and reunion with the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is in this sense that the keynote cultural connotation of the Mid-Autumn Festival has been established, enabling it to transcend time and space to become a national festival celebrated by all.

Key words: worship for the moon goddess, the literati, Chang'e, Mid-Autumn Festival, reunion