Chang'e Flies to the Moon

The Moon Goddess

Hou Yi obtained the elixir of immortality from the Queen Mother of the West; Chang'e swallowed it and drifted to the moon, where she dwells alone in the cold palace.

Hou Yi won a packet of the elixir of immortality from the Queen Mother of the West and gave it to his wife Chang'e to keep. When the villain Fengmeng threatened her, Chang'e swallowed the elixir in desperation and floated up through the window to the moon. There she lives in the cold Guanghan Palace with only the jade rabbit. Li Shangyin wrote: "Chang'e must regret stealing the elixir — heartache night after night in the green sea of sky."