Moon cake plays a central role in the Mid Autumn Festival that this year falls tomorrow, National Day. During this time, one is supposed to pay homage to the moon, make sacrifice to the moon and eat moon cake, you guessed it, under the moon.
月饼在今年的中秋节中扮演着核心角色，明天就是国庆节。这段时间，人们要在月下拜月、祭月、吃月饼，你猜对了。
As such, moon cakes at this time appear all over China. From shop shelves to hotel lobbies; packed in their fancy little gift bags, the little treat never fails to capture the populace. Not only do we have a bit of stomach packing to look forward to, but with this year’s double festival, we are all also entitled to 8 days off!
于是，此时的月饼出现在中国各地。从商店货架到酒店大堂；这种小礼物装在精美的小礼品袋中，永远吸引着大众。我们不仅要填饱肚子期待，今年双节，我们还有8天假期呢！
Q: I’m on a diet. Should I eat moon cake?
问：我正在节食。我应该吃月饼吗？
A: Unequivocally, no. The average moon cake contains between 800 and 1,200 calories. That said, hawk-eyed shoppers may well be able to unearth high-fibre, low-sugar moon cakes, made specifically with you in mind.
答： 明确地说，不是。平均月饼含有800至1,200卡路里热量。也就是说，目光敏锐的购物者很可能会发现专门为您制作的高纤维、低糖月饼。
Q: Does anyone actually eat moon cake?
问：有人真的吃月饼吗？
A: At the end of the day, yes, but there is surprisingly little evidence to back this up. However, that’s not the primary intent. Mostly, moon cake is a means to curry favour. The life of a moon cake pretty much goes like this:- I buy a lovely expensive brand-name moon cake and give it to you; you being my number 1 potential customer. You say thanks, sigh and pass it on to someone a little further down in the overall scheme of things, say someone who you just want to keep happy. They, themselves happy to not spend any money on moon cake of their own, give it to a family relative who then fobs it off on ayi, who in turn gives it to her daughter. The rebellious little teenager hates moon cake and chucks it out on the street where it is eventually eaten by some degenerate dog.
A: At the end of the day, yes, but there is surprisingly little evidence to back this up.然而，这不是主要目的。大多数情况下，月饼是一种讨好的手段。 The life of a moon cake pretty much goes like this:- I buy a lovely expensive brand-name moon cake and give it to you;你是我的第一号潜在客户。你说声谢谢，叹一口气，然后把它传递给在整体计划中稍靠后的人，比如你只想保持快乐的人。他们自己也很乐意不花钱买自己的月饼，所以把月饼送给了一位亲戚，然后亲戚把它骗给了阿姨，阿姨又把它送给了她的女儿。 The rebellious little teenager hates moon cake and chucks it out on the street where it is eventually eaten by some degenerate dog.
Q: Where can I buy moon cake?
问：哪里可以买到月饼？
A: The question may be better termed, “Where can I not buy moon cake?” The stuff is everywhere. Commercialism of the cute little treat has meant everyone has jumped on the moon cake bandwagon. The Nanjinger even knows of someone who has produced moon cake pillows. Finding them delicious is one thing but taking them to bed with you is stretching it a bit.
答：这个问题或许更准确地说是“哪里可以买不到月饼？” The stuff is everywhere.这种可爱的小零食的商业化意味着每个人都加入了月饼的行列。南京人还知道有人生产月饼抱枕。发现它们美味是一回事，但把它们和你一起睡就有点牵强了。
Q: Does moon cake ever go off?
问：月饼会变质吗？
A: The scientific community is divided on this one, with a slight majority of the opinion, “no, never”. Such is the density of moon cake that even carbon-dating attempts have been fruitless.
答：科学界对此存在分歧，略多的人认为“不，永远不会”。月饼的密度如此之大，以至于碳测年尝试也毫无结果。
Q: Can I make moon cake at home?
问：我可以在家做月饼吗？
A: You could try but few people do. Not only is moon cake exceedingly labour intensive, one also has to put the Chinese character for “longevity” on the top. And you thought icing “Happy Birthday” on a cake was hard.
答：你可以尝试一下，但是很少有人这么做。月饼不仅极其费工，而且还要在上面写上“寿”字。你认为在蛋糕上加糖霜“生日快乐”很难。
Q: What else can I use moon cake for?
问：月饼还能用来做什么？
A: Well, you could overthrow a Mongol empire, for one. Legend has it emperor Zhu Yuanzhang concocted a cunning plan that involved the distribution of moon cakes that contained secret messages coordinating the revolution to take place on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month; the “Mid Autumn Festival”.
答：嗯，例如，你可以推翻蒙古帝国。相传朱元璋制定了一个狡猾的计划，其中包括分发含有秘密信息的月饼，以协调农历八月十五发生革命； “中秋节”。
So now you know. Enjoy your moon cakes, and Happy National Day!
所以现在你知道了。享用月饼，国庆快乐！
