Hey, I'm back already! 3…2…1…I totally forgot to tell you that this story has crossed the 100 views line and The Hetalia Games – Season Two has surpassed The No-Maj Path! Anniversary, Epic Rap Battles of Historical Interruptions and Children of War are on 122, 127 and 128 views respectively, as of my time of typing this (Saturday).
And if you don't mind, click to the last chapter. I have 0 views on that as of my posting time. How could this happen to me?
Pretty please with your favourite food and drink on top? *puppy dog eyes*
WARNING: A lot of characters, as in, a lot. Don't worry though, most of them won't be individually mentioned. Justified because this is, after all, a family reunion. Also, Chinese. As in, a full poem. Don't worry though, I have translated it into modern English for you. Anyways, as always, enjoy the chapter!
"Next station, Tin Hau," blared the female announcer, obviously pre-recorded, in Cantonese, Putonghua and English. A young 'teen' who looked about 12 plucked a white earbud from her right ear and slipped her Samsung S5 into her green hoodie pocket. The doors of the train opened. She exited with the crowd. Why does this family reunion have to, like, take place in Victoria Park? That's like, the place where everyone goes on Jung Chau Jit (1)? Then again, that's probably why – Britney does, like, love her festivals. And in this culture, loudness, like, symbolizes togetherness, 'cos that's like, the one, big, not-so-happy family together, making it, like, seem like it's all loud and happy (2). At least she is, like, freaking Causeway Bay – reservations for an extra-large patch of land…God, reservations are like, freaking nonexistent in the human world. Freaking Personification privileges…
"Wei, Fong-mui!" a dark-haired girl shouted, wrapping her arms around her as she unconsciously exited the station. She was about two years older than her in appearance, but she was still shorter than her. She was wearing a halter top and leggings, the outfit she wore the most often whenever she wasn't at work. "Y' got the cider and the lanterns? Yan-yan's here with the trad mooncakes, Nathan and Nigel have the fruit, Bro's got the cassia wine and Ah Gwai has all those damn Vita drinks – y'know we gotta have some alcohol too but nooo, Ah Gor doesn't want us to wreck the law even though Ying, Bro, Wing-yee and most of us are okay with it anyway – omigod, I can't believe that we're hosting the family gathering this year…"
Willow sighed. That was why she avoided the city as much as possible – they were either uptight, crazy competitive and supremely fast; or rude, loud and…crazy. And her fourth oldest sister was obviously the latter. She reminded her of a hyperactive three-year-old who drank too much Mountain Dew. Plus, with her choice in clothing style, she could see both of the bright red District Council symbols tattooed on her collarbone. So she took it upon herself to ignore her sister's rambling…by putting on her right earbud and playing Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift at the loudest volume her phone allowed without the too-loud-you-will-go-deaf-if-you-listen-at-this-volume-for-too-long warning-thing popping up on her screen.
When they finally reached the reserved area of the Central Lawn, it was already chaotic. Sah's playing mahjong with Aurora, the Macanese freguesia (parish) of Santo António; little Ernesto, Cotai and Owen, her sister's local Bro, Wan Chai. Vicky, Teresa – São Lourenço – and Zhòngmíng, or Beijing (3) were discussing politics…this might not end well, considering that we have the centre of the the CCP and two SARs' hearts, one of them being the site of a rebellion a few years back (4), and because politics is a touchy subject that locals don't really like touching upon with others. Heitor (or Coloane) was simply reading Legend of the Condor Heroes (5), while Philip (Wong Tai Sin) was reading Water Margin (6), both of them somehow unaffected by the noise around them. Zhēnyǎ (Shandong) was peeking over Philip's shoulder, grinning…for some reason (7).
Emily (Tsim Sha Tsui) looked like she was close to getting rid of the mahjong and the alcohol poking out from Owen's backpack. Nathan (Mong Kok) and Andrew (North District) were arguing…as usual. Gwen (Tsuen Wan) was passing around snow skin mooncakes from a keep cold bag and Disneyland merch, chatting animatedly with Jìncōng (Shanghai) while sharing Disney plushies. Skye (Islands District)'s pen was moving like Rita Skeeter's Quick Quotes Quill across the pages of her lavender binder-spiral notebook. Probably some smut fics on who-knows-what ship – hey, you gotta pick up some of the lingo if there's a shipper in the family, right?
Autumn was watching some other Epic Rap Battles of History episode – it looked like Darth Vader vs Hitler – while sipping on one of Azzie's milk tea boxes. Thankfully, while wearing her earphones. So Willow took a Bauhinia Blakeana leaf out of her older sister's nonexistent notebook (8), put on her earbuds again and clicked on On Top of the World by Imagine Dragons.
As the minutes flew by, Taiwan and her Special Municipalities, Provincial Cities and Counties arrived…who avoided the Mainlanders like SARS (9). Andrew went to talk to Kǎitíng/Kelly – blame Holly/Guangzhou for the English name – (Guangdong), Ah Gor's second oldest sister by blood (10), while Nathan chatted with some of the Taiwanese in pretty bad Putonghua…God help those two. If only they got along. The last time they did majorly was back in…WWII. Willow scooted to the edge of the bamboo-kind/tatami-like beach mats laid out on the grass – she wasn't a big fan of enclosed spaces (11), even those 'enclosed' by people.
The sun was setting when Japan and his Prefectures showed up (well, that's ironic). At that, Britney tackled Raiden (Osaka) in a glomp while Gwen marched to the other side of the gathering from them immediately to talk to Nà, or Nanjing, Qí's (Jiangsu)'s blood sister. Nei, like, holds her grudges like, all the time. I hope that one day she, like, learns to forgive…that BS ended like, over 70 years ago…
You're the one to talk, a voice murmured in the back of her brain, a voice she had dubbed Whitney (12). You still turn left to the tram instead of right to the bomb shelter. One would think you haven't forgiven those Yat Boon Tsai(13) yet. Willow winced at the insult. Seriously, only some the older generation call them that! Damn the fact that she's so nice – Whitney's not because of this.
Humans were starting to gather on the normal part of the lawn. Brightly coloured lanterns and red wax candles on mooncake tin lids lit the night with the streetlamps metres away. Eventually, even both Korean brothers and their own subdivisions arrived, joining Gwen and Nà in Team Avoid-Nihon-and-his-Prefectures-Like-SARS. Willow unconsciously pushed a few boxes of wife cakes (she was sure that Autumn wouldn't mind) to them. At least most of this city is, like, nice enough not to avoid them…they're not even, like, dangerous anymore. They did, like say that they would like, defend us in potential future wars, even if it's, like, to protect their trading business… (14)
Food and drinks were laid out on the mats: mooncakes (multiple traditional styles, snow skin, ice cream-filled and more); apples, pomelos, grapes, peaches, oranges and other assorted fruits and osmanthus wine; Tsukimi dango, taro, edamame, chestnuts, festive noodles and sake; songpyeon, hangwa and baekseju; and so many others. There were even foods and drinks that weren't quite supposed to be there, like Somersby apple cider, wife cakes and three stuffed treasures. And milk tea…and Yakult…and Vitasoy. And lots of it.
"Zhōngqiū Jié kuàilè! (15)"
"Jūng-chāu Jit faai lok! (15)"
More festive-greetings rang out in the crowd of Personifications, which is…22 Chinese Provinces, 18 Districts, 3 Sub-Districts, 8 Parishes…and that's only the PRC subsections. Which is dozens in numbers. Oh boy. I pity the humans nearby - having to endure the shouts of probs over a hundred individuals...
"Bà, do you remember when we started to rebel against that wángbādàn (16) in what, 1351?" Rìjìng (Hebei) asked. Rìqiān (Henan) elbowed his female twin. "Language, mèimei!"
(Mainland) China smiled. "Aiyah, that night was one of the most memorable in all our five thousand years aru. We sent messages by mooncake that time, right?"
"丙辰中秋,歡飲達旦,大醉,作此篇,兼懷子由。(18)" recited Philip, eyes almost glued to the sky. The circular moon, to be exact. It is Mid-Autumn in the Bing Chén year. I have been drinking happily until dawn. I'm drunk. So I write this poem because I miss my brother, Ziyou.
"On the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, the rebellion begins indeed." (17)
"明月幾時有?把酒問青天。不知天上宮闕,今夕是何年。(18)" Philip continued, but he was not the only one – so did some of the Provinces, the Victoria City Triplets, Emily, Marc and the PRC Nation Trio. When will the moon be clear and bright? With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the clear sky. I wonder if the date in the heavens is the same as in our realm?
"Rebellion? Shame I wasn't alive back then to see it." Nathan's eyes were glinting red and he was agreeing with Mainlanders?! Willow immediately spat out her lotus seed paste mooncake with double egg yolks. Like, call the cops and alert the media! May this be, like, on the headlines of tomorrow! Oh, wait, it's probably just Neil showing (12). Oops.
"我欲乘風歸去,唯恐瓊樓玉宇,高處不勝寒。(18)" Adrian, Arlene, Dexter (Kowloon City District), Andrew and Luke (Kwun Tong) joined in. So did the Macau Peninsula Five and more Provinces. I wish to ride the wind to return to the Moon Palace, but I fear that on the crystal and jade mansions, it will be too cold to bear.
"起舞弄清影,何似在人間。(18)" Britney, Nigel (Tai Po District), Lynn (Kwai Tsing District), Azzie and Samantha added, with the rest of the reciting group. So I dance with my moonlit shadow. How can it be compared to the human world!
"轉朱閣,低綺戶,照無眠。(18)" Even the Taiwanese and the rest of the Provinces had joined in on the reciting. So did some of the other Personifications of non-Chinese origin, probably because that poem's a famous one. The moon rounds the red mansion, stoops to the decorated window frames and shines upon the sleepless.
"不應有恨,何事長向別時圓?(18)" At this, the rest of the Bauhinia 22 were in Team Recital. After all, fourteen-year-olds in the city are supposed to learn this and recite it. Moon, you shouldn't hold a grudge against me - why are you the fullest when people are apart?
"人有悲歡離合,月有陰晴圓缺,此事古難全。(18)" the rest of Macau and the Provinces smiled as they added with the rest of Team Recital. Well, humans experience sorrow, joy, separation and reunion; and the moon can be dim or bright, full or crescent-shaped; this has happened since the beginning of time.
"但願人長久,千里共嬋娟。(18)" ended all the Personifications and even some of the surrounding humans. May we all be blessed with longevity, though thousands of miles apart, we are still able to enjoy the beauty of the moon together. The reserved patch and the humans nearby erupted into cheers, and several of the Chinese Personifications lit or switched on their lanterns. There were the current fancy plastic cartoon character ones, as well as the traditional ones with bamboo frames. So many varieties, just like the ones held in the hands of the young humans nearby.
Hours passed. Yào (China) and Kiku (Japan) were finally having a friendly debate on whether it was immortality medicine or mochi being ground out by the Jade Rabbit on the moon. Britney was drunk-singing We are Young by Fun, a thin glow stick wrapped into a circle around her wrist, which was entwined with Raiden's own glow stick bracelet. Samantha, Autumn, Willow and Skye – the four youngest of the Bauhinia 22 – had matching glow stick necklaces and bracelets and had laid down on the mats. Hyung Soo (North Korea) had fallen asleep on his younger twin's shoulder. Vicente (Macau) had wrapped an arm around his own little brother, Leon (Hong Kong), the oldest of the Bauhinia 22; with Kǎitíng, Lěigāng (Guangxi), Shūwén (Yunnan) and Lètiān (Hainan) seated around them, ensuring that no one would be able to ambush their little brothers, while wishing that their oldest sister was okay and enjoying the moon with them one time zone back (10). Some of the Mainlanders and the Taiwanese were engaged in lantern riddles, as though the Chinese Civil War decades ago had not happened at all. Emily had roundhouse kicked one of the South Korean subsections for trying to hug her from behind (read: wrapping his arms around her chest), the 'hugger' nursing several nasty bruises - hey, with a chaotic family like this, how can there be no conflict during a reunion?
Some of them had to get back to work the next day. Good thing for the Bauhinia 22 – since most of the celebrations take place at night, the day after Mid-Autumn Festival was declared a public holiday instead, in the city. (Whoever that thought of that is a genius. Thank you so freaking much.)
All in all, it was a relatively happy family reunion for a family so big, complicated and screwed-up from all the historical hatred and betrayals. At least they could enjoy an evening of relative peace and joy…
たとえ国が違っても
言葉が違っても
字が違っても
同じ月を… ずっと、眺めたいあるよ。
Translation:
Even if our countries are different,
If our words are different,
If our characters are different,
I always want to...gaze at the same moon as you.
-China, Aiyaa Four Thousand Years, Axis Powers: Hetalia
但願人長久,
千里共嬋娟。
Translation:
May we all be blessed with longevity,
Though thousands of miles apart, we are still able to enjoy the beauty of the moon together.
-Su Shi, Shuǐdiào Gētóu – Bǐngchén Zhōngqiū
#1-Cantonese Romanization of 中秋節, literally Mid-Autumn Festival.
#2-That's Chinese culture for you. Mind ya, Hong Kong is predominantly Chinese, so part of our culture originated from and is shared with the Mainland.
#3- I also named the Mainland Provinces and the Prefectures and the States and the Freguesias and a couple of Counties and such, but not really any other subsections.
#4-I deem São Lourenço the heart of Macau because that's where their government HQ is located. For the rebellion, refer to Chapter 2, or the next chappie (spoiler alert), or any posted entries for the Velvet Revolution arc.
#5-《射鵰英雄傳》 is the original title. It's a famous wuxia novel by Jin Yong. Go read it sometime, 'cos I think there's an English translation out there somewhere. I think there'll be a chapter on that, so stay tuned if you're interested.
#6-Original title is 《水滸傳》, also known as Outlaws of the Marsh, Tale of the Marshes, All Men Are Brothers, Men of the Marshes and The Marshes of Mount Liang. One of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.
#7-I studied part of the novel during tutoring. This is because Mount Liang, where the outlaws gathered in the novel, is a real-life location in her territory.
#8-In our local culture, those leaves are sometimes used as bookmarks, symbolizing cleverness, so I'm not surprised that the Districts would do that. Then again, I'm the one writing this and am the one to shape their characters…
#9-Among the Districts, only Lewis says 'avoid like the Plague' like most of the Europeans. Everyone else says 'avoid like SARS', for reasons that are pretty obvious. More on that in the future.
#10-More will be covered on that in the future, I think. That has something to do with cultures and deceased Ancients.
#11-Willow's claustrophobic because Sai Kung is kind of a hiking/nature hotspot and much more relaxed than most of the city, excluding her new town, Tseung Kwan O.
#12-Introducing…2P!Districts!
#13-An insult…it has something to do with WW2.
#14-I swear I heard about this somewhere. I'm kinda touched. Thank you… :-D
#15-Putonghua and Cantonese for "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!"
#16-Chinese insult meaning 'turtle egg'. Its real meaning is 'b*stard'.
#17- According to legend, the message of the first major rebellion against the Yuan dynasty was spread by mooncake. I chose Hebei because that's apparently the birthplace of one of the first revolutionaries back then, Han Shantong.
#18-Possible lyrics to Shuidiao Getou (it's the melody), these are by Su Shi, a poet in the Song dynasty. I learnt this in Chinese class a couple of weeks ago and thought that it would be a good idea to share this to you. The provided translation is cross-referenced with SilkQin, Wikipedia and what I learnt in Chinese class at school. And no, it is not an elective. I live in a city that is technically Chinese, remember? It's mandatory...and I'm not its biggest fan, but we do get some decently interesting stuff like this from time to time. They're all saying it in their native languages, by the way. So Cantonese for the SARs and their subdivisions, Putonghua or other languages for the Mainlanders and the Taiwanese, their respective tongues for the others.
A/N: Mid-Autumn Festival (and its associated holidays) is/are celebrated all over East and Southeast Asia. Mid-Autumn Festival is also the harvest festival, and one of those days of year when family reunions happen, so think of it as our equivalent of Thanksgiving. Mooncakes and fruits are the most common holiday foods. The Japanese festival celebrated on the same day is Tsukimi, while that of the Korean Peninsula (both Northern and Southern Nations') is Chuseok.
Here's an extra-long chapter (over 2K words!) that took forever of procrastination to write and type. I came up with the idea of an East Asian family reunion back when I was on holiday in Osaka in early August. It originally involved Vietnam, and I thought of adding the Southeast Asians, but then it's way too complicated, and it took a lot of research to get this one done. I swore to post this on Mid-Autumn Festival, so that's what I've done. And I swear I haven't got all the festive activities down – I skipped almost all the Japanese and Korean festivities. Forgive me, you guys.
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to those who celebrate it! To those who don't celebrate this Chinese festival, have an awesome day/night anyway! If you don't mind, please leave a review or several!
It might be a public holiday for me tomorrow, but, well, that doesn't quite excuse me from homework, which I have a lot of right now. See y'all on Friday! Bye-bye!
-MN
Sources of the Chapter: Discover Hong Kong, Chinese History/General Studies/Chinese textbooks, Hetalia Wiki, Wikipedia, Personal Experience
