The 9th day of September in the lunar calendar is "the Chinese Chong Yang Festival" and a happy occasion in autumn. According to the traditional theory of "Yin" and "Yang", both the 9th month and the 9th day of the month belong to "Yang", which means positive and masculine, and "Chong" means double, thus it is called "Chong Yang". People often gather for a party, appreciate chrysanthemums, pin the leaves of Cornus on clothes. And the custom of climbing mountains and eating a special cake also features the day.
This custom of climbing mountains can be dated back as early as West Han Dynasty. Some old travel notes have it that, people climbed to mountain peaks not only for beautiful scenes and poetic inspiration, but also the avoidance of evil spirits and disasters.
This practice came from an ancient folktale. It is said long ago there appeared a devil of plague in the Ruhe River. People lay down and died wherever[] it came up. A boy named Heng Jing swore to help his neighbors and fellow people to get rid of it. He visited many famous mountains to seek a powerful master. Finally an old Taoist took him in and taught him how to defeat the devil. Heng Jing put his whole heart into study and practice.
