A yak mascot dressed as Chang'e in a flowing crimson and gold traditional Chinese robe floats gracefully toward a glowing full moon. The yak has shaggy brown fur, curved horns, a warm funny face, and holds an empty elixir bottle with its hooves against a starry night sky.

Chang’e Flies to the Moon: A2 Elementary Simplified Chinese Story with Audio

This A2 Elementary retelling of 嫦娥奔月 keeps the plot clear for learners while still giving the story some atmosphere and momentum.

This version teaches Simplified Chinese through English and includes clickable word help inside the story, full story audio, and lesson notes after the reading. It is free to use on Yak Yacker and is designed to feel natural, readable, and manageable for learners.

嫦娥奔月
Story audio

很久很久以前，天上有十个太阳。它们一起发光，大地非常热。

有一个英雄叫。他，他想。

，"嗖"的一声，一个太阳。他又，最后只一个太阳。

他对太阳说："你以后要每天早上出来，晚上回去。"太阳说："好的，。"

后羿成为了，他得到了一颗。他把药给妻子看。"这颗药能让我们。"后羿说。

有一个。一天，后羿不在家，坏人来。"开门！把不死药给我！"坏人大喊。

嫦娥很，但是她不把药给坏人。她，一口药。她的身体变，慢慢。

后羿回家，看到嫦娥。他大声喊："嫦娥！嫦娥！"但是嫦娥已经。

后来，后羿每天晚上月亮。月亮上好像有嫦娥的。人们说，那是嫦娥在。

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English Version

A long, long time ago, there were ten suns in the sky. They shone together, and the earth was very hot.

There was a hero named Hou Yi. He was skilled at archery and wanted to help everyone.

Hou Yi drew his bow, and with a whoosh, he shot down one sun. He shot down eight more suns, leaving only one.

He said to the sun, 'From now on, you must rise in the morning and set in the evening.' The sun said, 'Okay, I'll remember.'

Hou Yi became a great hero and received an elixir of immortality. He showed it to his wife, Chang'e. 'This elixir can make us immortal,' Hou Yi said.

A villain heard about the elixir. One day, when Hou Yi was not home, the villain came knocking. 'Open up! Give me the elixir of immortality!' the villain shouted.

Chang'e was very frightened, but she wouldn't give the elixir to the villain. She opened the bottle and swallowed the elixir in one gulp. Her body became light, and she slowly floated up toward the sky.

Hou Yi returned home and saw Chang'e flying away. He cried out, 'Chang'e! Chang'e!' But Chang'e had already flown to the moon.

Afterward, Hou Yi gazed at the moon every night. On the moon, it seemed there was the shadow of Chang'e. People said that was Chang'e in the Moon Palace.

Moonlit Vocabulary

Let's look at some key words from the legend. You'll see these again and again in Chinese folk tales!

Practice saying them out loud - the pinyin will help you get the tones right.

  • 太阳 (tàiyáng) - sun. The story begins with ten suns: 天上有十个太阳。
  • 英雄 (yīngxióng) - hero. 后羿是英雄。 (Hou Yi is a hero.)
  • 不死药 (bù sǐ yào) - elixir of immortality. 后羿得到了不死药。
  • 害怕 (hàipà) - scared. 嫦娥很害怕。 (Chang'e was very scared.)
Grammar Focus: Resultative Complements

In Chinese, we often add a result word after a verb to show what happened as a result of the action. These are called resultative complements, and they're super common!

Look at these examples from the story: 后羿射下了九个太阳 (Hou Yi shot down nine suns). The verb is 射 (shoot), and 下 (down) tells us the result - the suns came down.

  • Verb + 下 (down): 射下 (shoot down), 坐下 (sit down).
  • Verb + 走 (away): 飞走 (fly away), 拿走 (take away).
  • Verb + 住 (firmly): 记住 (remember - literally "remember firmly"), 站住 (stand still).
  • Try making your own: 吃完 (eat - finish eating), 看完 (read - finish reading).
Speaking Like a Storyteller

Stories often have dialogue and descriptions. Let's pick up some useful patterns from the legend.

Notice how characters talk to each other: 后羿对太阳说… (Hou Yi said to the sun…). The pattern is 对 + person + 说.

  • 大声喊 (dà shēng hǎn) - shout loudly. 坏人大声喊："开门！" (The bad guy shouted, "Open the door!")
  • 好像 (hǎoxiàng) - it seems, as if. 月亮上好像有嫦娥的影子。 (On the moon, there seems to be a shadow of Chang'e.)
  • 慢慢地 (màn man de) - slowly. 嫦娥慢慢地飞向天空。 (Chang'e slowly flew toward the sky.)
  • 把…给…看 (bǎ…gěi…kàn) - show something to someone. 他把药给妻子看。 (He showed the elixir to his wife.)
Your Turn to Fly

Now you've got the words and tools - why not retell the story in your own way? You can use the new vocabulary and resultative complements to make it come alive.

Try writing a short paragraph about what happens after Chang'e reaches the moon. What does she do there? Does she miss Hou Yi? Use at least one resultative complement and one phrase from today.

Story History and Background

嫦娥奔月 comes from the Chinese / myth tradition and is best known as a myth. This Yak Yacker article is an original learner retelling based on Traditional Chinese moon myth; public domain, so the wording here is simplified for modern learners rather than copied from one old edition.

Older printings, translations, and retellings of this story can vary quite a bit. The original audience was usually kids/general, but this version is adapted for A2 Elementary learners studying Simplified Chinese. Many variants; choose one simple version.

If you want to look into the source tradition, start with Wikipedia.

Keep Going With Simplified Chinese

If you want to keep going, browse more in our Simplified Chinese section and review the HSK Level 1 Chinese Vocabulary. After that, try Essential Chinese Grammar Words for another useful next step.

More Simplified Chinese to explore