Yuebing
/ˈjuːˌbɪŋ/noun
A Chinese pastry traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival, commonly translated as “mooncake.”
Did you know?A popular legend claims that rebels used mooncakes to conceal messages during the 14th-century uprising against Yuan rule, though historians debate how firmly the story is documented.
Etymological Timeline
Old Chinese
Old Chinese
月
“Moon; the lunar month”
Old Chinese to Middle Chinese
Sinitic
餅
“A flat, baked, or griddled cake or bread”
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese
月餅
“Moon cake; a cake associated with the moon or lunar observance”
19th–20th Century
Mandarin
yuèbǐng
“Mooncake, especially the festival pastry eaten at Mid-Autumn”
20th Century
Pinyin English
yuebing
“The pinyin romanization of 月餅, used in English-language writing”
Modern English
English
yuebing
“A Chinese mooncake, often filled with lotus seed paste, red bean paste, or salted egg yolk”
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