Walk around an Asian supermarket or your local Chinese bakery lately and chances are you’ll see boxes of golden-brown mooncakes for sale. These dense pastries are about the size of a hockey puck and packed with rich fillings like lotus seed, red bean and salted egg yolk. They’re traditionally served during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar. This year, the festival’s date falls on Sept. 29.
But beyond being a beloved (and sometimes disliked) food, mooncakes also have an unexpected use: political rebellion.
Zhu Yuanzhang, also known as Emperor Hongwu, first ruler of the Ming Dynasty. (Pictures From History/Universal Images/Getty) Portrait of Liu Bowen, also known as Liu Ji, by Gu Jianlong. (Alamy)
According to folk tales, Chinese rebels during the Yuan Dynasty, led by future Chinese Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang and his military counsel Liu Bowen, used mooncakes to secretly transport messages while fighting against the Mongols. The exact details of the messages differ depending on the storyteller, but they boil down to approximately this: “Uprising on August 15th.”
As popular as these stories are however, the truth is they are probably more fiction than fact.
“I doubt it’s true. … It’s a cute story,” said Miranda Brown, professor of Chinese Studies at the University of Michigan. “The theme of mooncakes is that they’re filled pastry. You can sort of see where there might be room to sneak some stuff in there because they’re quite large. If you think about it from the perspective of its dimensions, the fact that they’re filled with stuff like nuts or whole eggs, and you see how the imagination gets started.”
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But modern-day protesters in Hong Kong have carried this myth into reality in recent years, taking advantage of the mooncake’s unique ability to spell out political slogans.
Mooncakes can take many forms and varieties, from the Cantonese-style chewy crust with a molded imprint, to flaky, laminated Taiwanese pastries with a seal on top. The Hong Kong protesters chose the elaborate Cantonese-style crust.
Illustrations of mooncakes, one whole and seen overhead on the left. The right shows a cross section of a mooncake, with a red bean filling and a salted egg yolk in the center.
Directly translated as “Blooming flowers, full moon,” this Chinese idiom is commonly used during the Mid-Autumn Festival and refers to the happiness experienced when a family reunites or becomes complete again.
Mooncakes are made by pressing the dough into a mold before baking. Intricate patterns and messages have become a staple of mooncake designs.
The crust is typically a thin, tender pastry skin made with lard or vegetable oil. Modern variations like “snow skin” mooncakes use a mochi-like exterior that isn’t baked.
Fillings can be made from just about anything that can be turned into a paste, though traditional ones include lotus seed, sweet red bean and mixed nuts. Salted egg yolk is sometimes included.
Directly translated as “Blooming flowers, full moon,” this Chinese idiom is commonly used during the Mid-Autumn Festival and refers to the happiness experienced when a family reunites or becomes complete again.
Mooncakes are made by pressing the dough into a mold before baking. Intricate patterns and messages have become a staple of mooncake designs.
The crust is typically a thin, tender pastry skin made with lard or vegetable oil. Modern variations like “snow skin” mooncakes use a mochi-like exterior that isn’t baked.
Fillings can be made from just about anything that can be turned into a paste, though traditional ones include lotus seed, sweet red bean and mixed nuts. Salted egg yolk is sometimes included.
Directly translated as “Blooming flowers, full moon,” this Chinese idiom is commonly used during the Mid-Autumn Festival and refers to the happiness experienced when a family reunites or becomes complete again.
Mooncakes are made by pressing the dough into a mold before baking. Intricate patterns and messages have become a staple of mooncake designs.
The crust is typically a thin, tender pastry skin made with lard or vegetable oil. Modern variations like “snow skin” mooncakes use a mochi-like exterior that isn’t baked.
Fillings can be made from just about anything that can be turned into a paste, though traditional ones include lotus seed, sweet red bean and mixed nuts. Salted egg yolk is sometimes included.
Directly translated as “Blooming flowers, full moon,” this Chinese idiom is commonly used during the Mid-Autumn Festival and refers to the happiness experienced when a family reunites or becomes complete again.
Mooncakes are made by pressing the dough into a mold before baking. Intricate patterns and messages have become a staple of mooncake designs.
The crust is typically a thin, tender pastry skin made with lard or vegetable oil. Modern variations like “snow skin” mooncakes use a mochi-like exterior that isn’t baked.
Fillings can be made from just about anything that can be turned into a paste, though traditional ones include lotus seed, sweet red bean and mixed nuts. Salted egg yolk is sometimes included.
Traditionally, the stamped tops say “prosperity” (福), “family harmony” (花好月圆), or even just what the fillings are inside. Modern takes can range from cheeky messages to cartoon characters. But they have also become a convenient vehicle for spreading radical messages in the guise of a traditional pastry.
“I think there is a recent history of using food politically in Hong Kong. Mooncakes, you can put words onto them and incorporate them into the decorative motif on the front. It doesn’t take much imagination to see how that could work,” said Brown.
“In China, food is heavily political. … Mooncakes are expensive — if you look at the price tag, they’re luxury items. Luxury foods in China are often given as gifts to cement or build relationships. So if you’re the government looking to crack down on illicit relationships or forms of corruption, mooncakes are a good place to regulate. And once a food becomes politicized — once one side takes a bite — the other will take it in another direction.”
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In 2012, Hong Kong artist Wilson Shieh of the Woofer Ten art collective made mooncakes decorated with messages like “Anti-rent increase” (反加租) and “Fight the landlords.” Another included the face of Mao Zedong and his quote “to rebel is justified” (造反有理). According to the South China Morning Post, Shieh sold the mooncakes to raise legal funds for eight activists convicted of unlawful assembly after a vigil commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre turned violent.
Illustrated mooncake showing a Chinese message, which translates to “Anti-rent increase.”
Roughly translating to “Anti-rent increase,” artist Wilson Shieh used this phrase on mooncakes in 2012 as commentary on soaring flat prices in
Hong Kong.
In 2022, Hong Kong ranked fourth in the world among cities with the highest living costs, according to a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit. In previous years, Hong Kong consistently ranked near the top: second in 2019, third in 2020 and fifth in 2021.
Roughly translating to “Anti-rent increase,” artist Wilson Shieh used this phrase on mooncakes in 2012 as commentary on soaring flat prices in Hong Kong.
In 2022, Hong Kong ranked fourth in the world among cities with the highest living costs, according to a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit. In previous years, Hong Kong consistently ranked near the top: second in 2019, third in 2020 and fifth
in 2021.
Roughly translating to “Anti-rent increase,” artist Wilson Shieh used this phrase on mooncakes in 2012 as commentary on soaring flat prices in Hong Kong.
In 2022, Hong Kong ranked fourth in the world among cities with the highest living costs, according to a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit. In previous years, Hong Kong consistently ranked near the top: second in 2019, third in 2020 and fifth in 2021.
Roughly translating to “Anti-rent increase,” artist Wilson Shieh used this phrase on mooncakes in 2012 as commentary on soaring flat prices in Hong Kong.
In 2022, Hong Kong ranked fourth in the world among cities with the highest living costs, according to a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit. In previous years, Hong Kong consistently ranked near the top: second in 2019, third in 2020 and fifth in 2021.
Two years later, the Umbrella Movement made mooncakes saying “Occupy Central” (佔領中環), the name of the pro-Democracy protests that took over parts of Hong Kong in late 2014. Demonstrators demanded free elections and blocked roads with sit-ins for months.
Illustrations of snow skin mooncakes, spelling out in Chinese “Occupy Central.”
The message “Occupy Central” is seen here stamped onto four, separate snow skin mooncakes. Often used interchangeably with the “Umbrella Movement,” “Occupy Central with Love and Peace” was a civil disobedience campaign first suggested by Benny Tai, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong, in 2013.
The campaign focused on occupying Hong Kong’s main business district, “Central,” with its objective being universal suffrage.
The message “Occupy Central” is seen here stamped onto four, separate snow skin mooncakes. Often used interchangeably with the “Umbrella Movement,” “Occupy Central with Love and Peace” was a civil disobedience campaign first suggested by Benny Tai, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong, in 2013.
The campaign focused on occupying Hong Kong’s main business district, “Central,” with its objective being universal suffrage.
The message “Occupy Central” is seen here stamped onto four, separate snow skin mooncakes. Often used interchangeably with the “Umbrella Movement,” “Occupy Central with Love and Peace” was a civil disobedience campaign first suggested by Benny Tai, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong, in 2013.
The campaign focused on occupying Hong Kong’s main business district, “Central,” with its objective being universal suffrage.
The message “Occupy Central” is seen here stamped onto four, separate snow skin mooncakes. Often used interchangeably with the “Umbrella Movement,” “Occupy Central with Love and Peace” was a civil disobedience campaign first suggested by Benny Tai, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong, in 2013.
The campaign focused on occupying Hong Kong’s main business district, “Central,” with its objective being universal suffrage.
And most recently in 2019, Hong-Kong-based bakery Wah Yee Tang used phrases like “No withdrawal, no dismissal” (不撤不散) and “Hong-Konger” (香港人), in support of protesters fighting a controversial extradition bill.
In a personal essay, bakery owner Naomi Suen wrote about her choice to use her baked goods to support protesters. “In the current societal atmosphere, how can one live happily?” Suen said. “It’s not the amount of orders that I feel satisfied from. It is the idea of empowering people in a society full of negativity that cheers me up. … These familiar and filling pastries and cake are collective memories of many Hongkongers. If the older generations could reap the success of the present from bitter days of the past, could we do the same for our next generation?”
Illustrated mooncake saying “No withdrawal, no dismissal”
“No withdrawal, no dismissal” was a common phrase used by Hong Kong protestors fighting against a 2019 extradition bill — as long as the bill was not withdrawn, protesters would not disperse.
The bill would allow Hong Kong to detain and transfer people wanted in countries like Taiwan and mainland China, with which Hong Kong has no formal extradition agreements. Critics feared it would more easily allow China to crack down on political activists.
“No withdrawal, no dismissal” was a common phrase used by Hong Kong protestors fighting against a 2019 extradition bill — as long as the bill was not withdrawn, protesters would
not disperse.
The bill would allow Hong Kong to detain and transfer people wanted in countries like Taiwan and mainland China, with which Hong Kong has no formal extradition agreements. Critics feared it would more easily allow China to crack down on
political activists.
“No withdrawal, no dismissal” was a common phrase used by Hong Kong protestors fighting against a 2019 extradition bill — as long as the bill was not withdrawn, protesters would
not disperse.
The bill would allow Hong Kong to detain and transfer people wanted in countries like Taiwan and mainland China, with which Hong Kong has no formal extradition agreements. Critics feared it would more easily allow China to crack down on political activists.
“No withdrawal, no dismissal” was a common phrase used by Hong Kong protestors fighting against a 2019 extradition bill — as long as the bill was not withdrawn, protesters would not disperse.
The bill would allow Hong Kong to detain and transfer people wanted in countries like Taiwan and mainland China, with which Hong Kong has no formal extradition agreements. Critics feared it would more easily allow China to detain and transfer political activists.
But mooncakes are not the only pastries used for political protests. In fact, a quick look back shows that baked goods have a long and storied history as a rebellious tool worldwide.
Chelsea Griffis, an associate lecturer of history and women and gender studies at the University of Toledo, explained that as far back as 1869, the Toledo Woman’s Suffrage Association raised money through bake sales to help support their activities.
“Bake sales were allowable because baking was a weekly or daily activity for most women who remained in the domestic sphere and thus well within the normal expectation of womanly behavior,” wrote Griffis in “Women Who Belong.”
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“Food is inherently political — the way that we create, consume and sell food are all larger statements about how we value the environment and each other,” said Natasha Pickowicz, a chef and author of cookbook “More Than Cake.”
Since 2017, Pickowicz has organized bake sales to fundraise for various causes, including Planned Parenthood. Her bake sales have raised over $200,000 to date. She describes the importance of bake sales as an accessible and inclusive way to include others in a cause.
“I feel like it is super important that the model for organizing a bake sale is inclusive and available to everyone — you could be a professional chef or an amateur at-home baker, and you could still organize a terrific bake sale and bring your community together,” said Pickowicz. “Working on a small, manageable scale — through a neighborhood event — is actually a super impactful way to enact change. It’s grassroots and DIY. We shouldn’t need the approval or permission of big organizations or so-called professionals to let us show up for our community.”
Other pastries with a rebellious past (and present)
Illustrations of various baked goods used for political purposes.
In 1888, the baker’s union went on strike in Buenos Aires to protest working conditions and wages. As workers clashed with police forces, bakers gave cheeky, anti-police and anti-church names to some of the pastries that are still enjoyed in Argentina to this day.
These include vigilantes and cañones, pictured in the bottom tier above. Vigilantes are long, twisted pastries meant to resemble police batons, and cañones, meaning “cannons,” are hollow with a sweet filling.
Bolas de fraile, pictured in the top tier, translates to “friar’s balls” and is a jab at the church.
In the ’90s, activists belonging to the Biotic Baking Brigade threw pies in the face of high-profile figures they saw as committing “crimes against people and the land.” Those pied include Andy Warhol, economist Milton Friedman, logging industry executive Charles Hurwitz, Monsanto chairman Robert Shapiro and Bill Gates.
Cakes have become subjects of political debates for both sides. In 2018, a Colorado baker won a narrow U.S. Supreme Court victory over his refusal to make a wedding cake for a gay couple.
On the other side of the spectrum, in 2017, Oakland restaurant “Hella Vegan Eats” made cakes saying “Resist Fascism” and “Kill Nazis” as white supremicist rallies took place in cities across the U.S.
Moscow baker Anastasia Chernysheva was also recently fined this year by Russian authorities for making cakes decorated with anti-war slogans like “СвободуРоссии, мирУкраине,” which translates to “Freedom to Russia, peace to Ukraine.”
In 1888, the baker’s union went on strike in Buenos Aires to protest working conditions and wages. As workers clashed with police forces, bakers gave cheeky, anti-police and anti-church names to some of the pastries that are still enjoyed in Argentina to this day.
These include vigilantes and cañones, pictured in the bottom tier above. Vigilantes are long, twisted pastries meant to resemble police batons, and cañones, meaning “cannons,” are hollow with a sweet filling.
Bolas de fraile, pictured in the top tier, translates to “friar’s balls” and is a jab at the church.
In the ’90s, activists belonging to the Biotic Baking Brigade threw pies in the face of high-profile figures they saw as committing “crimes against people and the land.” Those pied include Andy Warhol, economist Milton Friedman, logging industry executive Charles Hurwitz, Monsanto chairman Robert Shapiro and Bill Gates.
Cakes have become subjects of political debates for both sides. In 2018, a Colorado baker won a narrow U.S. Supreme Court victory over his refusal to make a wedding cake for a gay couple.
On the other side of the spectrum, in 2017, Oakland restaurant “Hella Vegan Eats” made cakes saying “Resist Fascism” and “Kill Nazis” as white supremicist rallies took place in cities across the U.S.
Moscow baker Anastasia Chernysheva was also recently fined this year by Russian authorities for making cakes decorated with anti-war slogans like “СвободуРоссии, мирУкраине,” which translates to “Freedom to Russia, peace to Ukraine.”
In 1888, the baker’s union went on strike in Buenos Aires to protest working conditions and wages. As workers clashed with police forces, bakers gave cheeky, anti-police and anti-church names to some of the pastries that are still enjoyed in Argentina to this day.
These include vigilantes and cañones, pictured in the bottom left. Vigilantes are long, twisted pastries meant to resemble police batons, and cañones, meaning “cannons,” are hollow with a sweet filling.
Bolas de fraile, pictured in the top left, translates to “friar’s balls” and is a jab at the church.
In the ’90s, activists belonging to the Biotic Baking Brigade threw pies in the face of high-profile figures they saw as committing “crimes against people and the land.” Those pied include Andy Warhol, economist Milton Friedman, logging industry executive Charles Hurwitz, Monsanto chairman Robert Shapiro and Bill Gates.
Cakes have become subjects of political debates for both sides. In 2018, a Colorado baker won a narrow U.S. Supreme Court victory over his refusal to make a wedding cake for a gay couple.
On the other side of the spectrum, in 2017, Oakland restaurant “Hella Vegan Eats” made cakes saying “Resist Fascism” and “Kill Nazis” as white supremicist rallies took place in cities across the U.S.
Moscow baker Anastasia Chernysheva was also recently fined this year by Russian authorities for making cakes decorated with anti-war slogans like “СвободуРоссии, мирУкраине,” which translates to “Freedom to Russia, peace to Ukraine.”
In 1888, the baker’s union went on strike in Buenos Aires to protest working conditions and wages. As workers clashed with police forces, bakers gave cheeky, anti-police and anti-church names to some of the pastries that are still enjoyed in Argentina to this day.
These include vigilantes and cañones, pictured in the bottom left. Vigilantes are long, twisted pastries meant to resemble police batons, and cañones, meaning “cannons,” are hollow with a sweet filling.
Bolas de fraile, pictured in the top left, translates to “friar’s balls” and is a jab at the church.
In the ’90s, activists belonging to the Biotic Baking Brigade threw pies in the face of high-profile figures they saw as committing “crimes against people and the land.” Those pied include Andy Warhol, economist Milton Friedman, logging industry executive Charles Hurwitz, Monsanto chairman Robert Shapiro and Bill Gates.
Cakes have become subjects of political debates for both sides. In 2018, a Colorado baker won a narrow U.S. Supreme Court victory over his refusal to make a wedding cake for a gay couple.
On the other side of the spectrum, in 2017, Oakland restaurant “Hella Vegan Eats” made cakes saying “Resist Fascism” and “Kill Nazis” as white supremicist rallies took place in cities across the U.S.
Moscow baker Anastasia Chernysheva was also recently fined this year by Russian authorities for making cakes decorated with anti-war slogans like “СвободуРоссии, мирУкраине,” which translates to “Freedom to Russia, peace to Ukraine.”
In D.C., three pastry chefs launched Bakers Against Racism in 2020 to raise money for Black Lives Matter after the death of George Floyd in police custody. The initiative has since reached its third year.
An anniversary post on Instagram in June made note of the occasion and called for continued action. “There will be many more years to come as there is still so much more work to be done. Thank you for being you and for baking the Change we want to see in this world.”
