嫦娥奔月神话新考

New Textual Research into the Myth of Chang E Flying to the Moon

嫦娥奔月的神话千古流传,但其产生的时代及其神话意义却一直不被真实理解。"嫦娥"一名原作"恒娥",后又作"姮娥",是来源于"恒矢";嫦娥奔月是为了救月食;上古时代把"月食"又称为"月死";嫦娥所带的不死之药是为了让月不死,而不是人不死。

The myth of Chang E flying to the moon has passed through thousands of years,but its time of origin and mythological significance have not been truly understood.Chang E,alias Heng(constant) E,originated from Heng Shi(constant vector).Chang E flies to the moon in order to save the moon from eclipse.In ancient times,yue shi(lunar eclipse) was also known as yue si(lunar death).The immortality elixir taken by Chang E to the moon is for the moon's immortality,not the human immortality.