VERSION 4 of why the moon has a shadow starts out like version 2 in that Chang e is in the Jade Emperor's palace in heaven. She is banished, however, for a different reason; it's because she she accidentally breaks a precious porcelain jar and angers the emperor. Henceforth, she will have to live on earth where ordinary people live, but she is told that she can return to heaven if she contributes a valuable service to mankind.
She becomes a member of a poor farm family and at 18 years of age meets a young hunter - Hou Yi - who lives in another village. She has become a beautiful woman and they become friends.
Unlike version two in which 9 suns are shot down by Yi on the moon, that event occurs on earth and he is rewarded (as in version 2) by becoming king. In that powerful role, he orders that an elixir be created in the form of a bill so that his life will be prolonged. It is almost ready when Chang e comes upon it and either accidentally or purposely swallows the pill.
King Hou Yi is very angry at his wife, and she tries to flee by jumping out the window of a chamber at the top of the palace. Instead of falling, she floats into the sky toward the moon. The King tries to shoot her down without success.
Once on the moon, Chang e is punished by the Queen Mother who turns her into a three-legged toad. Her companion, a rabbit, constantly works at creating the elixir of immortality by pounding in a large mortar.
This version also has a wood cutter trying to cut down a tree. It's called the cassia tree, the giver of life. The Chinese use this image of the cassia tree to explain mortal life on earth - the limbs are constantly being cut away by death, but new buds continually appear.
The story ends with King Hou Yi ascending to the sun where he builds a palace. Chang e on the moon reflects the feminine principle of yin whereas Yi on the sun symbolizes yang.
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VERSION FIVE has Hou Yi being sent by the King of Heaven to earth to solve the drought problem. After shooting the nine suns and saving the crops, he meets Chang e, a charming young woman who is making her way home from a stream carrying a bamboo container. Yi asks her for a drink, and when she sees the red bow and white arrows hanging from his belt she realizes that he is their savior. She invites his to drink and as a token of her respect, gives him a beautiful flower that she has just picked. Hou Yi, in turn, selects a beautiful silver fox fur as his gift for her. The meeting kindles their love and soon after they are married.
As a mortal's life is limited, Yi decides to look for the elixir of life. His search takes him to the Western Queen Mother who lives in the Kunlun Mountains. Out of respect for what he has done, she gives him a fine powder made from the kernels of fruit which grow on the tree of eternity. She tells him that if both he and Chang e share the elixir, they will both enjoy eternal life, but if only one takes it, that person will ascend to the moon and become immortal.
The two plan to drink the elixir on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month when the moon is full and bright. However, a wicked and merciless man named Feng Meng secretly hears about their plan and one day - when Yi is on his way home from hunting - Feng Meng kills him. The murderer then runs to Yi's home and tries to force Chang e to give him the elixir. Without hesitation, Chang e picks it up and drinks it all.
Overcome with grief, Chang e rushes to her dead husband's side. She is weeping bitterly and soon the elixir begins to take effect and she feels herself being lifted toward heaven.
She decides to live on the moon because it nearest the earth. There she lives a simple life, but her heart remains in the world of mortals. Never does she forget the deep love she has for Hou Yi and the people who have shared their sadness and happiness.
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VERSION SIX tells us that when Hou Yi shoots down the 9 suns, he orders the 10th one to rise and set every day and the people love and respect him for that decision.
The story tells us that many people with integrity and high ideals then come to Hou Yi to learn how to hunt, and among them is an evil man called Peng Meng who later causes great problems in Yi's life.
Rather than getting the elixir of life from the Queen Mother (as in version 5), he gets it from Hsi Wang Mu. It is capable of making a person immortal immediately, and Yi doesn't want to leave Chang e so he hides it in one of her treasure caskets. While doing that, he is observed by Peng Meng who decides to steal it later.
Three days later, Hou Yi leaves to go hunting with his students, but Peng Meng stays home - pretending to be sick. As soon as they are out of sight, Peng Meng breaks into the backyard of the inner chambers and with sword in hand tries to intimidate Chang e so that he can get the elixir. Chang e knows clearly what she has to do to resist him. She takes the elixir from her casket and swallows it. Her body immediately floats out the wiindow and up into the sky.
Because she cares so much for her husband, she lands on the moon, the nearest star to the earth, and becomes immortal.
Hou Yi is so angry that evening when the servants tell him what has happened that he wants to kill Peng Meng, but he has escaped. Yi calls out his wife's name in the evening sky, and the moon seems to get brighter than usual. He feels as if he can see a moving figure on it, and it looks exactly like Chang e. He runs desperately toward the moon, but can't get near. He rushes at it again and it always seems to back off from him. There is no way that he can get there.
He misses his wife so much that he asks the servants to set up the incense burner table in the back garden, one of Chang e's favorite places. On the table they place fresh fruit and the sweet cakes that she liked best. This is Hou Yi's way of memorializing his wife, and the common people also begin to set up incense burning tables when the moon is full and bright, as they, too, want to remember kind-hearted Chang e and perpetuate good fortune.
