there are many stories on how this festival was created. one other story is about a maid. in the han dynasty, mr. eastern was a favorite advisor of the emperor. one winter day, he went to the garden and heard a little girl crying and getting ready to jump into a well to commit suicide. mr. eastern stopped her and asked why. she said she was a maid in the emperor's palace and her name was yuan-xiao.
she never had the chance to meet her family after she started worked at the palace. she missed them so much every 12th lunar month. if she couldn't have the chance to show her filial piety in this life, she would rather die. mr. eastern promised her to find a way so she could reunion with her family. mr. eastern left the palace and set up a fortune-telling stall on the street and disguised himself as a fortuneteller. because of his reputation, many people asked for their fortunes.
