hou yi (后羿) was a great archer(射手) and architect(建筑家), who shot down nine extra(多余的) suns thathad suddenly appeared in the sky and thus(因此) kept the earth from being scorched(烤焦). he also built a palace of jade(翡翠) for the goddess of the western heaven(西王母). for this, he was rewarded with a pill containing the elixir(长生不老药) of immortality(不朽), but with strings attached--he must fast(斋戒) and pray for a year before taking it. his wife, chang e (嫦娥), whose beauty was surpassed(超过) only by her curiosity, discovered and swallowed(吞) the pill and in no time soared(高飞) to the mo
