As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, a prank mooncake labeled 'Dog Bites Lü Dongbin' has appeared on Chinese e-commerce platforms. Sellers are using the gimmick of 'prank gifting' to attract buyers, triggering heated discussions. However, the manufacturer clarified that this product actually belongs to their 'Immortals Celebrate the Moon' series, and that third-party sellers have renamed it for marketing purposes without authorization.
This mooncake is printed with the image of Lü Dongbin and the three characters for his name, putting recipients in the awkward position of 'bite it and you’re the dog that bit Lü Dongbin, don’t bite and you’re being ungrateful.' Reporters from Jimu News searched for 'Dog Bites Lü Dongbin' mooncakes on the platform and found results from several mooncake shops. One shop in particular displayed a mooncake with a bite taken out of it, featuring the words and image of Lü Dongbin, with a caption beside it: 'Shunfeng free shipping Dog Bites Lü Dongbin mooncake gift box, malicious gift for boyfriend or girlfriend.'
Platform listings show that the product comes in various package options, including a 12-piece box (with 3 'Dog Bites Lü Dongbin' mooncakes) for 115 yuan (about 67 MYR), an 18-piece box (with 1 'Dog Bites Lü Dongbin' mooncake) for 208 yuan (about 122 MYR), as well as a simple 2-piece set for 78 yuan (about 46 MYR). All are marked under the 'Qiao Jia Zha' brand, and the page indicates that over 10 orders have already been placed.
The manufacturer, Nanchang Qiaofu Food Co., Ltd., responded that their 'Immortals Celebrate the Moon' series has been available for three years, with the gift box containing flavors named after the Eight Immortals, and Lü Dongbin being only one of them. The company stressed that the so-called 'Dog Bites Lü Dongbin' mooncake is the result of third-party sellers changing the product name for attention-seeking purposes without authorization.