In the blink of an eye, there is only more than 1 month left in 2022, and the Year of the Rabbit in 2023 is coming.
Not long ago, the Dunhuang Museum launched the 2023 cultural and creative series "Dunhuang Rabbit Lotte Foot Silver Calendar".
In addition to the rabbit Lotte image inspired by the Dunhuang trick Lotte rebounding pipa, this cultural creation also has a mysterious "Three Rabbits with Common Ears" pattern printed in the middle of the calendar.
"Three Rabbits with Common Ears" originated from the art of Dunhuang murals, where three rabbits share three ears and are endlessly chasing and spinning, this iconic pattern of Dunhuang has been widely spread through the Silk Road.
Three rabbits coin together
Of course, in addition to the "three rabbits sharing ears" pattern, the patterns related to rabbits include jade rabbit pounding medicine pattern, rabbit grass pattern, dripping pearl rabbit pattern and so on.
Next, let's take a look with Mr. J~
The ancient beast of auspiciousness
Rabbit, as one of the most common animals in daily life, it is alert, docile and peaceful, and is loved by people.
In ancient times, rabbits were often inextricably linked to the bright moon.
The Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi wrote in "Mid-Autumn Moon": "According to his few people's intestines, the jade rabbit and silver toad are far from knowing", and there is a saying in Chinese folk culture that "there is a jade rabbit in the moon, which is the genus of the divine".
In classic myths and legends such as "Chang'e Rushing to the Moon" and "Jade Rabbit Pounding Medicine", rabbits are also often associated with the bright moon and have become synonymous with the bright moon.
In addition to symbolizing the bright moon, in Chinese traditional culture, the white rabbit and red rabbit have always been regarded as auspicious beasts because of their scarcity and rarity, often appearing in mythological stories, and have been given many beautiful meanings such as longevity, auspiciousness, and auspicious rui.
Clear mud rabbit
Ming dynasty red and blue jewel set with white jade moon rabbit hairpin
The rabbit, homonymous "spitting", is an animal with strong fecundity, so it is often regarded by the ancients as a symbol of "many children and grandchildren, and a prosperous family".
For this reason, rabbit patterns are very common in traditional Chinese cultural works such as paintings, porcelain, and ornaments.
Traditional Chinese rabbit patterns roughly include three types: 1. Flat decorative rabbit patterns; 2. Rabbit pattern in painting; 3. Rabbit pattern three-dimensional decoration.
Today we will mainly talk about the first type: flat decorative rabbit patterns.
Pengcheng kiln white ground black flower rabbit pattern pot Ming dynasty
Patterns related to rabbits
- Jade rabbit pounding medicine pattern
The jade rabbit pounding medicine pattern comes from mythological stories related to the Queen Mother of the West.
"Jade rabbit pounding" element
This mythical story first originated in the pre-Qin period, and legend has it that the Queen Mother of the West was an immortal goddess who ruled the medicine of immortality, punished evil, and warned of severe disasters, and she could predict the fate of mankind.
Portrait brick of the Queen Mother of the West: The rabbit on the right is pounding medicine
And the side of the West Queen Mother, often followed by 1 or 2 rabbits who are pounding medicine, rabbits because they stay by the West Queen Mother all year round, not only have the ability to make immortal medicine, but also can live forever.
Naturally, the image of the jade rabbit pounding medicine has become a part of the fairy world in people's minds.
Han Yue, Toad, Jade Rabbit Pounding Medicine Portrait Stone
By the time of the Han Dynasty, this image had become deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and it could be seen everywhere in portrait stones, Han bricks, Han mirrors, etc.
Eastern Han Dynasty Jade Rabbit Pounding Medicine Portrait Stone
The Han Dynasty portrait stone below, now in the Shandong Museum, is divided into eight floors and depicts the image of the celestial realm in people's imagination.
In the first layer of the ascending immortal picture, the Queen Mother of the West sits in the center, with the snake tails of Fuxi Nuwa on both sides intertwined, which means endless life, and the left and right sides are decorated with the pattern of jade rabbit pounding medicine.
Han portrait stone
In the Tang and Song Dynasties, the legends about "Jade Rabbit Pounding Medicine" and "Chang'e Rushing to the Moon" not only appeared in different versions, but also the jade rabbit and Chang'e, the moon, toads and other images often appeared in the same scene, becoming the most common pattern on copper mirrors in this period.
Tang Round Moon Palace Pattern Bronze Mirror Collection of Zhejiang Museum
The following Chang'e jade rabbit diamond glass, now in the Palace Museum in Beijing, is a work from the Tang Dynasty.
The copper mirror is eight-petal rhombus-shaped, the back is a picture of the moon palace, decorated with butterflies, flowers, cloud patterns and other patterns, the upper right of the button is decorated with a leafy laurel tree, and the upper left Chang'e, with a flowing posture, a tray in one hand, a hold in the other, and the word "Daji" on it. There is a pool of water directly below the button, with the pattern of a jade rabbit pounding medicine on the left and a jumping toad on the right.
This copper mirror not only depicts the image on the Moon Palace in detail, but also has a novel and unique composition, which is a rare and good product.
Tang Yue Palace Mirror
The jade rabbit pounding pattern of the Ming and Qing dynasties has been extended to clothing, porcelain, accessories and other items.
Qianlong Wang Dooshan, Musk Moon Ink
Royal blue silk embroidered three blue cloud manta dragon pattern men's single dynasty robe
In particular, the following Ming Dynasty gold-ring jade rabbit jeweled earrings now in the Dingling Museum are three-dimensional images of jade rabbit pounding medicine, and decorated with rubies and pearls, the overall shape is vivid and cute.
Dingling Museum Ming Dynasty gold ring jade rabbit set gemstone earrings
- Three rabbit lotus algae well pattern
In addition to the classic pattern of jade rabbit pounding medicine, the pattern of the three-rabbit lotus algae well is also very common.
Mojing refers to the decoration of the roof of the cave painted with colorful paintings and reliefs, often appearing in palaces, temples, tombs and pavilions and other noble places, and now mostly exists in the caves of Dunhuang, lotus patterns, dragon patterns are the most common decorative patterns.
Sui Dynasty Cave 397 lotus pattern
The three rabbit pattern is a new pattern that appeared on the algae well during the Sui Dynasty, with the meaning of longevity, many children, and reincarnation.
Chu Tang 205 Cave Three rabbits share ear patterns
Each of the three rabbits has only one ear, and the three ears join each other in a triangle, spinning clockwise or counterclockwise to run, chasing each other, end to end.
Zhongtang 237 Cave Three rabbits share ear patterns
This mysterious pattern first appeared in the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, among which the pattern painted in the Sui Dynasty cave of Cave 407 is recognized by the world as the earliest existing "Three Rabbit Common Ear Algae Well Pattern".
Cave 407 Sui Dynasty Cave
The square well is composed of three layers, nested structure, the center is a large lotus flower with heavy petals, and in the center of the circular flower center are three rabbits chasing in a counterclockwise rotation, three rabbits with three ears, the first one is connected, surrounded by colorful clouds, and decorated with lotus flowers, honeysuckle, hanging horns and other patterns, the overall shape, brilliant and colorful, dazzling.
Cave 407 Sui Dynasty Cave Three rabbits share ear patterns
In the other 18 caves of the Mogao Grottoes, although the pattern of the three rabbits has also been found, the posture, color, and direction of rotation of the three rabbits are different.
Cave 397 of the Sui Dynasty
In the late Tang Dynasty, with the prosperity of plant patterns, animal patterns declined, and the "three rabbits with common ears" pattern was gradually replaced.
- "Rabbit grass" pattern
The pattern "rabbit grass" is often found on porcelain.
The Cizhou Kiln of the Song Dynasty was the largest kiln in the folk area, and the porcelain, bowls, and plates produced here were decorated with different styles of rabbit patterns.
Song Dynasty Hebei Cizhou kiln black colored eagle scratching rabbit pattern eight square pillow
Among them, the "rabbit grass" pattern is one of the most common patterns, the grass here is not a green grass that can be seen everywhere, but specifically refers to a fairy grass with the effect of immortality, Chinese pay attention to "the picture must be intentional, the meaning must be auspicious", "rabbit grass" pattern is also given the meaning of reproduction and endless life.
In the following golden dynasty's white ground black flower rabbit pattern octagonal pillow, the rabbit has a pinch of fairy grass in its mouth.
In the Qing Dynasty, the rulers clearly regulated the patterns on porcelain, and the "rabbit grass" pattern gradually disappeared.
- Dripping beaded rabbit pattern
On the fabric of the Yuan Dynasty, a pattern called the drop pearl rabbit pattern was popular.
It is rounded at the top and bottom, like dripping water droplets, and can be divided into various forms such as bordered and edgeless, symmetrical and asymmetrical, and decorated with rabbit patterns in the middle.
According to research, this pattern may be an evolved version of the Buddhist story of "Rabbit Bunsheng", which once appeared on the murals of Yongle Palace and later became one of the most commonly used patterns on clothing.
Rabbit pattern in the mural of Yongle Palace
The following piece is now in the China National Silk Museum, and is decorated with a dripping pearl rabbit pattern, which is a seasonal costume for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Yuan dynasty dripping beads rabbit pattern woven gold brocade is hidden in the China Silk Museum
- Other rabbit-related patterns
In addition to the common rabbit patterns mentioned above, such as jade rabbit pounding medicine pattern, three rabbit lotus algae well pattern, rabbit grass pattern, dripping pearl rabbit pattern, etc., rabbits are often combined with traditional auspicious patterns such as flowers, auspicious clouds, osmanthus flowers, etc., which are not only endowed with the meaning of praying for happiness and happiness in life, but also have profound cultural connotations and symbolic significance.
Osmanthus jade rabbit pattern
Clear green satin embroidered laurel rabbit gold leather ball pattern flower god dress
Rabbit with pattern
Song Sancai scratched rabbit with flower sketch fan pillow
Yellow ground laurel rabbit pattern makeup yarn
Rabbit step auspicious cloud pattern
Ming Lingzhi jade rabbit pattern brocade
Mr. J said:
After seeing so many rabbit-related patterns, which one do you like the most? Welcome to leave a message to share~
In subsequent articles, Mr. J will also introduce more kinds of patterns to friends, pay attention to jewelers, and take you to know the beauty in jewelry with interesting language and professional attitude.
Bibliography:
1. "Rabbit Worship and Rabbit Patterns in Cizhou Kiln"
2, "Gossip in the Year of the Egg: The Image of the Rabbit in Ancient Paintings and Wang Yi's Works" Guo Yihua
3. "The Formation and Development of Traditional Chinese Rabbit Patterns" Zhang Guosheng
4. Brief analysis of cultural information in the collection of dripping pearls and exotic floral patterns "Research on Ancient Chinese Fabrics"
5. Discussion on traditional rabbit patterns Jiang Xiyu, Mai Yueqing, Tang Wangyan, Zhang Xinxin
Note: Some of the pictures in this article originate from the Internet, if there is any infringement, please contact the editor to delete~