In traditional Chinese culture, the rabbit is regarded as a symbol of beauty. On the occasion of "tiger" and "rabbit", let's also talk about the auspicious rabbit, elegant and interesting.
Tomorrow will start, blue flower, blue and white colorful jade rabbit pattern flower mouth plate three
Why is it selected for the Chinese zodiac?
As we all know, among the twelve zodiac signs, the rabbit ranks fourth. In the earliest record of the zodiac system, Hubei Sleeping Tiger Land Qin Jian and Gansu Fangmatan Qin Jian, you can find the figure of rabbits: 卯, rabbit also. But why it was selected is a matter of opinion.
Liao, three-color rabbit pattern box
Some scholars believe that the formation of the zodiac is related to the ancestors who know time by observing animals, so the earliest domestic animals - six animals (horses, cows, pigs, sheep, chickens, dogs) are all selected. The Book of Rites also makes it clear that the sacrifice used by the rabbit for the "ritual of sacrificing the temple". In this way, the role of the rabbit in the sacrifice is equivalent to that of the six animals, so it is included in the zodiac.
Western Zhou, rabbit-shaped bronze statue, Poly Museum of Art
[In the pre-Qin Confucian classic "Book of Rites", the rabbit that is the sacrifice of the temple is called "clear vision". Some of the bronze ceremonial vessels of the Zhou Dynasty adopted the shape of rabbits. 】
Not only that, Ming Dynasty man Lang Ying further explained that the earth branch is below, so the number of animal toes and claws should be investigated, and the rabbit's four claws are even numbers, so it is yin in the earth branch. As for why it corresponds to the divine position, it has to do with the moon. The day is born in the east and there is the chicken of the west, and the moon is born in the west and there is the rabbit of the east, this yin and yang sympathetic righteousness. The moon is yin, and the jade rabbit represents the moon, so it is listed in the 12th zodiac, which is precisely the "natural principle of heaven and earth" that reflects the changes of yin and yang.
Why is there a jade rabbit on the moon?
What's in the middle of the month? Jade rabbit pounding medicine.
The earliest record of rabbits on the moon on the mainland comes from the question of Qu Yuan, a great poet of the State of Chu, in "Tianwen": "Luminous He De, death and fertility?" What is Liwei, and Gu Shu is in the belly? Wang Yi, a scholar of the Eastern Han Dynasty, interpreted that "luminous" is the moon, and "dodder" is the rabbit. Qu Yuan's "Gu Shu" is the first rabbit in the moon that appears in literature.
Western Zhou, double rabbit car scale, Shanghai Museum collection
In addition, Zhang Hua, a writer of the Western Jin Dynasty, also explained the relationship between the moon and the rabbit from another angle. He wrote in the "Natural History": "The rabbit licks the moon, looks at the moon and becomes pregnant, and spits out the seed in the mouth." "Because of the moon, "spitting", "spitting" and "rabbit" are homophonic, so it is called "rabbit". Of course, we all know that it is impossible for Mochizuki to get pregnant, but the ancients found through observation that the reproductive cycle of rabbits is indeed extremely close to the cycle of the moon. Perhaps because of this, the association of a "sensing" relationship between the rabbit and the moon arose.
Tang, Chang'e jade rabbit diamond glasses, collection of the Palace Museum
"Spit in the mouth" can't help but remind people of a story in "Romance of the Gods". In the last years of Yin Shang, Xi Bohou was dissatisfied with the brutal rule of King Shang and recruited talents in Xiqi, preparing to gather a crowd to rebel. When King Feng learned the news, he designed to trick the Xibohou father and son into house arrest in Chaoge. In order to confuse King Shu, Xi Bohou pretended to be crazy and sold fools all day, and in order to test his authenticity, Xi Bohou's eldest son Bo Yi Kao was killed and boiled into broth for Xi Bohou to eat. Xi Bohou forcibly endured his grief and pretended not to know, so he swallowed it in large gulps. After gaining the trust of King Shun and releasing him from prison, Xi Bohou escaped from Chaoge overnight, and in grief he vomited all of his son's flesh. As soon as the meat hits the ground, it turns into a rabbit as white as snow. The white rabbit bowed to Xi Bohou three times, and then ascended to heaven with a gust of fragrant wind.
Later, the Jade Emperor was deeply moved by this, saying that his father and son were loyal and filial. Immediately sent a decree to take the white rabbit by his side, named it "Jade Rabbit", and asked him to accompany Chang'e Fairy in Guanghan Palace to pound medicine, cultivate his body, and cultivate his nature, in order to become an immortal. Later, the jade rabbit lived up to its expectations, completed its merits, and pounded immortal medicine with Chang'e fairy all day long, relieving the suffering of disease and living a long and healthy life in the world. When people see the shadow in the middle of the moon, they naturally think of rabbits and think that there are rabbits in the moon.
The "White Rabbit" copper plate of the Northern Song Dynasty "Jinan Liu Family Kung Fu Needle Shop" is the originator of the world's trademark advertising, it takes "White Rabbit Pounding Medicine" as the store mark, and is equipped with the words "Recognize the White Rabbit in front of the door as a note", it can be seen that the story of Jade Rabbit Pounding Medicine was very popular at that time, well-known, and the use of this image can achieve a better communication effect.
Rabbits and moons are closely related. There is a jade rabbit in the moon, and the rabbit looks at the moon and becomes pregnant, which is the romantic bond given by the ancient Chinese to the rabbit and the moon. With the development of science and technology, we already know that there is no jade rabbit on the moon, but the dream of Chinese people to explore the moon has never stopped, with the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, we have entered the space age, the romantic Chinese people sent the lunar rover named "Jade Rabbit" to the moon. Spanning 5,000 years of time and space, Chinese gives poetry to icy technology in a unique way.
Western Han Dynasty, Mawangdui No. 1 Han Tomb T-shaped painting (partial), Hunan Provincial Museum
[In traditional Chinese moon mythology, the rabbit is one of the core images. The T-shaped paintings unearthed from the No. 1 Han tomb of Mawangdui depict the moon, toads and jade rabbits. 】
The endless three rabbits share the same ear
Sort out the patterns about rabbits, and the three rabbits have to say. The three rabbits share the ear, as the name suggests, which are formed by three rabbits surrounding in a circle, and the three rabbit ears are connected. The three rabbits look like an inseparable circular pattern that follows and chases each other, as if there is no end, it seems that the three rabbits still have two ears, and with the galloping dynamics of the three rabbits, the central circle seems to move, forming a sense of endless movement.
There is no definite conclusion on the origin of the three rabbits co-eared. However, according to relevant records, a ceramic relief similar to a round wadang was unearthed at the site of the Buddhist temple in Sedusharef, with the relief pattern of three lying rabbits in a circular arrangement on the inside and outside of the feet, sharing three ears. The decorative beaded pattern on the outer area is a typical factor of the Sassanid Persian (226-651) culture, which speculates that the relief does not appear to be a relic of the early and middle Gandhara, and is most likely made in the late Gandhara period. After this, the Three Rabbits appeared in large numbers in the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes. The cultural factors bred by Gandhara were carried forward in Dunhuang, and ancient India and China were unwittingly connected.
Ceramic reliefs from the fourth and fifth centuries have been unearthed at the site of Swatsedhusharef
The Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang have many mojing patterns with three rabbits sharing ears, most of which are concentrated in caves excavated during the Sui Dynasty to the Five Dynasties. One of the most well-known is Cave 407, the only image of a rabbit running counterclockwise in the Mogao Caves. The eight-petal lotus flower in the algae well is suspended in the air, surrounded by flying sky, colorful clouds flowing, and there are three rabbits chasing in the middle of the lotus, they share three ears, no matter from which angle you look, each rabbit has two ears. Jumping and running in the same direction, but never meeting, the straight ears form an equilateral triangle, and the changes are like a kaleidoscope. Three rabbits chase each other, alive.
Following the Dunhuang Grottoes, images of the three rabbits appeared in the temples of the Guge dynasty in Tibet, on the ruins of ancient countries in Central Asia, in ancient pottery fragments in Egypt, in tombs with a Jewish background, on the glass windows of medieval churches in Europe... The trail spans three continents, entering and exiting the four major religions of Buddha, Hui, Christ and Judaism.
Iranian pallet, 13th century
Jewish coffin, circa early 18th century
There are many opinions on the meaning of the pattern of the three rabbits with the common ear. It is said that the Tao Te Ching has the "three lives" saying of "Tao Sheng 1, Life 2, 2 Life 3, 3 Life and All Things", so the Three Rabbits Ear Diagram symbolizes endless life; It is said that the "Buddha Bunsen Sutra" records that the rabbit was one of the Buddha's Bunsheng who sacrificed himself to protect his companions and others, and was later sent to the moon for worship. The three rabbits also represent "past life", "present life" and "future life" respectively, and the three lives are reincarnated, never leaving and never abandoning; It is said that the trigram in the "I Ching" - taigua, represents "three yangs", and the three yangs open tai, that is, there is a beautiful meaning of auspicious and prosperous...
How long do rabbits live?
The rabbit of the zodiac has the beauty of the moon rabbit, the spirit of nature, with yin and yang, and softness to overcome rigidity. In the traditional Chinese cultural system, the three are yin, representing softness, calmness and relaxation. The Taoist classic "Taiping Jing" recorded: "The lord is in the east, the east star is ordered, many places live, and the people eat." It is said that the east is the east, and the east is the east. Spring is prosperous, Xia Chang is actually doing everything, and he is not virtuous. Therefore, the name Dongxing is benevolent, and he can't bear to be slandered. Heaven cherishes the years and recovers for a long time. "The throne is located due east, the Lord grows in spring and summer, gentle and benevolent. Therefore, the Year of the Rabbit, with the help of the "benevolence" of the Eastern Throne, is a year that is convenient for rest and recuperation and benevolence. In contrast, the Year of the Tiger before the rabbit is sunny and ferocious.
Ride the black tiger rabbit
[The classic shape of Rabbit Erye is riding a tiger, which means that the rabbit rides the tiger, eats the grain, has surplus food at home, and lives a rich life. 】
Perhaps because of this, wellness-focused Chinese combine this theory with numerology. In many numerology books, it can be seen that the rabbit has a good life, a stable life, and a long and healthy life. The most representative is the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, as the best and longest-lived emperor in Chinese history, he lived to be 89 years old. Someone once made statistics that China's feudal dynasties have produced more than 350 emperors, and only 290 have a clear record of their birth time. Among them, the so-called "True Dragon Tianzi" belongs to 29 dragons, but the first one in the genus is: rabbit! There are more than 30 emperors belonging to the rabbit, and we are familiar with such as Liu Xiu, the Emperor of Han Guangwu, Cao Pi, the Emperor of Cao Wei, Li Yuanhao of Jingzong of Western Xia, and Zhu Houxi, Emperor Ming Jiajing. Of course, individual cases do not prove the connection between zodiac signs and longevity. The reason why people believe that rabbits have a long life is not only because of the "year of heaven and man, long recovery", but also because rabbits symbolize longevity in traditional culture.
Southern Song Dynasty, Yue kiln green glaze carved flowers exquisite rabbit button incense smoking stove
The ancient book "Rui Ying Tu" recorded: "Red rabbit Da Rui, white rabbit Zhong Rui", in ancient China, white is a mysterious color, and white animals are regarded as a symbol of auspicious rui because of their rarity. Ge Hong said in "Holding Puzi": "Tigers and deer and rabbits all live a thousand years old, and those who live five hundred years old have white coats." "It is conceivable that if you see the white rabbit, it means that it is at least five hundred years old. It is also recorded in ancient myths that the ancient goddess Xiwangmu, who is in charge of the elixir of immortality and immortality, followed a white rabbit to refine the immortal elixir for it. Because the rabbit has been waiting for a long time by the Queen Mother of the West, he not only has pharmaceutical skills, but also obtains an immortal body. Therefore, in ancient times, emperors often used white rabbits to reward meritorious old people, which meant giving them health and longevity. And there are also many folk customs of praying to the "jade rabbit" for health and longevity.
Don, white glazed dotted black rabbit, old collection of Los Angeles Museum, USA
A brick copy of the portrait of the Western Queen Mother Han unearthed in Xindu, Sichuan, which depicts three-legged wu, jade rabbit, toad, nine-tailed fox and other beasts
Even the great literary magnate Su Dongpo affectionately called his younger brother Su Zhi "Jun Xun". Su Zhi was born in February of the second year of the Renzong Dynasty of the Northern Song Dynasty (1039), 1039 is the year of the rabbit, and February is the moon. Mr. Dongpo called his brother in this way, presumably also sending him good wishes for "I hope that people will be long".
Southern Song Dynasty, Qingyu Rabbit paperweight, Quzhou City Museum collection
Whether it is myths and legends or numerology, whether it is credible or not is a matter of opinion. From ancient times to the present, the imagination stimulated by a rabbit represents people's exploration of the unknown and their yearning and pursuit of a better and happy life.
Gold or yuan, Cizhou kiln sauce glaze scratched double rabbit pattern goblet
Ming, Pengcheng kiln white ground black flower rabbit pattern pot, Palace Museum collection
Resources:
1. "Chinese Heritage" No. 01, 2021, "[Rabbit] People who belong to rabbits have the best life";
2, Jian Zilong, Ren Zhanjun, Gao Yuqi "Ancient Chinese Rabbit Culture"
3. "Grand View of Art", Li Jingjie, Qi Qingyuan, Li Qiuhong, "New Discoveries and New Thoughts on the Image of Three Rabbits with Common Ears"