Rabbits are fourth in the Chinese zodiac. The 12 zodiac signs are the figurative representatives of the 12 earth branches, and the rabbit and the 12 earth dominate the "卯", so the "卯" time in the twelve hours of the day is from 5 to 7 o'clock in the morning, also known as "rabbit time". As one of the symbols of traditional Chinese culture, the zodiac rabbit is an important creative element in ancient painting.
Zodiac culture
The 12 zodiac signs are also known as the 12 birds, 12 genera, and 12 earth branches. In ancient China, the twelve zodiac signs matched with the twelve earth branches: Zi Mouse, Ugly Ox, Yin Hu, Bun Rabbit, Chenlong, Snake, Wu Ma, Wei Sheep, Shen Monkey, Youji, Dog, and Hai Pig, forming a set of stargazing, timekeeping, and chronological systems. At the same time, the zodiac also indicates the birth age of a person.
Dongba graphic text "rabbit"
The Naxi people are an ancient people living in the southwest of the mainland, and in the long history, the Naxi people have used Dongba hieroglyphics, which resemble natural symbols in the universe, to record and pass down as many as 30,000 volumes of Dongba classics, which have been listed as "Memory of the World Heritage by UNESCO".
The meaning of the rabbit
In many ancient documents, there are myths, legends and records about rabbits, and rabbits have become a symbol of happy marriage, well-being for future generations, and auspicious and long life. Since ancient times, rabbits have attracted people's attention and love for their gentle and well-behaved nature and soft and fluffy fluffy fur, and rabbits, as one of the twelve zodiac signs of traditional Chinese folk culture, have been endowed with some allegorical and mythological colors. In some ancient paintings, these allegories are reflected to a certain extent.
1. Xiangrui
Rabbits have been considered auspicious animals since ancient times, commonly known as Rui Rabbits. "Spring and Autumn" mentions that "Yuheng stars scatter and become rabbits", believing that rabbits are the incarnation of stars in the sky. Zhang Jun of the Jin dynasty praised the white rabbit as an auspicious thing in the "Ode to the White Rabbit", and it is recorded in detail in the "Book of the Later Han Guangwu Emperor", and the rabbit in this period was often used as a gift to the emperor, symbolizing auspicious rui. In addition, rabbits have rapid reproductive ability and vigorous vitality, and are also considered to be a symbol of longevity.
In ancient paintings, Ming Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji's "Royal Arrival Yellow Flower and Bird Scroll" depicts several rabbits and birds, and the rabbits have different expressions, or snuggle or look, with the small scenery of Tinglan on the shore, the whole presents a peaceful and noble scene. In this picture, the rabbit plays a symbolic theme that enhances the peaceful scenery and has an auspicious nature.
2. The legend of the Moon Palace
Rabbits are also known as "jade rabbits" and "moon rabbits". In people's impression, rabbits are always associated with the myth of Chang'e running to the moon, and it is believed that rabbits live in the Moon Palace and are responsible for pounding medicine. The Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai's "Bringing Wine to the Flood Moon" has "White rabbit pounding medicine in autumn and rejuvenation, Chang'e lonely with whom"; Ouyang Xiu of the Northern Song Dynasty in his lyric "White Rabbit" in the clouds "The sky is dark, the clouds are cloudy, and the white rabbit pounds the medicine of the Jiao'e Palace"; Mei Yaochen's "Yongshu White Rabbit" has "ridiculous Chang'e can't do anything, but the jade rabbit comes to the world", and the above large number of texts record the inextricable relationship between the rabbit and the myth of Chang'e running to the moon.
(Ming) Tao Cheng "Toad Palace Moon Rabbit Diagram"
Tao Cheng's "Toad Palace Moon Rabbit Diagram" in the Ming Dynasty is now in the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing. This axis is decorated with bamboo and osmanthus as a background of green mountain stone, presenting a quiet environment as a whole. A red-eyed white rabbit was next to the flowing water, looking up at the moon in the sky in the upper left corner, wondering if he wanted to return to the "Moon Palace" that belonged to it.
(Qing) Jiang Pu "Laurel Rabbit in the Moon"
The mythical Moon Palace also has the saying "Wu Gang felling gui", and gui is an osmanthus tree. Jiang Pu of the Qing Dynasty painted the "Laurel Rabbit in the Middle of the Moon", which is now in the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing. In this picture, the jade rabbit in a bright moon is depicted under the laurel tree, the overall color is light, and the osmanthus is dyed with light yellow dots, the theme is clear, and the relationship between the moon and the jade rabbit and the laurel tree is depicted ingeniously and compactly. We can also see the related meaning of "jade rabbit" in the above works.
The meaning of the rabbit is far more than the two listed above, but it can be seen that the related meaning of "rabbit" has been clearly expressed in ancient paintings. At the same time, the meaning and image of the rabbit greatly enriches the theme and history of traditional Chinese art.
This pottery lamp is exquisitely made, a typical representative of Han Dynasty lamps, 33 cm high, composed of three parts, a bean-shaped lamp plate, a jade rabbit under the plate, and a turtle seat under the column, now in the Yibin City Museum.
Bibliography:
1. Yang Renkai, Chinese Calligraphy and Painting, 20172.Jiang Yihai, Dictionary of Knowledge of Chinese Painting, 20153.Wu Xueshan, Tongjian of Chinese Painting, 2011