Xinhua
On the occasion of the arrival of the Chinese Lunar Year of the Rabbit, the reporter chatted with experts and friends from China and many Middle Eastern countries. Unexpectedly, the rabbit culture of our Silk Road civilization ancient country turned out to be so fateful!
How many ears do three rabbits?
Iranian historian Kuroush Salehi showed reporters his collection of ancient coins at his home in Tehran, some with a rabbit with his head up, and a mother and son rabbit on others.
The coins in the collection of Kurush Salish have rabbit motifs. (Provided by interviewee)
How many ears does a rabbit have two ears for a rabbit, and how many ears does a rabbit have? Three rabbits compete and share an ear. Pointing to the "three rabbits with the same ear" motif on a book, Salish explained, "Three rabbits spin in circles, suggesting the cycle of birth, rearing and death. Salish said that the three rabbits are very famous, appearing on glass paintings, coins, trays, tiles and other objects in many parts of the world. According to him, Iran has found the Three Rabbit symbol carved on a medieval tray, which completely matches the Three Rabbit diagram in ancient China; Cultural symbols on metalwork and coins may have been brought by oriental merchants and painters—influences of civilizational exchanges.
Zhao Yanlin, deputy research librarian of the Institute of Archaeology of the Dunhuang Academy in China, said that in the Mogao Grottoes, a world cultural heritage, there are 20 caves with the "three rabbits with common ears" pattern.
Mogao Grottoes Cave 407 "Three Rabbits with Common Ears" algae well pattern. (Photo courtesy of Dunhuang Academy)
"Combing through the existing materials, we can find that the 'Three Rabbits with Common Ears' pattern first appeared in Dunhuang in the 6th century, along the Silk Road in Central Asia and West Asia around the 9th and 11th centuries, and spread to Egypt and European countries in the 13th and 16th centuries." Zhao Yanlin said that the "three rabbits with common ears" have crossed three continents, Asia, Europe and Africa, and appeared on metal plates in Afghanistan, ceramics in Egypt, church clocks in Germany, tile paintings in Britain and other objects.
There are also zodiac rabbits in the Middle East
In addition to the "three rabbits" traveling west along the ancient Silk Road, Middle Eastern friends are no strangers to Chinese zodiac rabbits.
Turkish archaeologist Serkin Chirkin told reporters: "Some archaeological findings show that ancient Turkish tribes widely believed in shamanism, and the Turkish calendar used was derived from the Chinese zodiac sign, including the Year of the Rabbit." "At that time, the rabbit symbolized fighting evil, stopping war, and symbolizing vigorous vitality." During the Turkish shamanism, objects made of rabbit hair were hung in the tent where the mother gave birth to represent guardianship. Chirkin said.
According to Salish, influenced by the Chinese calendar and zodiac culture, Iran also has its own zodiac sign, and in about two months, Iran will also usher in the Year of the Rabbit.
Reza Poniadi Irakchi, a graduate of the Confucius Institute at Tehran University, told reporters, "Iranians like to prepare the 'Seven Fresh Table' to celebrate the New Year, and when the Year of the Rabbit comes, we always put a cute rabbit on the table." The rabbit is a social animal, symbolizing the family and symbolizing that we can spend more time with our family this year. Another student, Agawan Behshti, told reporters that some Iranians believe that children born in the Year of the Rabbit will be as smart and lively as little rabbits.
However, there is also a famous saying in Iran related to rabbits: don't sleep like a rabbit. Behshti said: "We have all heard stories of tortoise and rabbit racing, a proud rabbit and a persistent little turtle. If someone is talented but arrogant, we remind him not to sleep like a rabbit! ”
Rabbits are still goddesses!
In Egypt, an ancient civilization, rabbits also have a special meaning. Tariq Saeed Tawfik, vice president of the International Egyptian Union and professor of Egyptian antiquities at Cairo University, told reporters that thousands of years ago, ancient Egypt had a goddess with rabbits as the prototype.
In addition, the rabbit is associated with Osiris, the god of fertility and resurrection in ancient Egyptian mythology. Tawfik said that ancient Egyptian murals have the image of a guard with a sphinx's head, long ears and two knives.
The ancient Egyptians believed that the rabbit's large eyes represented wisdom, its long ears represented caution and listening, and the ability to reproduce quickly symbolized vigorous vitality. Hearing that China was about to usher in the Year of the Rabbit, Cairo resident Mahmoud Sami said: "Rabbits mean good luck to me, and I hope to bring good luck to Chinese people!" ”