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Year of the Rabbit: Where do rabbits come from? What connotations are rabbits given in traditional culture?

Original title: Spring since the time of the day Fu is blessed by the jade rabbit

Year of the Rabbit: Where do rabbits come from? What connotations are rabbits given in traditional culture?

Jade rabbit ornaments unearthed from the ruins of Lingjiatan in Hanshan, Anhui. Photo courtesy of Lu Peng

Year of the Rabbit: Where do rabbits come from? What connotations are rabbits given in traditional culture?

A bronze rabbit statue unearthed from the cemetery of the Marquis of the Western Zhou and Jin Dynasties. Photo courtesy of Lu Peng

Year of the Rabbit: Where do rabbits come from? What connotations are rabbits given in traditional culture?

A clay sculpture of Rabbit made by Shuangyan. Photo courtesy of Zhou Feiya

Year of the Rabbit: Where do rabbits come from? What connotations are rabbits given in traditional culture?

Picture (1): Shaanxi Fengxiang fabric toy white rabbit flower. Photo courtesy of Liu Ying

Picture (2): Qing dynasty green jade set gemstone crouching rabbit.

Figure (3): Tang Cai painted zodiac figurines - rabbits.

Figure (4): Rabbit in the Qing Dynasty's "Beast Tree". Photo courtesy of Lu Peng

This year is the Year of the Rabbit in the lunar calendar, and people regard rabbits as auspicious, and the cultural meaning of rabbits reflects our yearning for a better life. This edition specially invites archaeologists, national intangible heritage inheritors and folk art researchers to share people's observations and records of the image of "rabbit", and feel the artistic charm of traditional Chinese culture.

—Editor

Rabbit image found in archaeology

Lv Peng

Rabbits, belonging to the mammalidae, rabbits, rabbits, rabbits. The skeletal morphology of rabbits and mice is very similar, from the perspective of animal evolution, rabbits and mice are homologous, and fossils of Anhui model pika-rabbit (the ancestor type of rabbit) and Oriental Xiao mouse (close to the ancestor type of rat) were unearthed in the early Paleocene strata of Qianshan in Anhui, indicating that as late as 62 million years ago, rabbits and rats have "parted ways" and moved towards the road of independent evolution.

The living rabbits in the mainland are basically all rabbits, commonly known as rabbits and hares, with a total of 9 species, namely grass rabbits, Yunnan rabbits, Hainan rabbits, northeast rabbits, plateau rabbits, South China rabbits, snow rabbits, northeast black rabbits and Tarim rabbits. There are also rare coarse-haired rabbits on the mainland, mainly distributed in the foothills of the Himalayas, which are now national second-class key protected wild animals.

No burrowing rabbit remains have been found in China, and it can be considered that Chinese rabbits are mainly introduced. There are a large number of records of rabbits in historical documents before the Ming Dynasty. Archaeological findings have rabbit gardens, rabbit cages and other places and equipment that restrict rabbit activities, but rabbits are mainly hunting and entertainment objects, human use of rabbits is relatively loose, and the rabbits contained in the literature are mostly hares. The white rabbit appeared as a rui beast in historical documents, and the ancients regarded it as a symbol of national security, respect for the elderly and longevity. Most of the Chinese rabbits were introduced in the Ming Dynasty, mainly the Ouyuan rabbit, but also the sub-source rabbit.

The ancient places and equipment for raising hares on the mainland were mainly gardens and cages. As the largest royal garden in history, the "cunning rabbit" is raised in Shaanxi, and its use is mainly for meat, sacrifice and hunting entertainment. King Xiao of Liang of the Western Han Dynasty built a garden, East Garden, in present-day Shangqiu, Henan, historically known as Liang Yuan, also known as Rabbit Garden. As the earliest known historical record of the private forest, it is home to a variety of rare birds and animals, among which the "walking rabbit" is used for meat and hunting entertainment. The Luozhuang Han Tomb in Jinan, Shandong Province is a tomb of the princes of the Western Han Dynasty, and the animal species unearthed in the large animal burial pit number 34 include sheep, rabbits, pigs and dogs. In addition, two wooden rabbit cages were found, and it is speculated that live rabbits were buried at that time, based on archaeological phenomena such as messy rabbit bones in the cages.

There are a large number of rabbit animals unearthed at the site of Yinxu in Anyang, Henan. The character "rabbit" in the Yin Wu oracle bone script, the recognition characteristics are very obvious, one is neckless, the other is there is a cocked short tail, it can be seen that the Yin Shang ancestors are very familiar with the morphological characteristics of rabbits. Rabbits have short forelimbs, long and powerful hind limbs, and pulling out their legs and running is their escape instinct, so the word "Yi" from the rabbit, the oracle bone text means chasing the rabbit. There is the word "冤" in the oracle bone script, which is the meaning of the word, the character is rabbit in the net, its original meaning is the same as "罝", and there is a record of "Susu Rabbit Yi" in the Book of Poetry, which describes the situation of setting up a tight and dense net in the fork in the road and dense forest to catch rabbits.

"Waiting for the Rabbit" comes from "Han Feizi", which aims to advise the public not to have the idea of getting something for nothing. "The rabbit walks to the plant, breaks its neck and dies", vividly depicts the scene of the hare running away and crashing into the pile and dying. The Book of Rites refers to rabbits as "clear vision", describing rabbits with large and bright eyes. The "Ancient and Modern Notes" records that "the rabbit's mouth is deficient", which is a description of the specific form of the rabbit's "three-lobed mouth". There are texts such as "the cunning rabbit has three caves" in the "Warring States Policy", which shows that the ancestors knew the changeable characteristics of the hare habitat. In the folk song "Mulan Ci" of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, "The male rabbit's feet flutter, and the female rabbit's eyes are confused; The famous sentence "Double rabbit walking, An can tell me that I am male and female" is also an observation and record of the behavioral characteristics of hares of different sexes.

The image of the rabbit appears from time to time in artifacts made of jade, ceramics, bronze and other materials. Anhui Hanshan Lingjiatan site unearthed Lingjiatan culture (about 5300 years ago) jade rabbit ornament 1, this is the earliest rabbit-shaped jade found so far, jade is gray-white, jade rabbit made head high and galloping, both ears close to the back, hind feet raised, tail rolled up.

Traditional Chinese culture has long associated rabbits with the moon. There is a mysterious painting in the Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha, Hunan Province, with a crescent moon arch in the upper left of the frame surrounding a toad and a rabbit. After the Sui and Tang dynasties, the jade rabbit was able to enjoy the moon palace exclusively and became the representative of the moon, and poetry and songs often connected the moon with rabbits, such as Li Bai's "Gulang Moon Xing" in the Tang Dynasty, "The white rabbit pounds medicine, and asks who to eat with", women and children know.

Now, China's lunar exploration project has attracted worldwide attention, and Chinese scientists have named the artificial satellite and probe that explored the moon Chang'e, and the lunar rover as the Jade Rabbit. They turned the beautiful myth into the reality of science, and put the beauty with Chinese cultural characteristics into modern aerospace research in China and even the world.

(Author's affiliation: Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

Folklore mascot - Rabbit Grandpa

Feiya Zhou

Three-petal mouth, mountain-shaped eyebrows, holding a pestle, dressed in golden armor, a big flag behind it, majestic, the mount under him or tigers, lions, sika deer and other beasts, or peonies, gourds, peaches and even auspicious clouds, fairy air fluttering... This is Beijing's famous folk mascot - Rabbit Erye.

"See these black spots on both shoulders of it? This is the decoration on the hat of the foxtail, steppe nomad. This shows that the appearance of Rabbit Erye should be no later than the Yuan Dynasty. ”

Talking about the folk culture of Rabbit, Shuangyan, the national non-genetic inheritor of Beijing Rabbit's clay sculpture, looked radiant.

Every year before the Spring Festival, it is the busiest time for Shuangyan. However, when I received a call to visit his studio, he gladly agreed.

Because the clay sculptures need to be fired in a kiln, Shuangyan has lived in the countryside for more than 40 years, and the studio is his second "home". Pushing open the door, I saw cascading plaster blocks piled up along the wall, leaving only a narrow aisle. In the living room, tables, stools, and shelves are filled with rows of unfinished rabbits, ranging from seven or eight centimeters to nearly one meter high, of different sizes.

Picking one up casually, Shuanghiko opened the chatterbox.

Shuangyan originally did not think that this life would be accompanied by mud. In the early 90s of last century, Shuangyan and his friends went south to Shenzhen to cooperate in setting up a factory, and they were in full swing, and a phone call from his father Shuangqixiang changed his life. "If you don't come back, the craft is really gone." On the phone, his soulless tone made Shuangyan, who has always been filial, like a thorn in his heart. Shuanghiko knew how obsessed his father was with the craft.

Grandma felt that the craftsmanship was too hard: "Only when you are the first can you eat." My father, who was only 13 years old at the time, would rather go to the mines to carry coal to support himself and insisted on learning. Grandma was helpless and finally had to agree.

In the 50s of the last century, the craftsmen of this line were organized and worked as workers in color plastic factories and metal handicraft factories, and then gradually changed careers. But my father was never willing to leave his craft behind. Every day when he came home from work, he would go into the house to "play" with the mud, and let the 7-year-old Shuangyan follow suit, arrange "homework" before work, and come back from work to check.

In the 80s, the National Art Museum of China found Shuangqixiang and asked him to restore the folk culture of Rabbit. The rabbit who almost disappeared has only reappeared in the world.

In fact, compared with Rabbit Erye, what reflects the level of Shuangjia clay sculpture skills is face painting and other clay sculptures. Shuangqixiang has made a rule from the beginning: never imitate others. It is with these unique artistic creations that Shuangqixiang has won the title of Master of Chinese Arts and Crafts, and his works have also been collected by major museums, with more than 700 pieces collected by the National Art Museum of China alone.

The value of craftsmanship was re-recognized, but there was no successor, and my father could not let go. After hesitating, Shuangyan returned, "Of course, there is a lot of giving up, but I think it is worth it." ”

The process of learning art is not as easy and fun as people think. My father's requirements for Shuangyan are extremely strict, "In 40 years, I have hardly seen his smiling face once, and I sometimes even feel that I have no father in my life, only a master." ”

But after his father's death, the burden of inheritance fell on Shuangyan, and he became more and more able to understand his father's state of mind: "His love is buried in his heart, he is afraid that if he is not strict, his craftsmanship will be passed on..."

"Out of shape" is a very serious matter. In Shuangyan's view, there are currently many "out of shape" rabbit products on the market.

Where does the image of Grandpa Rabbit come from?

Legend has it that one year, Chang'e sent the Jade Rabbit to deliver medicine to the people. Jade Rabbit turned into a young girl, and it was inconvenient to show her face, so she went to the temple to borrow a golden armor. When she finished her task and returned her armor, she fell asleep sitting under the flagpole in front of the temple because she was too tired. Because of the kindness of the jade rabbit, the people of Beijing respectfully called it "Rabbit Master". Every year in the Mid-Autumn Festival, people will invite a rabbit grandpa home to protect his family, and then send it away before the Mid-Autumn Festival the following year, which means that the disaster of the year will follow. "Rabbit's Banner - Singled Out" "The next year's Rabbit Grandpa - Old Chen Ren'er" ... These old Beijing recesses are derived from legends.

"Now some rabbits have several flags planted behind their backs, and even 'Grandma Rabbits' has appeared! It's all because I don't know about traditional culture," Shuangyan said.

Over the years, Shuangyan has brought more than a dozen apprentices. "As long as I am willing to learn, I will teach, but there is only one thing: I must learn the original." He said.

Modeling, molding, tire making, priming, painting... The clay molding process is cumbersome, and there are many details in it. For example, color painting, the most skillful, pay attention to "one stroke in place", the pen is continuous, coherent and imposing. Due to the laborious and time-consuming production process, Shuangyan can only make about two or three thousand pieces per year.

"Since Rabbit Grandpa is the mascot of the Mid-Autumn Festival, why is it that sales are good during the Spring Festival now?" Before saying goodbye, I asked him.

"Because there is a temple fair during the Spring Festival, Rabbit Grandpa can be seen by more people." Shuanghiko's tone was regretful. He sincerely hopes that in the Mid-Autumn Festival and even other traditional festivals, intangible cultural heritage such as Rabbit Erye can return to the folk cultural environment where it was born and lived.

Rabbits in folk art

Liu Ying

In the traditional culture of the mainland, the rabbit is not only one of the twelve zodiac signs, but also endowed with cultural connotations such as fertility, auspicious rui, and longevity, and is a rui beast with multiple auspicious meanings. Ge Hong of the Eastern Jin Dynasty's "Holding Puzi Inner Chapter": "Tigers, deer, and rabbits are all thousands of years old." Those who live to be 500 years old have white coats. "In addition to the white rabbit, the Xuan Rabbit, the Red Rabbit, and the Purple Rabbit were also regarded as auspicious omen in different dynasties. In the Han Dynasty portrait stone, the Queen Mother of the West, who was in charge of the right to immortality, was often accompanied by a rabbit with a pestle, pounding the elixir of immortality for her.

On the mainland, the most important cultural phenomenon associated with rabbits is people's imagination of the rabbit in the middle of the moon. Words such as silver rabbit, jade rabbit, and xuan rabbit have become synonymous with the moon in the poetry of the ancients, and the image of "jade rabbit pounding medicine" has gradually been integrated into folk moon worship activities. The "moonlight horse" popular in the moon worship ceremony in the Beijing and Tianjin regions during the Ming and Qing dynasties is a rune paper printed with a picture of the Moon Palace with a jade rabbit holding a pestle and pounding medicine. Liu Tong and Yu Yizheng of the Ming Dynasty described it in detail in volume 2 of the "Imperial Capital Scenery and Objects". The book not only clearly explains the schema, size and use of the moonlight horse, but also describes the relevant etiquette. Along with the "Moonlight Horse" appeared in the moon worship event was the famous clay sculpture "Rabbit Grandpa". In a young painting of Yang Willow in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, "Gui Xu Shengping", the scene of children worshipping the rabbit god in the Mid-Autumn Festival is depicted with artistic techniques. The clay shaping type similar to the old Beijing "Rabbit Grandpa" is also seen in the "Rabbit King" in Jinan, Shandong, which is in the shape of the Yellow River clay rabbit general, which is quite exquisitely made, with a built-in cable pulling mechanism, and traction can make it make it wave his arm and pound medicine, which increases the fun of play. In reality, the small and docile rabbit has been endowed with vast magical powers in the semantics of folk culture, and has become a "famous product", which shows people's preference for the image of rabbits.

In the Yellow River Valley, where folk art is abundant, there are many folk sayings related to the reproductive properties of rabbits. The paper-cutting theme of "Snake Coiled Rabbit" is usually shaped by a snake body with a whole body cut pattern wrapped around one or two times, with the rabbit shape in the center, and a "plate" character highlighted on the composition, forming a harmonious and aesthetic picture. These rich paper-cutting patterns are passed down from generation to generation through the skillful hands of folk artists, conveying living cultural concepts.

Because rabbits are endowed with a variety of auspicious meanings, they also have the characteristics of dexterity and agility, in the folk, women also often sew rabbit-shaped clothing items, such as rabbit pillows, rabbit shoes, rabbit-shaped sachets, rabbit-shaped cloth toys, rabbit-shaped hanging ornaments, etc., a stitch and a thread in the care and expectation of life. Rabbit-shaped pillows appeared as early as the Tang Dynasty, and were fired with three-color glazed pottery, and the shape was mostly realistic lying rabbits. A black rabbit pillow in Pucheng, Shaanxi Province, was designed by folk artists in an exaggerated way into a symmetrical shape with double heads, and the black background cloth was embroidered with pink, green, yellow and other colored threads to embroider flowers, copper bells and other patterns, especially highlighting the decorative effect of the eye area, and the overall color matching was full of strong folk aesthetic interest. In some northern regions, there is also the custom of making rabbit shoes, the front of the shoe resembles a rabbit head, embroidered nose and lips, red eyes, the two sides of the mouth are embellished with rabbit ears, and the back end of the mouth is embellished with embroidered ribbons to symbolize the rabbit tail. The significance of wearing rabbit shoes for children during the Mid-Autumn Festival is self-evident, hoping that children will be as neat and flexible as rabbits.

There are many rabbit shapes in folk art, such as rabbit holding cabbage, white rabbit holding flowers, rabbit lying lotus flowers, etc. These colorful, innocent and simple rabbit-shaped works are full of people's simple wishes for the reproduction of life and the well-being of their descendants, and embody the simple romantic feelings unique to folk art. Excellent folk art creators put sincere emotional expression into their works, inheriting and innovating, so that these classics move people's hearts and exude lasting artistic charm.

(Author's affiliation: National Art Museum of China)

Typography design: Zhao Siru

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