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1. Origin of the Moon rabbit in China

China has played a central role in the Asian culture of the Moon rabbit. The name of the Moon rabbit, "jade rabbit," is based on “白兎 (the white rabbit)” in Chinese. In the poem "擬天問" by Fu Xuan (傅玄) of the Western Jin Dynasty (the 3rd century), it is said that "There is something in the Moon, the white rabbit is pounding medicine.” In the Tang Dynasty, several poets such as Li Bai (李白) began to mention the white Moon rabbit in their poems [1].

In Chinese history, the oldest text that mentions the relationship between the Moon and the hare/rabbit is "Chu Ci (楚辞)," which was written by Qi Yuan (屈原) in the 4th or 3rd centuries B.C. In Chu Ci, there is a sentence, "What is the reason why 顧菟 is on the Moon?” [2] If the word “顧菟” represents rabbit, then the rabbit on the Moon would have been known in China from the 4th to 3rd centuries B.C. However, we must be careful. A Chinese classical scholar Wen Yiduo (聞一多) pointed out that the word “顧菟” refers to the toad, not the rabbit [1,3]. According to his hypothesis, the similarity of the pronunciations between ”蜍” and “兎 (rabbit)” has led to the belief that a rabbit is on the Moon. In fact, toad, along with rabbit, has been a creature of the Moon in China since Han Dynasty.

Although It is still not certain that “顧菟” means hare/rabbit or toad, clear evidence of the Moon rabbit in China can be seen in the painting on silk excavated from the Mawangdui Han tombs (馬王堆漢墓) (Fig. 1). This painting has a design of a toad and a rabbit along with a crescent Moon. Mawangdui has been identified as the tomb of Li Cang (利蒼), a prime minister of the Changsha Kingdom (長沙国), and his wife, Xin Zhui (辛追). Thus, it is certain that the jade rabbit was known in China in the second century B.C.

In India, around the 6th century B.C., the hare/rabbit on the Moon has already been mentioned in Brahmanic text (see the section Moon Rabbit in India for detail). Did the Chinese jade rabbit come from India? Or did they arise independently in the two places? As mentioned above, Wen Yiduo (聞一多) thought that the tradition of the jade rabbit was born from the similarity of pronunciation between toad and rabbit. However, let us consider a little bit more.

In the "Records of the Grand Historian (史記)" written by Sima Qian (司馬遷) in the 1st century B.C., it is reported that when Zhang Qian (張騫), who was a diplomat of Han Dynasty, went to the western countries to ask for help to defeat the equestrian people, the western people knew the existence of Han and they were willing to trade with the Han Dynasty [4]. Furthermore, in the markets of Bactria, Zhang Qian found bamboo cane and cloth from Chinese regions. Zhang Qian was told that they were purchased from India [4]. Considering this text, before Zhang Qian's expedition, there seemed to have communications between Chinese and western regions, although the detailed route is not clear. In addition, although the location differs from India, Chinese silk fabrics have been excavated from the Basilik tombs in the Altai Mountains [5]. Although the date of the Basilik tombs is not known for certain, they are estimated to date to the 5th-4th century B.C., and some to the 3rd century B.C. [5]. Based on these records and excavated artifacts, it is likely that China had contact with the western countries even before the Silk Road was officially opened. If so, the culture of the Moon rabbit might also have been brought to China as western culture. Eberhard, who analyzed local Chinese cultures in detail, also speculates that the Moon rabbit may have been a culture from outside China [6]. However, the exact origin of the Chinese Moon rabbit (jade rabbit) is uncertain. Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that the jade rabbit originated within China due to the similarity in sound as Wen Yiduo (聞一多) pointed out.

In China, during the Han Dynasty, the tombstones were carved with various patterns. These stones named "画像石" provide clues to the culture at that time. There are several stones with the Moon rabbit [1,7]. In addition, mirrors from the Han Dynasty are also decorated with the jade rabbit [8]. So, it seems certain that the Moon rabbit became widespread in China during the Han Dynasty. It was also during the Han Dynasty that the Moon rabbit began to appear in pieces of literature. For example, "五経通義,” which is thought to have been written by Liu Xiang (劉向), a scholar of the Western Han Dynasty, describes "Why are there the rabbit and toad on the Moon." [9]. Furthermore, in the Eastern Han period (1st century), "The Spiritual Constitution of the Universe (霊憲, Ling Xian)" by Zhang Heng (張衡) and "Lunheng (論衡)" by Wang Chong (王充) also mention the hare/rabbit on the Moon [10,11].

2. Change of the Moon rabbit in China

In the Western Han period, the rabbit was depicted only together with a toad (Fig. 1). However, around the Eastern Han period (1st century), it gradually became a servant of the goddess Xi-Wang-Mu (西王母), who lived in the Kunlun Mountain (崑崙山). The Moon rabbit began to pound elixir for immortality with a mallet and mortar as a servant (Fig. 2).

From around 500 A.D., the composition of the Moon gradually became fixed with a toad and a rabbit on either side of a laurel tree, as shown in Fig. 3. Then, in the Tang Dynasty, this iconography began to appear in mirrors and paintings. This image pattern was also used in Japan between the Nara and the Kamakura period (8th-14th century). The Moon rabbit was used in Chinese poetry. For example, in the poem "把酒問月 (Ask the Moon for a cup of alcohol)" by Li Bai (李白), he wrote, "The white hare pounds the medicine, and autumn has returned to spring.”

However, after the Tang Dynasty ended and the Song Dynasty began, a significant change occurred in the image of the Moon in China. Please compare Fig. 3 with Fig.4. The laurel tree that had previously stood at the center of the image moved to the edge. Instead, the rabbit pounding elixir for immortality came to the center (Fig. 4). Most significantly, from the Song Dynasty, the lunar toad was not depicted in the Moon. Since the Han Dynasty, Chinese lunar images typically showed a toad alone or with a rabbit [1]. In other words, in China, before the Song Dynasty, the main animal on the Moon was a toad rather than a hare/rabbit. In the Song and later, however, the rabbit became the only animal drawn in the Moon images, although the laurel tree is drawn.

Unfortunately, It is unclear why the toad disappeared from Moon images in the Song Dynasty. It is, of course, possible that there was no particular reason and that people simply preferred to see only a rabbit in the paintings. However, there is an interesting ornament called "tile decoration (牌飾)" that was found in 2003 in Inner Mongolia (Fig. 5) [12].

This ornament was made in the Liao Dynasty (遼), which is a country in the northern part of the Song dynasty. It is carved with a laurel tree in the center and a rabbit in the lower right corner. Interestingly, the lower left corner of the laurel tree is not carved with a toad, but with a man cutting wood with a blade-like object (Fig. 5). According to the description in the catalog, this man is believed to be "Wu Gang (呉剛)" [12]. Wu Gang appears in the mythology of the Moon. According to the book "The Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang (酉陽雑俎)" written by Duan Chengshi (段成式) in the Tang Dynasty, Wu Gang learned wizardry. However, because of his negligence, he was swept away to the Moon and had to cut a tree [13]. One interesting point is that, in "The Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang," it is written that Wu Gang was from 西河, which is around present-day Shanxi province (山西省), the northern part of China [13].

Considering that Wu Gang is thought to be from the northern part of China and that the ornament with Wu Gang was found in Liao tombs, the northern countries had a lunar culture (mythology) different from that of central China. At the end of the Tang dynasty (the begging of the Song Dynasty), the arrival of cultures from the northern regions may have led to the disappearance of the toad from Moon images during the Song dynasty.

This is only my guess, and there is another reason. However, even though there is another reason, once the toad disappeared, the image of the Moon with the rabbit pounding elixir for immortality and the laurel tree was used after that. This change seems to have influenced Japanese Moon images as well. During the end of the Heian period (~12th century), Moon images of only a rabbit (even the laurel tree is not drawn) began to appear in Buddhist paintings (see the section Moon Rabbit in Japan for detail).

Reference

[1] 小川博章　玉兎考-月の兎はどこから来たか 書学文化 5, 5-22, (2003).

[2] 早川清孝　新釈漢文体系 楚辞 明治書院.

[3] 貝塚茂樹 中国神話の起源 角川文庫.

[4] 司馬遷　史記8 ちくま学芸文庫.

[5] 川又正智　漢代以前のシルクロード　雄山閣.

[6] W・エバーハルト　古代中国の地方文化　華南・華東　六興出版.

[7] 曽布川寛　崑崙山への昇仙 中公新書.

[8] 西村俊範　三角縁神獣鏡の二・三の問題について 京都学園大学人間文化学会紀要 (35), 61-96, (2015).

[9] 芸文類聚訓読付索引1 大東文化大学東洋研究所.

[10] 科学の名著2　中国天文数学集 朝日出版社.

[11] 山田勝美　新釈漢文体系　論衡 中 明治書院.

[12] 大辽五京: 内蒙古出土文物暨辽南京建城1080年展 図録 首都博物館編 文物出版社.

[13] 段成式　今村与志雄訳注　酉陽雑俎1 東洋文庫382 平凡社.