The Year of the Rabbit is a traditional festival in China.

| Ming and Qing Furniture Research Association |

Say rabbit in the year of rabbit

At the turning point of time series, the most important traditional festival in China, the Lunar New Year, has arrived!

The year of the Zodiac is named after animals, which turns the change from year to year into "taking turns to be on duty" for small animals, which is full of China people's love for nature.

At the same time, the traditional zodiac combination is still active in the fields of literature, art, numerology and so on. The bronze statue of the animal head of the zodiac in Yuanmingyuan, a national treasure cultural relic that has not been fully recycled so far, is such a typical example.

Rabbit head and mouse head

But in the end, it seems that we seldom ask how this lovely and warm combination was established, and why did we choose these twelve animals? How do people arrange sequences for them?

Today, in the spring of the Year of the Rabbit, the Learning Society will come to talk to you about the traditional Chinese zodiac culture and the two sides of the rabbit.

The zodiac is not determined by race.

The Chinese Zodiac, also known as the Chinese Zodiac, is a group of twelve animals that are matched with the twelve earthly branches according to the year of birth. According to the current archaeological data, the earliest mention of the related contents of the zodiac is the Qin bamboo slips of Yunmeng Sleeping Tiger Land, which is only slightly different from the zodiac we are familiar with now.

The record of the zodiac is the same as today's cognition. It originated from Lun Heng written by chūng of the Eastern Han Dynasty, which can prove that the culture of the zodiac was basically stereotyped in this period.

Chang, Shaanxi History Museum, was a soldier of the Chinese zodiac in the Tang Dynasty.

Unfortunately, today's academic circles have failed to verify the origin of the culture of birth Xiao, and scholars of ancient and modern times have different views on this. The most representative ones are totem worship and animal worship, and several foreign theories have been falsified.

Totem here refers to a special image used by clans in primitive society to protect gods and symbols, such as bears and fish in summer, mysterious birds in Shang Dynasty, dragons and birds in Zhou Dynasty and so on.

Phoenix totem

Animal worship is inferred from the characteristics of twelve animals. Horses, cows, sheep, chickens, dogs and pigs are the "six animals" that help people's production and life, while the "six animals" such as rats, tigers, rabbits, dragons, snakes and monkeys pose a certain threat to production and life, which essentially reflects the animal worship in primitive times.

There are also different views on the order of zodiac animals in academic circles. The most popular story is a racial story. The jade emperor (talking about the Yellow Emperor) wants to choose the zodiac, and the animals show their magical powers. The mouse climbed on the back of the cow and won the first prize.

The mirror of the four gods of the Ming Dynasty zodiac is in the Palace Museum.

The cat asked the mouse to wake him up, and the mouse stood him up. The cat missed the game, so the cat and the mouse became natural enemies. There were no cats in the zodiac.

Actually, cats originated in Egypt and were introduced to China later. At this time, the Chinese zodiac culture has been basically finalized, and naturally it has not caught up with the trip. But in Egypt, Vietnam, bābǐ Lun and other places, cats also belong to the zodiac.

Gail Anderson, Ancient Egyptian Cat, British Museum

A fake rabbit-Chang 'e's pet, an expert in the Moon Palace.

When it comes to rabbits, we often think of the Jade Rabbit in the Moon Palace. Various myths and legends have piled up a rich "rabbit collection": Chang 'e loves pets and is mainly responsible for smashing drugs in the Moon Palace. In fact, the two legends "There is a T u on the moon" and "the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon" are linked by the moon.

Yě has many different views on the misunderstanding of why the ancients had rabbits in the moon. One said that the ancients thought the shadow of the moon was like a rabbit; It is said that the moon and the rabbit are both "yin", representing women and meaning reproductive worship; It is also said that the rabbit's lack of lips coincides with the full moon.

Jade rabbit hidden in Shanghai museum

In short, the rabbit has been attached to the moon for a long time. For example, Zhang Heng's Lingxian said, "The moon is a clan of yin essence, which accumulates into beasts, such as rabbits and mussels." Wang Chong's Lun Heng said, "Rabbit, yuè is also angry."

According to Wen Yiduo's textual research, taking rabbits as the essence of the moon began in the Han Dynasty, became a toad in the pre-Qin period, and later evolved into a toad rabbit. In the silk paintings of Tomb No.1 and Tomb No.3 of Mawangdui in Changsha in the early Western Han Dynasty, there were images on the moon wheel. In the Han Dynasty stone relief in Jiaxiang, Shandong Province, Jade Rabbit and Toad also appeared on the same screen, and they worked together.

People in China never forget the connection between the moon and the rabbit-the first lunar rover in China was named "Jade Rabbit". In 20 13, Chang 'e III sent the Jade Rabbit to the moon for scientific research and exploration, which is unique to China and a wonderful echo of modern science and technology and ancient culture.

Of course, the work of "smashing drugs" is not blindly arranged. In fact, the saccharifying drug Jade Rabbit still appears around fairies such as the Queen Mother of the West. It is an elixir of life and represents the fantasy of becoming an immortal.

The Queen Mother of the West and the Medicine Rabbit in the mural tomb of Xin Mang in Xūn village, Yanshi.

It is worth mentioning that the rare white rabbit is considered lucky because the ancient rabbits are mostly khaki.

Ge Hong even said in Bao Puzi's Inner Chapter that the rabbit turned white because it lived for 500 years: "Tigers, deer and rabbits lived for thousands of years. People over 500 have white fur. People who can live 500 years old can change. "

Therefore, there are many records of "offering white rabbits" to the emperor in the history books. In April (406), the second year of Jin 'an Emperor Yi, there was a saying that "Wu xi offered a white rabbit and Shouyang offered a white rabbit". Liang Jian Deng Wendi even wrote an article "On the White Rabbit Watch" to praise the White Rabbit.

The cold film "Wu Tong's Double Rabbit Picture" in the Palace Museum

With the changes of the times, people's views on auspicious rabbits have also changed. According to the Six Codes of Tang Dynasty, auspicious rabbits are divided into Da Rui, Shangrui, Zhong Rui and Xiarui. The white rabbit originally dedicated to the emperor was classified as Zhong Rui, while the rarer red rabbit jumped to Shangrui.

There are rabbits occasionally in the religious culture. For example, when the Tathagata practiced robbery, in the woodland, "there are foxes, rabbits and apes, and different kinds of people like each other." There is also a Zen case-solving in Quiet Record called "Secret Teacher White Rabbit", which means "white dress worship", that is, it is auspicious for civilians to be promoted to senior officials.

The Rabbit of the Chinese Zodiac collected by the Qing Dynasty in the Palace Museum.

A real rabbit-weak and pitiful, but everything is a treasure.

Rabbits have a long history of utilization in China, and their fur and meat can be transformed into important materials for human production and life. It can be said that rabbits also participated deeply in the process of China civilization.

And this story can even be told from Neanderthals-in the process of cleaning up Zhoukoudian site fossils, archaeologists found 12 almost identical rabbit skull fossils. According to their trace analysis, they are probably decorations made by primitive people.

Therefore, there are many hieroglyphics of "rabbit" in Oracle Bone Inscriptions. These images prove that our ancestors had a profound understanding of the appearance characteristics of rabbits: long ears, short neck, long hind legs, squatting, and short upturned tail.

As a delicious meat, the rabbit was once one of the "Five Sacrifices" in ancient ceremonies and was called "Shi Ming". Kong interprets this name as "rabbit fat makes eyes open and bright", which shows people's recognition of rabbit meat.

Rabbit hair is a good pen material. At present, the earliest máo pen is made of rabbit hair. Wang Xizhi's "Bi Jing" also said: "Rabbits are neither good nor bad, but only clever."

Warring States writing brush unearthed in Zuojiagongshan, Changsha

Judging from its natural properties, rabbits are petite, docile and harmless, and are ideal hunting targets for people, animals and birds. Therefore, in ancient painting images, rabbits appear more in hunting maps.

This theme has also been applied to arts and crafts, such as an "autumn mountain jade" popular in Liao and Jin Dynasties. Rabbits are "deeply hurt" by carving technology to show the scene of nobles hunting in the mountains in autumn.

The Wall Brick of Rabbit Hunting in Wei and Jin Dynasties Unearthed from Tomb No.4 in Jiayuguan New Town

Decorative pieces of rabbit hunting in Yuan Dynasty in China National Museum

The image of the rabbit is also quite recognized, and some painted pottery in the primitive period already has a pattern very similar to the rabbit. But what people like best is to make jade articles in the shape of rabbits.

At present, the earliest rabbit-shaped jade was unearthed in Lingjiatan site in Neolithic Age, and there is also a rabbit-shaped Yu Pei in the tomb of a good woman in Yinxu, Anyang, Henan. Its lines are simple, its shape is rough and simple.

With the progress of jade production technology, rabbit-shaped jade has also been upgraded from technology to art. Yu Pei, paperweight, earrings, etc. Can see the rabbit shape, charming and lovely, exquisite and unusual.

The jade inlaid with precious stones lies in the rabbit collection of the Palace Museum.

Qinghe Tian Yu purple material carving pendant She Yan collection

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Do tigers and rabbits match?

Generally speaking, people who belong to the tiger and rabbits are really incompatible in genus, while tigers are carnivores and rabbits are herbivores, so there is also a competitive relationship between them.

In a sense, these two animals are indeed contradictory, so it will also lead to emotional disharmony, but really, whether the relationship between two people can be harmonious depends on personality, so we should start with personality and analyze the specific problems in general.

1 Generally speaking, people who belong to tigers and rabbits do have contradictions, so it is precisely because of this that the relationship is not good.

In fact, for those of us who are tigers and rabbits, the zodiac itself is in conflict, which is why it is difficult for two people to get together, so in a sense, the relationship between them is incompatible.

2. People born with filial piety and high filial piety are relatively strong in character most of the time, while people born with rabbits are relatively calm, so it is difficult for two people to be together.

In fact, for us, people who belong to the tiger are more powerful, more extroverted and introverted than people who belong to the rabbit, so in a sense, from the perspective of sales alone, the two personalities are also incompatible.

3, in fact, whether the relationship between two people is fǒu or not depends on personality, so we should put aside the zodiac and make a decision according to the actual situation of two people.

In fact, for us, many times, whether the characters of the Zodiac Mouse and the Zodiac Rabbit are really suitable comes from the true characters of the two people, so it is precisely because of this that we have to make a decision according to the later characters of the two people.

For us, many times, Su Xiaoshenghu and Rabbit are really incompatible, which is also the reason for the disharmony between the two people. But apart from the zodiac, whether the two people's personalities are consistent depends on many reasons, so we should study them in real life.

What words do tigers and rabbits read together?

, pinyin tú, the whole word * * * counts sixteen, and the left and right structure. Chu people call tigers black dogs? . From the voices of tigers and rabbits.

Radical: small insects

Glyph: left and right structure

Stroke: 16

Stroke order: ボフノフノフフボフノ

Zheng code: [1]

Five strokes 86: hamy

Five strokes 98: hwqy

Cang Xie: YUNAI

Angle code: 272 13

Explain this word: Chu people call tigers Wu? . From the voices of tigers and rabbits. Two new annexes to "read through and cut the text"

"Kangxi Dictionary" explains that Tang Yunji has the same rhyme as all others, and the sound is a disciple. Jade Wu? , _ Tiger also. Tiger or Wu in Yangzi Dialect? . Guang Yun wrote Zuo Zhuan as Yu Tu. Orthography is the key to Hanshu. Direct harmony and composition.