Lord Rabbit

 

Lord Rabbit

 

Agudengba and the coachman Azhuo were chatting and tasting osmanthus wine at the Guanghan Tavern on the banks of the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar.

Agudengba looked at the stars and saw a bright moon hanging in the sky. He said to Azhuo:

The ancients were full of daydreams and believed that there were "three things" on the moon, one was people, the other was animals, and the third was plants. The characters refer to two people living on the moon, a female named Chang'e and a male named Wu Gang. One represents "yang" and is a positive character, and the other represents "yin" and is a negative character. In addition to the jade rabbit, there are also toads. One is a warm-blooded animal on land, and the other is a cold-blooded amphibious animal. The plant refers to the laurel tree on the moon palace, so the ancients also called the moon laurel or Guilun. The osmanthus wine we drink now was invented and brewed by Wu Gang.

Wu Gang was not good at words and could not get along with Chang'e, so he often drank osmanthus wine alone. Later, Wu Gang's wife, Yuanhu, felt guilty for Wu Gang due to the adultery, so she asked her three sons to fly to the moon to accompany their nominal father through the long and endless cold years.

Yuan's wife has three sons, one named "Gu", one named "Yan", and the other named "殳樨". The son named "Gu" turned into a toad, the son named "Yan" turned into a jade rabbit, and the son named "殳樨" turned into the "unknown" Tiangui. Gu and Yan began to make bells and chimes, and formulated rules for composing music, so the lonely Guanghan Palace was always filled with fairy music. Shun began to make archery targets. This is also the origin of the jade rabbit and toad on the moon.

In the minds of ancient Chinese people, Chang'e and the Jade Rabbit live in the Guanghan Palace on the moon. The most important thing to mention during the Mid-Autumn Festival is the Jade Rabbit. The Jade Rabbit is the son of the married woman, so it is also called the "Rabbit Lord". There are also many legends about Lord Rabbit coming to the world.

It is said that a long time ago, there was a year when a plague spread in the world. Many people fell ill, and no famous doctors could cure it, and no medicine was effective. Some people say that only the medicine brewed by the Jade Rabbit in the Moon Palace can save all living beings.

So the people worshiped the moon one after another and asked the Moon Palace Queen to save all people from the fire and water. This day happened to be the 15th of August, and the moon was bright and round. Seeing that the people were suffering from disasters, and hearing their cries, the Moon Rabbit sent the Moon Rabbit down to earth to help treat the illnesses of the people.

After receiving the order, the Jade Rabbit descended to earth and became a doctor, traveling from cities to rural areas, administering medicine to the people to eliminate the plague. In order to thank Yutu for saving his life, people gave him money, but he didn't want it, and he refused all kinds of gifts.

The Jade Rabbit was ordered to save the people, so he was too tired from running around.

The Empress of the Moon Palace discussed with the Moon God how to deal with the Jade Rabbit's mount? The Moon God asked the Queen Mother of the West for instructions, and the Queen Mother of the West ordered Lord Taiyin to notify all the gods to help.

Immortals from all walks of life heard that the Jade Rabbit was curing common people's illnesses, but their legs were too slow, so they all lent their mounts to him, so that the Jade Rabbit could save all sentient beings quickly. The Moon God also gave the Jade Rabbit a red robe.

The Jade Rabbit wears a big red robe like a mighty general, and his mounts include lions, tigers, elephants, unicorns and other auspicious animals. These mounts were lent to him by gods from all walks of life, allowing him to save all sentient beings quickly.

When Yutu cured the last patient, he might have been too tired, so he fell asleep leaning against a big locust tree without realizing it. The people gathered around him quietly, guarding him. At this time, people suddenly discovered that two long rabbit ears popped out of Jade Rabbit's head, and he was wearing a red robe. This miracle doctor revealed his true colors. Since then, people have renamed the Jade Rabbit "Rabbit Lord".

In order to thank Lord Rabbit, people offer incense and make offerings to worship the moon on August 15th every year. It has become a custom to worship Lord Rabbit in old Beijing. In the Qing Dynasty's "Yanjing Chronicles", it is recorded: "Every Mid-Autumn Festival, city people who are clever use loess to make toad and rabbit statues for sale, which are called Lord Rabbit. "The capital made white jade rabbits out of yellow sand and decorated them with colorful makeup. They gathered in the sky streets under the moonlight and sold them in the market." It is movable. You can pull a thread behind the head and the mouth will move. It is not very common now.

Fortunately, there are many versions of Lord Rabbit now. In addition to the traditional ones, there are also cartoon versions, kawaii versions, etc. One of the props in Lord Rabbit's hand is a medicine pestle, and the other is medicinal moxibustion. This is also the standard image of Lord Rabbit. The return of Lord Rabbit also reflects that people are paying more and more attention to China's own traditional festivals.

Agudengba sang a folk song "Master Rabbit":

 

pound the medicine, pound the medicine, pound the medicine

Master Rabbit is refining medicine every day

The jade pestle is held tightly in the hand

Pounding medicine to drive away the plague

 

pound the medicine, pound the medicine, pound the medicine

Master Rabbit is refining medicine every day

A huge responsibility lies with you

People's livelihood sufferings are overwhelmed

 

pound the medicine, pound the medicine, pound the medicine

Master Rabbit is refining medicine every day

There is no such thing as good or bad

Give medicine to those who have no time to spare

 

Daddy Rabbit, my daddy

Every household prays for Mr. Rabbit

Not seeking eternal life

May God heal and bring peace