Moon Palace Toad

 

Moon Palace Toad

Agudengba smiled and said to Azhuo: In Chinese folklore about the moon, Chang'e flies to the moon, the Jade Rabbit makes medicine, Wu Gang cuts the laurel and the Tengu eats the moon. Although the versions of the stories are different, in that fictional world In the Guanghan Palace, there are always lonely fairies, the ever-present companion of the Jade Rabbit, the fragrance of laurels, and the constant sound of axes. In fact, in the original legend, there was another protagonist in the moon, that is, the toad. Ancient Chinese poems often use the terms jade toad and golden toad. Refers to the moon, and the Moon Palace is also called "Toad Palace". However, due to various reasons, the legend about the toad in the moon evolved several times and was finally separated from the moon mythology system, and was gradually forgotten by future generations.

Agudengba said: Toad, commonly known as "toad", was also called "Zhan Zhu" and "Qishi" in ancient times. Among the existing documents, the earliest connection between the two can be traced back to the Warring States Period. There is a saying about "Gu Tu" in Qu Yuan's "Tianwen". The ancients interpreted "Gu" as "rabbit". It was not until modern times that some scholars pointed out that "Gu Tu" should be the pronunciation of "toad". Later, because the pronunciation was easy to confuse, toad was changed to toad rabbit. This established the Chinese The toad in the mythical period had the status of an elder on the moon.

A Zhuo asked:

How did the toad climb to the moon? Why do people regard this toad as a mythical beast on the moon?

Agudengba said: In fact, there are toads and rabbits in the Moon Palace. That is the imagination of ancient Chinese people. It is related to philosophy and is used to explain shadow phenomena and things. Stories including toads and rabbits, rabbits making medicine, Wu Gang cutting down laurel trees, etc. Most of them are directly or indirectly related to explaining the phenomenon of shadows. This explanation comes from what Zhang Heng, an astronomer of the Eastern Han Dynasty, said in his "Lingxian": "The moon "The Yin essence accumulates to form a beast, like a toad and a rabbit." This means that the images of toads (toads) and rabbits are similar to the spots on the moon.

Some prophecy books of the Han Dynasty record: "The moon becomes soul in three days, light in eight days, the body of toad is formed, and the hole nose begins to sprout." The hole nose is the rabbit. This sentence means the connection between rabbits and toads. The image of the shadow gradually forms as the moon shape changes from missing to rounded.

Of course, there are earlier legends about the origin of the toads in the Moon Palace. Documents related to the Warring States Period record that in ancient times, people often saw a vague shadow on the moon, which looked like a toad. Therefore, the bright moon was called the Toad Moon. Although this situation is fanciful, when people imagine it this way, they also agree that there is a toad living in the moon.

There is a laurel tree in the moon palace, which is also imagined by people to explain the shadow of the moon palace. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Jin Dynasty, Emperor Wu of Jin Dynasty asked Qie Shen, the governor of Yongzhou, how he evaluated himself. Qie Shen said: "I am like a piece of cassia twig in the Moon Palace and a piece of jade on Kunlun Mountain." Qie Shen was using a piece of cassia twig in Guanghan Palace and a piece of jade on Kunlun Mountain to describe his outstanding talents. This is an idiom. The earliest origin of "Toad Palace wins the crown", Toad Palace is the Moon Palace. Later, the term "Osmanthus in the Toad Palace" was extended to "Climbing and folding the Osmanthus in the Moon Palace", describing great achievements and honors, but mainly referring to titles on the gold medal list.

Toads also symbolize longevity, which is recorded in Zhang Heng's "Lingxian". Because toads hibernate, they appear to be coming back from the dead in the spring. After the ancients saw this phenomenon, they believed that the lifespan of toads was unknown and could reach more than ten thousand years. Therefore, the ancients believed that toads were a mythical beast that represented longevity and health.

Agudengba smiled and sang a song "Toad Palace Song·Golden Toad":

 

Chang'e flies to the moon and lives in Guanghan.

The Jade Rabbit pounded the medicine,

Wu Gang cut down trees.

Every Mid-Autumn Festival,

The flowers are full and the moon is full,

Everyone prays.

Love has been abandoned and Hou Yi has disappeared.

No one cares about Toad's sorrow.

Looking back at the human world,

spitting out money,

Who doesn’t worship?