Hare in the moon
In folklore , the hare in the moon is a figure that is perceptible on the basis of the pareidolia in the characteristic appearance of the moon's surface. This figure is widespread in various cultures, especially in East Asian folklore , where it appears in conjunction with a mortar or pounding tub.
East asia
In Chinese mythology and folklore , the “moon hare” ( Chinese 月 兔 , pinyin yuètù ) or “ jade hare ” ( 玉兔 , yùtù ) often appears as a companion to the moon goddess Chang'e , for whom he stamps the elixir of life with his device . According to the Japanese (there as tsuki no usagi , Japanese 月 の 兎 ) and Korean (there as RR dal tokki , kor. 달토끼 ) tradition, he only stirs the ingredients for rice cakes ( mochi ). The mortar symbolizes the new moon that gives birth to the crescent moon. (see moon face )
history
The earliest mention of a hare on the moon can be found in the " Chuci ", an anthology of Chinese poems from the time of the Warring States of the Han , according to which a hare (moon hare Yuetu ) together with a toad ( fabulous toad Chanchu ) (both ancient symbols of fertility) on the moon is constantly busy pounding pounds of immortal- inducing herbs. This point of view reappears in later texts such as the " Taiping yulan ", an encyclopedia of the Song Dynasty . Poets of the Han dynasty call the hare on the moon " jade hare" or "gold hare" ( 金 兔 , jīntù ); these expressions are often used to represent the word "moon". In the poem "The Old Dust" by the well-known Tang poet Li Bai it says "The hare in the moon pokes the herbs for free".
Lore
In the Buddhist Śaśajâtaka ( Jataka story No. 316), a monkey, an otter, a jackal and a hare decided to do a work of charity on the day of the full moon ( Uposatha ).
When an old man begged for food, the monkeys picked fruit from the trees, the otter fish, the jackal stole a lizard and a pot of milk curd. But the hare, who knew how to gather grass alone, offered his own body instead and threw himself into the fire that the man had kindled. However, the rabbit did not burn. The old man revealed himself as a holy Sakka and spoke extremely moved by the willingness to sacrifice shown: “Who forgets himself, will, even if he is the lowest creature, attain the ocean of eternal peace. May all people learn from this example and be moved to acts of compassion and mercy. ”Touched by the virtue of the hare, he relocated the hare's image on the moon so that everyone could see it. It is said to still show the smoke that rose when the rabbit threw itself into the fire.
The Chinese decorated the cakes with the image of the rabbit during the Moon Festival . They smoked incense in front of his bronze figures and when the moon was full they attached a colored poster with his picture, which they greeted in awe and then burned ceremonially.
A version of this story can be found in the Japanese anthology " Konjaku Monogatarishū ", where a fox and a monkey act as companions for the hare.
Central America
Similar legends can be found in Mexican folklore, where the patterns on the lunar surface are also identified as a hare. According to an Aztec legend, the god Quetzalcoatl lived as a man on earth for a while, where he traveled and gradually tired and starved him. Since neither food nor drink was available, he thought he was dying. A hare grazed nearby and offered itself as food to save his life. Quetzalcoatl, moved by the hare's generous offer, raised him to the moon, then brought him back to earth and said: “You can only be a hare, but everyone will remember you, lo and behold, your image in the light for all people and all times. "
Another Central American legend describes the sacrifices of Nana Huatzin during the creation of the fifth sun. He humbly sacrificed himself in the fire to become the new sun, but the rich god Tecciztecatl hesitated four times before finally condescending to become a moon. Because of Tecciztecatl's cowardice, the gods decided that the moon was less bright than the sun, and one of the gods threw a rabbit on its surface to dim its light. Tecciztecatl is said to have taken the form of a rabbit during his self-sacrifice, the shadow of which is still there today.
Trivia
- A slightly different version (fox and monkey want to sacrifice the rabbit, but the wise man saves it) can be found in Angelo Branduardi's song "The Hare in the Moon".
- The name of the US band Rabbit in the Moon comes from this legend.
- A moon rover launched by the People's Republic of China on December 1, 2013 with the third lunar probe Chang'e-3 , bears the name 玉兔 (Yùtù; Jadehase ). The name was chosen after an online survey. The rover landed on the moon on December 14, 2014 and was in operation until July 31, 2016.
- The second Chinese moon rover is called 玉兔 二号 (Yùtù èrhào; Jade Hare 2 ) and has been in use on the back of the moon since January 3, 2019.
See also
literature
- Rudolf Drößler , When the Stars Were Gods , Leipzig 1981, ISBN 3-404-64051-9 , pp. 45-50
Web links
- Kazumaro, Kanbe. " Buddhist sayings in everyday life - Tsuki no Usagi ". Otani University. 2005. Retrieved July 25, 2007.
- Varma. CB " The Hare on the Moon ". The Illustrated Jataka & Other Stories of the Buddha . 2002. Retrieved July 25, 2007.
- 「與 月 為 伴 愉 閱 中秋」, Taipei Public Library. 2006. Retrieved July 25, 2007.
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Great Hare.
- ↑ Windling, Terri. The Symbolism of Rabbits and Hares . ( Memento of the original from April 24, 2012 on WebCite ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Source: [1] (accessed on: Saturday, January 23, 2010)
