Rabbits in ancient Chinese artifacts

In Chinese ancient artifacts, the image of a rabbit is very common. Many animal bones have been unearthed in the Yin Ruins in Anyang, Henan Province, and nearly a hundred rabbits have been found. Archaeologists discovered the word “rabbit” in the Shang Dynasty’s Prototype. These “rabbits” were short-tailed and long-eared. Three female rabbits were unearthed in the tomb of Fuyin of Yin Ruins. Two of them were arched for food. The length of the ears was short and the tail was small. The rabbits were relatively small and may be two hares. Another rabbit, rabbit is large, open mouth, exposed tongue, short and long tail, round eyes, like a rabbit. This shows that more than 3,000 years ago, rabbits have been domesticated by Central Plains residents. In the Shanghai Museum, the author saw several pieces of rabbits carved from jade. These rabbits were small and exquisite and carved 3,000 years ago. They are very similar to current rabbits.

In the early days, Shanxi Archaeological Research Institute and the Department of Archaeology of Peking University conducted a joint archaeological excavation of the Jinhou Tomb in Woqu County, Shanxi Province. In an East Zhou tomb, a rabbit-shaped statue was excavated, with a rabbit-like shape, short limbs, and a curved foot. The posture of jumping; long ears affixed to the back of the neck, round eyes, short tail, prominent mouth portrayed vividly vivid. The rabbit is covered with a cover, a ring button is erected on the cover, and the idea is ingenious and delicate.

The 12 animals of the Han Senmu Tang Tomb excavated in Xi'an, Xi'an, was used as the head of the human body. One of the rabbit heads was dressed in a wide-sleeved robe with a collar and a large belt. His hands were arched in front of his chest. Popular sentimental, vivid and natural. Archaeologists in the Shunde County Museum in Jiangxi Province have collected 12 species of genus, bright as new, is the Southern Song Dynasty tombs unearthed porcelain works of art, modeling is the head of the human body. One of the rabbits wore a crew neck robe and held a pair of teeter-totters. It was a literary figure with a pair of long ears. It was particularly interesting.

Rabbits are also loved by painters. There are three algae wells in Dunhuang Mural in Gansu Province. In Sichuan, Gansu, Henan and other places, there are clear images of rabbits carved on stone tiles and portrait tiles. In the Northern Song Dynasty court painter Cui Bai's "Double Happiness", a rabbit on the screen looked back at the birds and looked like life. This picture shows the coloring of the script, the composition is rigorous, and the color is gorgeous. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the two bunnies in the painting Miscellaneous Drawings by Zhang Qi were relatively plump. One was lying on the flowers and the other was blind, with both ears facing forward and parallel to the body. The other was lying on the ground. The ears stood upright and seemed to be listening. Smeared with ink, the style is clear and beautiful.

The archaeological excavation of the Mawangdui Han Tomb is one of the most important archeological discoveries in China in the last century. One of the well-preserved enamel paintings contained a light rabbit. On the curved moon, a dragonfly and a rabbit are clearly visible. The myth of rabbits and the moon has already appeared in the Qin and Han dynasties.

In the ancient artifacts of Xinjiang, the image of the rabbit was extremely rare. On a smoky hunting stripe excavated from the Astana tomb in Turpan in 1973, a galloping rabbit could be seen. This pattern motif shows a hunter riding on a galloping horse, looking back at a bow and shooting at a clawed lion. Not far away, a hare is galloping. The rabbit has a long ear and stands upright. The front leg and rear leg are in a shape of a "one", and behind it is a ** that is catching up. The whole picture is vivid and realistic. Although the rabbit is not the "protagonist", the hare who fled to escape has added a lot of tension to the hunting scene.

The author also saw a zodiac rabbit in the Autonomous Region Museum. It was found in the Tomb of Astana Turpan and left only the head and the neck. This shows that there are also similar zodiac cultures in the Turpan area of ​​the Central Plains more than 1,000 years ago. .