Moon Rabbit

In ancient Chinese texts, the Chu Ci, a Western Han anthology of Warring States-era poetry, describes a mystical hare on the Moon, tirelessly pounding herbs for the immortals—alongside a celestial toad. This imagery persisted through later works, including the Song dynasty’s Taiping Imperial Reader.

Notably, during the Western Han, rabbits had yet to reach China, meaning the original depiction was that of a hare, not a rabbit.

Han dynasty poets often referred to this lunar creature as the “Jade Hare” (玉兔) or “Gold Hare” (金兔), using these phrases poetically as stand-ins for the Moon itself. Even the legendary Tang poet Li Bai wove this imagery into his verse, lamenting in The Old Dust:

“The rabbit in the Moon pounds the medicine in vain.”