Rabbit, a small animal, is not only lively and beautiful, but also cute in image. Its wool, meat and skin are very popular in the international market. It is the main native product exported from China, and it is also very "cultural". It can be seen everywhere in China's folk stories, myths and legends, poems and children's songs, names and places, handicrafts and registered trademarks.
"The little white rabbit, white, with two ears on end, eats radish and vegetables. It's so cute to jump. " This is a well-known children's song in China, sung by two generations. "Two ears stand up" is the distinctive feature of rabbits. The ear is almost half of its body, which is a gift from nature. Because rabbits are "vulnerable groups" among animals, eagles, snakes, wolves and leopards are all their natural enemies. In order to avoid being chased, to run fast and to keep alert, a pair of sensitive big ears that can change direction plays a very important role, so that it can hear voices from all directions, so as to avoid danger at any time.
Although the rabbit is very small, it has a strong jumping ability, and it can reach seven or eight meters in one jump, which is another trick for its survival. The ancients used "quiet as a virgin." "Moving like a rabbit" describes people as dignified and steady as an old lady when they are still, and as agile as a rabbit when they move. In the poem "To Chairman Mao" written by Mr. Xu, commander-in-chief of the Jinsui Border Region and director of the administrative office during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression period, there is a saying that "leaders are not arrogant, quiet as virgins, moving heroes", that is, they are born from this.
In China, the fairy tale of "the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon" has been passed down through the ages. Huainanzi said, "Please give the elixir to the Queen Mother of the West, and Heng E secretly ran to the moon." In the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon, Heng E embraced the Jade Rabbit and became a fairy. According to legend, Chang 'e was the wife of Houyi, and the story of Houyi shooting the sun happened in Tunliu. Now, there is a large sculpture of Houyi shooting the sun as a symbol of the city in Tunliu County. Chang 'e stole the elixir and flew to the Moon Palace. In order to get rid of loneliness, she took the Jade Rabbit from Taiyue Mountain and kept it as a pet at home. In the Moon Palace, Chang 'e was lonely and regretted it. In the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon, a poem by Li Shangyin in Tang Dynasty, there is a saying that "Chang 'e should regret stealing Dan medicine, and the sky is high and the clouds are light at night", which expresses this humanity. May 1957, 1 1, a great man who stood out from all over the world, wrote "Answering to Liang Shanbo", which made the late wife Yang Kaihui and her husband and martyr Liu Zhixun loyal to the sky, and "Liu Yang was embarrassed to the sky", which made the Moon Palace appear. How did the Jade Rabbit brought by Taiyue Mountain perform? Great men didn't write. I think that smart people who come out of the old revolutionary base areas will definitely come on. It is precisely because of this beautiful legend that the rabbit has an indissoluble bond with the moon. "Rabbit" is often used as another name for the moon in ancient poems. Li Shen, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote the poem "An ice rabbit is half-lived, but a copper pot is slightly long", and used the spirit of an ice rabbit to describe the appearance of the rising moon. Lu, one of the four outstanding figures in the early Tang Dynasty, said in the poem "Wangjiang Moon": "The deep ditch shakes the rabbit's shadow and the floating branches move. "One of the' rabbit shadows' is the moon shadow. Even rabbit excrement, also known as "moon watching sand", has the effect of treating malnutrition, blurred vision, hot flashes and night sweats.
Similarly, Haihui Temple, a famous temple in Sanjin County, located in North Qiao Liu Village, Yangcheng County, also has a story of "a white rabbit learning from the scriptures", which painted a layer of mystery for its creation. Haihui Temple is also known as Longquan Temple. In 952, the second year of Guang Shun in the latter Zhou Dynasty, Xu Lun, a judicial soldier from Zezhou, said in the book Records of Longquan Temple in Yangcheng County: "There is an ancient Huangsha Temple on the lonely peak more than ten miles east of the courtyard. There was once a monk who, not knowing what he was doing, satirized the King Kong Prajna Sutra in his temple. One day, a white rabbit came to tame the commotion, holding the transferred scripture in his hand, but went after it. As for the dozens of steps in the east of the courtyard, there was a spring first, which was called Longquan at that time, and then stopped at that spring. Monks feel different. Because of the banquet, I vowed to build a gate on my land. " "The White Rabbit Bites the Sutra" chose the address for the famous temple and made a great contribution.
In daily life, there are many idioms and proverbs related to the word "rabbit". There are dozens more, such as the three caves of cunning rabbits, waiting rabbits, worrying rabbits, tortoise horn and so on, which are not listed here. The "cunning" in the "three caves of cunning rabbits" means cunning and cunning. The weak and cunning rabbit built three nests for himself in order to protect himself and avoid the enemy. This cunning is an emergency hedging behavior, which has no social harm and is protected by law. As the saying goes, "I feel a rabbit in my heart" is a metaphor for people's fear, fear or anxiety about something with the timid nature of rabbits. The two-part allegorical saying "The tails of grasshoppers and rabbits after autumn-can't grow" is too vivid. Some people regard the word "Liu" as a riddle and play idioms, which are difficult to understand. When the answer was "waiting for the rabbit", I thought about it carefully before I suddenly realized that the word "Liu" had a tree on the left and a rabbit on the right, which really matched the meaning of the answer.
The theory of the zodiac can be found in Lun Heng in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Later, it was thought that people would do something in a certain year. The 12 animals marked by chronology were associated with people's personality, marriage, family and fate, and many strange stories were made up, which led to the proliferation of superstitions and harm to others. According to the rabbit's alert and timid character, they attached the myth that people born in the year of the rabbit can't be heroes. Don't you know that Sun Ce, Zhou Yu (175), Li Jing (57 1), Di (607), Chen Geng and Xiao (1903) in the Tang Dynasty were all born in the Year of the Rabbit, but they were all heroes. Li Jing, the founding general of the Tang Dynasty, went through Jinpushan. He has strict military discipline and no crime in autumn. He won the support of the people and was called "Lord Jinpu". Gong Wei Temple (Li Jing's name is Gong Weiguo) was built all over the country to worship him. During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression period, General Chen Geng served as the brigade commander of the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army129th Division and commander of Taiyue Military Region, and made outstanding achievements in the Shentouling ambush, Xiangtangpu ambush, Changle Village pursuit, Platinum Campaign, Hundred Regiments War and the subsequent Shangdang Campaign. These two rabbits became celebrities in the history books. Some people in ancient times didn't believe this. Hua Mulan, who joined the army on behalf of her father, said, "The male rabbit is flapping his feet; The mother rabbit's eyes were blurred, and two rabbits walked beside the ground. Can Ann tell whether I am a man or a woman? " She compared herself to a rabbit, and her words were extraordinary and even more heroic. The ancients still didn't believe in superstition and heresy. If we still believe it or have mixed doubts, wouldn't it be sad! Have you noticed that it is not uncommon for people to name people with the word "rabbit"? This is the reason.
Although there are not many place names with the word "rabbit", there are two in the southeast of Shanxi: the Western White Rabbit and the Eastern White Rabbit. Belong to Changzhi City and Lucheng City suburbs. These two villages were called Wuwangwu in the Northern Wei Dynasty and Baitu Village in the Song Dynasty, which were under the jurisdiction of Lucheng County. "Yuanhe County Records" records: "Wuwangwu is forty miles northwest of the county seat. On the east side of the pier, there is a monument to Zhu Rong, the second general of Wei Tianzhu. " In the first year of Jianyi in the Northern Wei Dynasty (528), when General Er Zhurong of Tianzhu led his army to suppress the Jungian peasant uprising army, he met two rabbits running from the east of Wuwangmiao. When he drew his bow and shot an arrow, he prayed that if he shot, he could capture Jung alive, but if he missed, he would stop. As soon as the bowstring rang, the rabbit was shot dead. So jung was captured alive. This story is purely coincidental, but it became the origin of the place name. In addition, there are several place names with the word "rabbit", such as rabbit class in Linxian County, Shanxi Province and rabbit farm in Dushan, Guizhou Province, by the way.
Rabbits are often the protagonists of folk stories, and the story of "Tortoise and Rabbit Race" is a household name. According to the story, the rabbit thought he was running fast and fell asleep on the way. When he woke up, the tortoise had reached the finish line and won. This story illustrates the simple philosophy of "modesty makes people progress and pride makes people lag behind".
The two words "rabbit" and "free" are very similar, but the difference is one thing. That "dot" is the rabbit's short tail. The word "free" has no point, meaning to remove, get rid of, avoid and don't want it. A little difference, a far cry from meaning.
Because rabbits run fast, they often escape the pursuit of natural enemies, survive and live a "comfortable" life. Therefore, the word "Yi" of "Yi" is related to the word "Rabbit". We often say "escape", which means running faster than a rabbit.
In daily life, we often see goods with the trademark "rabbit", such as sugar, toothpaste, children's clothes and so on. There are also rabbits hanging lanterns and pulling carts on the Lantern Festival. It is a vivid manifestation of China people's love for rabbits. I won't go into details here.
The story of the rabbit can't be finished. The ancients did not forget the zodiac, and ranked it fourth in the earthly branch, making it occupy a place in China culture.