What cultural connotations do people give rabbits?

China culture has a long history, is extensive and profound, and covers a wide range. Everything can be labeled with the word "culture", and the Chinese zodiac culture is no exception. 211 is the Lunar New Year of the Rabbit. Try to write the article "China Rabbit Culture" and have a chat.

The rabbit 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 by 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, craft products and registered trademarks.

"White rabbit, white and white, with ears up, eating radish and vegetables. It's so cute to jump around." This is a well-known children's song in China, sung by two generations. "Two ears stand up" is a prominent feature of rabbits. Ears are almost half of its body, which is a gift from nature. Because rabbits are a "vulnerable group" among animals, eagles, snakes, wolves and leopards are all its natural enemies. In order to avoid being chased, to run fast and be alert, a pair of sensitive big ears that can change directions 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, its jumping ability is extremely strong, and it can reach seven or eight meters with one jump, which is another unique skill for it to survive. The ancients used "quiet as a virgin." Move like a rabbit "to describe people as dignified and steady as old ladies when they are still moving, and as agile as rabbits once they move." In the poem "To Chairman Mao" written by Mr. Xu Fanting, the commander-in-chief of Shanxi New Army and director of the administrative office of Jinsui Border Region during War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression's period, there is a sentence that "leaders are not arrogant, and they are as quiet as virgins and move heroes", which was born out of this.

in China, the fairy tale of "the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon" has been passed down through the ages. "Huai Nan Zi" says: "You invited the immortal medicine to the Queen Mother of the West, and Heng E stole it to run to the moon." Heng E, the Chang 'e, embraced the Jade Rabbit when she ran to the moon, and became immortal. 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 in Tunliu County as a city symbol. 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 at home as a pet. At the Moon Palace, Chang 'e was very lonely and regretted it. In the poem Chang 'e written by Li Shangyin in the Tang Dynasty, there is a sentence that "Chang 'e should regret stealing the elixir, and the sky is clear and the night is clear", which expresses this kind of human nature. On May 11th, 1957, Mao Zedong, an outstanding and eternal great man, wrote the words "Butterfly Lovers Answering Li Shuyi", which made his dead beloved wife Yang Kaihui and Li Shuyi's husband and martyr Liu Zhixun loyal to heaven, and "Yangliu's attention was focused on the sky", which led to the touching scenes of "WU GANG holding out osmanthus wine" and "Lonely Chang 'e relaxing her sleeves" in the Moon Palace. How did the jade rabbit brought from Taiyue Mountain behave? The great man didn't write. I think, the clever one who went from the old revolutionary base area will certainly cheer. Because of this beautiful legend, the rabbit has an indissoluble bond with the moon, and "rabbit" is often used as another name for the moon in ancient poems. Li Shen, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote the poem "The ice rabbit is half-lived, and the copper pot is slightly long", which describes the appearance of the rising moon with the ice rabbit's spirit. Lu Zhaolin, one of the four outstanding figures in the early Tang Dynasty, said in the poem "Looking at the Moon in the River": "Shen Gou shakes the rabbit's shadow, and the floating branches move Dan Fang." One of the "rabbit shadows" is the moon shadow. Even rabbit excrement, also known as "moon-gazing 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 Beiliuqiao Village, Yangcheng County, also has a story of "the white rabbit holding the scriptures", which adds a layer of mystery to 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 in Zezhou, said in his book "Records of Longquan Temple in Yangcheng County": "It is more than ten miles to the east of the courtyard (Longquan Temple), and there is an ancient temple of Huangsha on the butte. At one time, a monk, who did not know what he was doing in detail, satirized the classics of King Kong Prajna in his temple. One day, a white rabbit came to tame the disturbance, holding the transferred scripture, but went to chase it. As for the dozens of steps in the east of the courtyard, there is a spring first, which is called Longquan at that time, and then stops at that spring. Monks feel different. Because of the banquet, I vowed to build a brake in my land. " "The White Rabbit Bites the Sutra" has chosen the address for the famous temple, which is a great contribution.

In daily life, there are many idioms and common sayings related to the word "rabbit". There are dozens of them, such as the three caves of cunning rabbits, waiting for the rabbit, the rabbit dying in sorrow, the tortoise's hair and the rabbit's horn, and so on, which are not listed here. "Cunning" in the "Three Caves of Cunning Rabbits" means cunning and cunning. It means that the weak and cunning rabbits built three nests for themselves in order to protect themselves and avoid the enemy. This cunning is an emergency hedging act, which has no social harm and is protected by law. As the saying goes, "I feel like I have a rabbit in my heart" is a metaphor for people's fear, fear or anxiety about something with the timid nature of rabbits. Two-part allegorical saying "The grasshopper and rabbit's tail after autumn-can't grow" is so vivid. Some people use the word "Liu" as a riddle and play an idiom, which is very difficult to understand. When the answer was "waiting for the rabbit", I suddenly realized after careful thinking: the word "willow" is a tree on the left and a rabbit on the right, which is a unity of left and right, which really fits the meaning of the answer.

The theory of the twelve zodiac animals was seen in Lun Heng in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Later, it was thought that people would do something in a certain year, and 12 kinds of animals, as a symbol of chronology, were linked with people's personality, marriage, family and fate, and many strange theories were made up, which led to the spread of superstition and harmed the people. According to the rabbit's alert and timid character, they attached the myth that people born in the year of the rabbit could not produce heroes. Don't you know that Sun Ce, Zhou Yu (175), Li Jing (571) and Di Renjie (67) in the Tang Dynasty, Chen Geng and Xiao Jinguang (193) were all born in the Year of the Rabbit, but they were all heroes. Li Jing, the founding general of the Tang Dynasty, went out through Jinpushan. He had strict military discipline and committed no crimes in autumn. He won the support of the people and was called "Lord Jinpu". Wei Gong Temple (Li Jing was named Weiguo Gong) was built everywhere to worship him. During the period of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, General Chen Geng served as the brigade commander of the 386th Brigade of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army and commander of the Taiyue Military Region, and made great achievements in the ambush at Shentouling, the ambush at Xiangtangpu, the pursuit at Changle Village, the battle of Baijin, the Hundred Regiments War and the later Shangdang Campaign. The two rabbits have become celebrities in the history books. Some people in ancient times did not believe this. Hua Mulan, who joined the army on behalf of her father, said: "The male rabbit's feet are flapping; The female rabbit's eyes are blurred, and the two rabbits walk beside the ground. Can Ann tell if I am a male or a female? " She compared herself with a rabbit, and her words were extraordinary, which made her 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", which 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 the suburbs of Changzhi City and Lucheng City. The 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. In the east of the dock, there is a monument to the post-Wei Tianzhu general Erzhurong. " In the first year of Jianyi in the Northern Wei Dynasty (528), when General Er Zhurong of Tianzhu led the army to suppress the peasant uprising army in Ge Rong, he met two rabbits running from the east of Wuwang Temple. When he bent his bow and shot, he prayed that if he shot, he would capture Ge Rong alive, but if he missed, he would stop. Where the bowstring rang, the rabbit was shot to death. So Ge Rong was taken alive. This story is purely coincidental, but it has become the origin of the place name. In addition, there are several place names with the word "rabbit", such as rabbit ban in Linxian County, Shanxi Province and rabbit farm in Dushan, Guizhou Province, which are mentioned by the way.

Rabbits are often the protagonists of folk stories, and the story of "The Race between the Tortoise and the Rabbit" is a household name. The story says that the rabbit thought he was running fast, so he fell asleep halfway. 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 words "rabbit" and "exemption" are very similar, and the difference lies in one point. That "point" is the rabbit's short tail. The word "free" has no point, which means to remove, get rid of, avoid and don't want it. A little difference, a far cry from the meaning.

because rabbits run fast, they can often escape the pursuit of natural enemies, survive and live a "comfortable" life. Therefore, the "ease" of "ease" is related to the word "rabbit". We often say "escape", which means running faster than a rabbit.

In our daily life, we often see commodities with "rabbit" as the trademark, such as sugar, toothpaste, children's clothes, etc., as well as rabbits hanging lanterns and pulling carts on Lantern Festival. Are vivid manifestations 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 didn't forget it in the zodiac, and arranged it in the fourth place in the earthly branch, which made it occupy a place in China culture.