Chinanews.com, Beijing, January 20th (Reporter Shangguan Yun) In the blink of an eye, the Lunar Year of the Rabbit has come.
According to the zodiac calendar, the twelve zodiac signs include rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig, which have been passed down to this day.
The twelve zodiac signs have a long history, and it is said that they have been recorded in the pre-Qin period.
Meng Dehong, deputy director of the Beijing Sino-Foreign Cultural Exchange Research Base, said that rabbits have strong vitality. Our ancestors regarded rabbits as auspicious animals very early. It is recorded in "Auspicious Yingtu", "The red rabbit is auspicious, and the white rabbit is auspicious." ".
In an exclusive interview with a reporter from Chinanews.com, he mentioned that combined with the twelve earthly branches, the "Mao Rabbit" that people often say actually represents dawn, spring, and infinite vigor and vitality.
Data map: Chen Yao, a master of arts and crafts in Nanjing and an inheritor of intangible cultural heritage paper-cutting, displayed his paper-cutting works for the Year of the Rabbit in his studio to welcome the arrival of the Spring Festival.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Yang Bo
What is the meaning of the "Mao" in "Mao Rabbit"?
There are different opinions about the origin of the twelve zodiac signs or "zodiac signs".
There is a view that the zodiac culture originated from totem culture; there is also a view that the zodiac originated from animal worship.
In people's word of mouth, you can often hear the name "Maotu".
Meng Dehong believes that "Mao" is one of the twelve earthly branches.
The use of "Mao" to correspond to "rabbit" shows that the ancients believed that there was a certain connection between the two.
The oracle bone glyph of "Mao" looks like a door being opened. For example, "Shuowen Jiezi" believes that "Mao" is "like the shape of an open door", and points out that "February is the gate of heaven".
On this basis, Duan Yucai explained that "Mao is the gate of spring, and everything has come out."
At the same time, "Shuowen Jiezi" also trains the sound of "Mao" as "Mao Ye. Everything comes out of the ground in February".
Duan Yucai quoted "Lv Li Zhi" for further elaboration and said, "Mao is the luxuriance of words. It is also the luxuriance of all things."
From the perspective of philology, "mao" means the sprouting of vegetation, and "mao" can refer to the prosperity of vegetation, which refers to the good time in February when the grass grows and the warblers fly.
As far as the four seasons are concerned, "Mao" means strong spring; as far as the day is concerned, "Mao" refers to the time from five to seven in the morning, representing the dawn of dawn.
Data map: Citizens choose New Year's Eve flowers at a flower market in Beijing to welcome the Chinese Lunar Year of the Rabbit.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Yu
"On the whole, the oracle bone inscription of '卐' conveys the meaning of opening the door and enjoying blessings, and all things wake up from the winter sleep." Meng Dehong said.
Rabbit is an auspicious beast in people's eyes
According to oracle bone inscriptions, Meng Dehong believes that "rabbit" is basically the pictogram of "rabbit".
"Shuowen Jiezi" explains "rabbit" in this way, "the name of the beast, like crouching, followed by the shape of its tail".
Long big ears, full of cuteness, this is one of the impressions left by "Rabbit" on people.
Meng Dehong said that rabbits have strong vitality and were regarded as auspicious animals by the ancestors very early on.
"Rabbits are also very capable of reproduction. Because of these characteristics, they are very popular in folk culture." He explained that in folk traditions, most of the ancestors had "reproductive worship" and expected to have many children and grandchildren. The population is thriving.
According to the "Auspicious Yingtu", "The red rabbit is auspicious, and the white rabbit is auspicious".
In ancient times, when people discovered white rabbits, most of them would offer them to the imperial court to show the prosperity of the country and the strength of the people.
In addition, Lu Bu's mount in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is called "Red Hare Horse".
Meng Dehong felt that the name of the horse after "Red Rabbit" is probably related to the characteristic of rabbits running fast.
Data map: The picture shows Jinan citizens posting blessings for the Year of the Rabbit at home.
Photo by Zhao Xiao
Rabbits are good at running, so there is a saying "quiet as a virgin and moving as a rabbit".
The Chinese character "Yi" means to understand from a rabbit, which means running as fast as a rabbit. This kind of running posture is graceful and elegant, which can arouse people's good aesthetic experience.
Therefore, the "Mao Rabbit" that people often say actually represents dawn, spring, and infinite vigor and vitality.
The cultural connotation of "rabbit"
In the traditional Chinese zodiac culture, the rabbit is lively and clever, a symbol of vitality and happiness.
For example, Chang'e flying to the moon is a familiar folklore in China. When people think of Guanghan Palace and sweet-scented osmanthus trees, they often think of the lovely jade rabbit.
Meng Dehong believes that the naive "Rabbit Lord" is also a product of Chinese folk art. Its vivid and humorous shapes are deeply loved by children and embody people's various beautiful visions.
Why is the cute rabbit selected into the Chinese zodiac?
Meng Dehong believes that in addition to legends and folk tales, it may also be because rabbits are closely related to people's lives.
He mentioned that Han Yu, a great writer, wrote an article called "The Biography of Mao Ying". Earth and death are the twelve gods", which also corroborates the above statement.
In daily life, there are many idioms and allusions related to "rabbit".
Data map: "Money Rabbit Like Brocade" interior painting.
Photo by Wang Tianxiang
The Jade Rabbit's Prosperity and the Flowers and the Moon
For the Chinese, the twelve zodiac signs including rabbits are not just simple animal images, but also cultural symbols engraved deep in memory.
Meng Dehong said that there is a relevant record of the word "rabbit" in "Book of Rites".
In addition, Lu Dianyun, rabbit, spit too.
The essence of the bright moon is born by looking at the moon.
Therefore, it is called Mingshi.
So people have associated the moon with rabbits a long time ago.
"Besides, people often say that flowers are full of flowers and the moon is full. Spring Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival are all festivals that we attach great importance to. What we look forward to most is reunion. The rabbit has become a synonym for the moon and even reunion." He said.
As the so-called "Jade Rabbit Brings Good Fortune", rabbits often appear in various paper-cut window grilles and paintings, entrusting people's good wishes and highlighting the excellent traditional Chinese culture.
"The character 'rabbit' in oracle bone inscriptions is a pictographic character, which captures the most prominent feature of the shape of a rabbit. This is what our ancestors did when they created characters, conveying semantic information vividly." Meng Dehong sincerely sighed.
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