| Rabbit | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Real Name |
Rabbit |
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First Appearance |
Chinese Mythology |
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Created by |
Unknown |
Origin[]
The rabbit is the fourth in the twelve-year periodic sequence (cycle) of animals that appear in the Chinese Zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Rabbit is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 卯. the element Wood in Wuxing theory and within Traditional Chinese medicine the Liver Yin and the emotions and virtues of kindness and hope.
In the Vietnamese zodiac and the Gurung zodiac, the cat takes the place of the rabbit. In the Malay zodiac, the mousedeer takes the place of the rabbit.
An ancient folktale called "The Great Race" tells of the Jade Emperor's decree that the years on the calendar would be named for each animal in the order they reached him. To get there, the animals would have to cross a river.
After the Rat, Ox,and Tiger had arrived suddenly a thump sound came from the distance. This was signaling the arrival of the Rabbit. It explained how it crossed the river: by jumping from one stone to another in a nimble fashion. Halfway through, it thought it might lose the race, but it was lucky enough to grab hold of a floating log that later washed it to shore. For that, it became the fourth animal in the zodiac cycle.
In Buddhism, legend has it that Gautama Buddha summoned all of the animals of the Earth to come before him before his departure from this Earth, but only twelve animals actually came to bid him farewell. To reward the animals who came to him, he named a year after each of them. The years were given to them in the order they had arrived.
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
All published appearances of the Rabbit of the Chinese Zodiac from before January 1, 1930 are public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
- Ancient Calendars and Constellations (1903)
- Things Japanese (1905)
- 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica