Monday, September 15, 2008

Chang Er and the Rabbit


This is Chang Er and the Rabbit. They both lived in the moon.

Chang Er on lanterns.

Story of Chang Er (I am posting this story again so you dont have to look for them in my previous post)

Legend of Chang Er

Hou Yi and Chang-E
An archer, Hou Yi, saved the earth from scorching when he shot nine suns that originally circled the earth. As a reward, Hou Yi obtained the Elixir of life but he became so tyrannical that his wife, Chang-E, stole the Elixir and drank it. Chang-E found herself ascending to the moon and thereafter was escalated to status of Moon Goddess. Hou Yi in turn was given a cake by the Queen Mother of the Western Paradise (Xi Wangmu). He could withstand heat upon eating the cake and was sent to remain in the sun. With a special talisman he was able to visit his wife Chang-E on the 15th of every month. Thus the moon's brightness on this day. This legend is believed to have been started during the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 AD) although some believe it may have started earlier, tracing it to the rule of Emperor Yuan (2346 BC).

Rabbit in the moon

Buddha had disguised himself as a hungry, old man and approached three animals; a fox, a monkey and a rabbit, for help. The fox caught a fish for him, the monkey brought some fruits but the rabbit offered its own body as meat by throwing itself into the fire. In gratitude, Buddha resurrected the rabbit and sent it to the moon to be venerated.

(Source: http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_804_2005-01-13.html)

13 comments:

J.C. said...

Thanks for the stories. I have heard of the Chang Er's one but it's the first time I learnt of the Buddha's. I will tell these stories to my little nieces and nephews.

Napaboaniya.Elaine Ling said...

I regret telling my kids Chang'E lives on the moon! *bang.head* They've been bugging me on "how? how? how to live on moon?!?!, where? I can't see...." etc ever since Saturday.

alicesg said...

Elaine, hahaha...kids are forever asking lots of questions. It is a good sign. Now it is my turn to ask my two grown up sons questions....lol.

dennis said...

Dennis appreciates these stories.

Anonymous said...

very interesting post today. wonderful stories.

Anonymous said...

Nice story:) I like the colorful pictures too.

Gordon said...

Most interesting Alice. I have enjoyed this and your recent posts with the lanterns and other decorations.

Last night I went to the Moon Lantern Festival (part of OzAsia Festival) in Adelaide. I will be posting about it later in the week.

Anonymous said...

This is very interesting!

Stanley said...

I really like the post about the lanterns. Never seen so big, huge, and colourful ones! Happy Mooncake Festival =)

alicesg said...

Thanks for all the nice comments.

Gordon, I will look forward to your photos. :)

Photo Cache said...

very interesting indeed.

Jules said...

Hi Alice - your blog is so culturally rich and this post is a perfect example - so interesting and colourful!!!

escape said...

the story of the rabbit is quite beautiful for a myth.