Jade Rabbit
The Jade Rabbit is a cute, fluffy, white bunny. The Jade Rabbit is a strange and enchanting Eastern mythology that lives on the moon. When it isn't busy creating immortality elixirs, the bunny keeps the lovely goddess Chang'e company at the Moon Palace. The history of Chang'e is the most well-known of the several traditions explaining the origins of the Mid-Autumn Festival, but what about her tailed companion?
The Jade Emperor pretended to be an elderly man who was hungry and begged for food from a monkey, an otter, a jackal, and a rabbit. Both the otter and the monkey collected food from the river and the trees, respectively. A jug of milk curds and a lizard were taken by Jackal. However, a rabbit could only gather grass. Knowing well well that grass cannot be offered as nourishment to people, the rabbit chose to sacrifice itself in the fire the man had lit by offering its own flesh. But the bunny wasn't set on fire. The mighty Jade Emperor suddenly made himself known to the old man! He was so moved by the rabbit's altruistic act of giving that he despatched it to the moon to become the everlasting Jade Rabbit.
This mythical Jade Rabbit first appeared in the 2014 Shen Yun dance Monkey King Thwarts the Evil Toad. A large, evil toad seeks to consume the Tang Monk in this story. Toad, however, flees to the Moon Palace once the Monkey King rescues him. It discovers the Jade Rabbit hard at work, pounding herbal medicine into a magical elixir with its mortar and pestle. The toad, which had been lurking the entire time, transforms into the appearance of the Jade Rabbit as the Moon Goddess Chang'e appears and summons the rabbit away. It then steals some elixir to treat its hurt leg before fleeing while brandishing the bunny's pestle. Things get pretty chaotic when there is a nasty, armed meta-toad on the loose. Fortunately, the Monkey King's golden sight can see right through any diabolical mask. All is good in the end because he defeats the toad, saves the day, and gives the Jade Rabbit the magic pestle back.
Looking up at the moon, it is stated that you can see the silhouette of the Jade Rabbit pounding with a pestle. The Jade Rabbit is a symbol of selflessness, piety, and sacrifice. It is more than just beautiful, fluffy, and white. Perhaps the Jade Rabbit is on the moon so that no matter where we are on Earth, we can always look up to the ideals of justice and self-sacrifice. So, the next time you look up at the moon, remember the Jade Rabbit, who has nothing to give but himself for the sake of others.
