Celebrating the Year of the Rabbit
Learn about the diverse artistic representations of rabbits in Chinese culture through treasures from the CUHK Art Museum and private collections in Hong Kong!
TopArt Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
I. The Medicine Pounder
Since the pre-Qin period, there had been mythological fantasy about "the rabbit in the moon". The early ones were usually shown running while the "medicine-pounding rabbit" appeared in late Eastern Han period.
On this Han seal from the Art Museum collection, you can see a rabbit kneeling and pounding medicine.
The figure seated on the altar next to it should be the Queen Mother of the West, judging from her hair ornaments.
As the owner of the elixir of immortality, Queen Mother of the West had been a regular partner with the medicine-pounding rabbit in Chinese art.
月宮紋銅鏡 月宮紋銅鏡 (Tang dynasty (618–907))Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
The "moon palace" bronze mirrors popular in the Tang Dynasty also feature the medicine-pounding rabbit. Other members of the decorative motif include: the toad, the bay tree and the fairy Chang'e. But on the back of this mirror, the fairy is missing...
BackArt Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Perhaps, she is the beauty now looking at the mirror?
澄泥仿宋玉兔朝元硯 澄泥仿宋玉兔朝元硯 (Qianlong reign (1736–1795) , Qing dynasty)Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
II. The Moon Gazer
After the Tang Dynasty, more of the rabbits in artworks appeared outside of the moon, many of them assumed a moon-gazing posture.
This "moon-gazing rabbit" inkstone from the Huaihaitang Collection was one of the "six archaic-style inkstone" designed under the order of the Qianlong Emperor. Strongly admired by the emperor, it had been produced in bulk as imperial gifts.
澄泥仿宋玉兔朝元硯拓本 (Qing dynasty, dated 1775-1790; Qing Rubbing (1882))Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
The Art Museum houses a rubbing of this inkstone.
Its inscription told the story of how an official of the Hanlin Academy from this family had been awarded this inkstone by the Jiaqing Emperor.
The knobs of the two Ming Dynasty seals below were both a rabbit raising its head in a gazing posture, which is a common motif after the Song Dynasty. This can be understood as a development from the moon-gazing rabbit.
Dish with hawk and hare in underglaze blue and overglaze wucai enamels (Tianqi reign (1621–1627), Ming dynasty)Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
III. The Prey
Apart from the moon, in Chinese art, rabbits are also frequently associated with birds.
The bird on this late-Ming dish in overglaze enamels (wucai) is probably an eagle hovering over its prey.
Close-up 9Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Also from the late-Ming period, this gold belt ornament features a flying bird and a running rabbit in repoussé.
The bird dives steeply
while the rabbit turns its head when running
creating a dynamic and animated hunting scene.
Full view 2Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
III. The Chubby Creature
Since the Song Dynasty, rabbits in art have become more chubby.
This jade rabbit was from the Southern Song Dynasty. The carving was simple but had craftily brought out an adorably bulbous rabbit.
TopArt Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
The hole at its back suggests that it might be reworked to become a pendant, perhaps for decorating a fan.
瓷白兔 瓷白兔 (0/0) by 黃文宗（1910–2003）Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
This porcelain rabbit crafted by the modern potter Huang Wen-Tsung (1910-2003) was also chubby.
The exaggeration of the erect pair of ears added to its comical style.
白兔青菜（《仿古冊頁》之一） (Dated 1833) by 潘瑤卿（活躍於嘉慶至道光）Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
IV. Created by Ink and Colours
Rabbits were also represented in a wide range of painting styles.
Rabbit and Cabbage is a work by the Qing Dynasty female painter Pan Yaoqing. The white rabbit was not outlined by ink, but was created by leaving the area blank with a technique called "negative drawing".
Next to the rabbit was a Chinese cabbage. When painting its leaves, water or white powder was added to the green colour when it almost dried. It was a relatively early adoption of the technique in Cantonese painting.
一筆兔 (Dated 1977) by Ting Yin–yung (1902–1978)Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
This One-stroke Rabbit by Ting Yin-yung (1902-1978) can be seen as both a painting or a calligraphy work.
It demonstrates the influence of abstract art and Primitivism on the art of Ting and his synthetic mastery of Western and Chinese art.
雙兔（《動物冊頁》之一） (Dated 1978) by Liu Jiyou (1918–1983)Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Unlike the abstractness of the previous exhibit, The Two Rabbits by Liu Jiyou (1918-1983) were accurately portrayed in expressive and refined brushwork.
You can feel the gentleness of the small creatures vividly from the realistic depiction.
園日涉趣 (Dated 2021) by Tong Kam Tang VincentArt Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Daily Delight of the Garden Walks by Prof. Tong Kam Tang of the CUHK Department of Fine Arts is of a more composed style, reminiscing the Gongbi (fine line) technique of Song and Yuan paintings.
The texture of the rabbit fur is meticulously rendered by dense lines over shades of black and white to represent the fine hair of the two rabbits.
There are many differences between the rabbits: their postures, their colours…but they both look to the same side, suggesting that those with different characters can live well together -- a perfect message for the artist's celebration of his marriage anniversary.
In short, as a common creature in ancient China, rabbit has been a significant motif in Chinese art. The change in its iconography and association reflects the life and beliefs of our ancestors. With its diversity in artistic representation, we hope you can feel the pleasure of appreciating relics and artworks with our rabbit art.
The content is developed based on "Celebrating the Year of the Rabbit", an exhibition curated by Dr. Tong Yu, Sam. (Research Fellow, Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong) and organized by Lam Ka Ying and Education-Outreach-Communications team.
