![]() Ten suns rose in the sky together, causing disaster for people, because it was too hot. In more modern portrayals of the Chang’e myth, there are more complex and rational reasons given for Chang’s’s reasons for drinking the elixir of immortality, and this one, in particular, pertains to the Mid-Autumn Festival. Sisyphus rolled a stone up a hill, but each time the stone made it to the top, it would tumble down, and he would have to roll the stone back up again. He had made a mistake in his quest for immortality, and was forced to do this work forever, quite similar to the Greek myth of Sisyphus. Wu Gang was chopping at the base of the tree, but each time he chopped it, the gash healed itself. In the Youyang Zazu, A Miscellany from Youyang by Tang writer Duan Chengshi, there was a cassia tree that was 5,000 feet high on the moon. She is often described as a beautiful goddess in these poems.Īlthough she lives by herself, she has the Jade Rabbit for company as well as a neighbour, the immortal Wu Gang. Changxi is the mother of twelve moons, and some scholars suggest that Chang’e is originally Changxi.ĭuring the Six Dynasties (386-589 CE), many poems written during this time and the Tang Dynasty either blame Chang’e for stealing the elixir and abandoning her husband, Hou Yi, or portray her with sympathy for living a lonely life on the moon. In other versions, this creature is a rabbit and is known as the Jade Rabbit.Ĭhang’e’s name was originally Heng’e, but it was changed when the heng character was the same one used in a Han emperor’s name or to a different heng character since it was taboo to share an imperial name. There are versions that tell of Chang’e changing into an ugly toad after she escapes to the moon, as there are Han iconography that shows a toad on the moon, standing on its hind legs, holding a pestle to pound the elixir into a mortar. The next time that you look at a big full moon, try to see if you can spy out the rabbit denoted through the shadows on the moon’s surface! A rabbit can often be seen running on the moon or pounding an elixir of immortality in front of Xiwangmu in Han dynasty iconography.Īt the beginning of the Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), Hou Yi is said to receive the elixir from Xiwangmu and Chang’e stole it from him and consumed it. Scholars believe that the toad and rabbit originated independent of the Chang’e myth and were later combined through the centuries. The idea of the moon rabbit can be found in other Eastern as well as Indigenous cultures as well. Although the idea of the rabbit and the toad can be found in texts from the Warring States. There is no mention of the Jade Rabbit, a toad, or Chang’e’s husband, the hero archer, Hou Yi. ![]() After she consumed the drink, she flew to the moon and became the spirit of the moon. In Guizang, a divination book of that time, known only through later quotation, Chang’e is said to have stolen the elixir of immortality from 西王母 Queen Mother of the West. The earliest traces of her myth can be dated to the 5th century BC during the period of the Warring States. In reflecting upon the cosmic stories that my ancestors knew of, believed in, depicted beautiful works of art on, I have felt connected to, and inspired by the stories, and I want to share what I’ve learned on how Chang’e’s story has changed over time. It has also deepened my reverence for mythology, by expanding beyond the Western Greco-Roman tradition, which has informed a lot of who I am, but is not the only wisdom tradition, or even the most important one for me right now. Having these conversations with my mom can be difficult because in assimilating to the dominant culture, in asking questions about my ancestral culture, there’s always a question I get back, why are you asking? I get the impression, what is the point of talking about it? Is there a use for it, and is it even safe? Assimilation is a bitch.īut by doing my own research, and continuing to have these conversations, my relationship with my mom has become more authentic and close. I’ve always been spellbound by myths and fairy tales, and I’ve found myself naturally exploring Chinese mythology, as this is one way that I am reclaiming my ancestral practices through mythology. In other versions, it is the hardworking Jade Rabbit that is pounding the elixir, of service to Chang’e. In some versions of the myth, she transforms into a toad when she is on the moon, interpreted as a punishment for drinking the elixir, and she is pounding the elixir with a mortar and pestle. In iconography, she is often carrying the Jade Rabbit in her arms. Chang’e is the spirit of the moon, an immortal woman, a moon goddess that is often depicted as a beautiful woman symbolizing elegance, grace, and charm that lives on the moon, after drinking an elixir of immortality.
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