Myth of the Moon Toad

The Chinese belief concerning a toad in the moon predates the Warring States era.¹ Late Warring States era statesman and poet Qu Yuan (340-278 BCE) wrote of a toad in the moon in his Songs of Chu.²

Moon Toad may predate other Chinese moon myths such as the Moon Hare.¹ One version of the Moon Toad myth claims that the toad is the lady Chang E (aka Heng E) transformed. Imperial Readings of the Taiping Era (written between 977 and 983 CE³) quotes earlier works that mention a moon toad, including the astronomy book Ling Xian by Zhang Heng (78-139 CE)⁴:

Yi asked the Queen Mother of the West for the Medicine of Immortality. Yi's wife Heng E stole the medicine and flew to the moon. She installed herself on the moon and became a toad.

Guardian of the Gate

Background graphics combine influences from Shirow Masamune's Ghost in the Shell and decorative art from the Malay world.

Patterns on the outfit also inspired by (but not claiming to be an authentic representation of) fabric designs from Indonesia and Malaysia.

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