Just who exactly is Moon Hare / Jade Rabbit anyway?

This character from Chinese folklore is known as 月兔 (usually translated as Moon Rabbit) or 玉兔 (commonly translated as Jade Rabbit). But while researching animal references for this illustration, I realized that the Chinese 月兔 was most likely NOT a rabbit ;-) Why? Because rabbits are not indigenous to China.¹ There are rabbits in Southeast Asia and parts of Japan though.¹

China, however, does have a number of native hare species.² The rabbit/hare confusion in translation started with people applying the term 兔 tu to both indigenous hares and imported rabbits.³

Third century Chinese statesman and author Fu Xuan wrote about the Moon Hare in Ni Tian Wen: "What is in the moon? A white hare pounding medicine with a pestle." ⁴ Of the indigenous hare species living in/near China, only Lepus Timidus (aka Mountain Hare, Blue Hare, White Hare) has a white coat. (in winter)²  So this species conveniently became my reference for the Moon Hare.

So who exactly is Moon Hare/Jade Hare?

There seems to be no consensus, not even about the animal's gender. In one Beijing legend, Jade Hare  engages in repeated 'cross-dressing', casually switching between male and female attire (but more on that later ;-)

Some different versions of the Jade Hare myth:

Through the Gate

Print available

Also available as laptop skins, stickers, and more on redbubble.com.

Influences: Ghost in the Shell meets Mangbetu style ;-)

Background graphics inspired by Mangbetu mural painting; character design inspired by (but not intended to be an authentic representation of) Mangbetu body painting and hairstyling.

Duyung

Mermaids appear in the folklore of the Malay world:

• Pulau Duyung (Mermaid Island) in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. According to tradition, mermaids once appeared there.
• A folktale from Sulawesi, Indonesia about how mermaids came to be.(CeritaRakyatNusantara.com)
• The Sundanese and Javanese myth of Nyai Loro Kidul, the Queen of the Southern Sea of Java, a deity who can appear in mermaid form.

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Kadal Kanni

Was inspired to draw a South Asian mermaid after looking at Southeast Asian paintings of mermaids from the Ramayana epic, in which merfolk were deployed to destroy the bridge that Rama was building to Lanka.¹ According to tradition, this bridge started in Rameswaram in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.²

Rama's ally Hanuman and his monkey army laid the bridge. In Indian tradition, Hanuman is celibate,⁴ but in the Thai retelling of the Ramayana, Hanuman fathered a son with Ravana's mermaid daughter,⁵ who had been ordered by her father to destroy the bridge.¹

Sri Lankan author Nadishka Aloysius's YA story Raavana's daughter centers the mermaid princess character from the Ramakien.

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Jengu

The inspiration for this illustration came from a dear Cameroonian friend who told me fascinating accounts of the worship of miengu (singular 'jengu'), mermaid-like water deities of the Duala and related ethnic groups in Cameroon.¹ My friend also spoke of a similar Mami Wata tradition in neighboring Nigeria.²

This mermaid's accessories are inspired by (but NOT claiming to be an authentic representation of) Duala jewelry from Cameroon and Yoruba jewelry from Nigeria. Marine life in mermaid's environment inspired by (but not intended to be a scientifically accurate representation of ;-) species of underwater life in the Gulf of Guinea.

Available as the following products:

• "Jengu" T-shirt (on Printify)
• laptop skin, laptop sleeve, tote bag, studio pouch, throw pillow (on redbubble.com)
• 8.5"x11" print (on storenvy.com)

Notes

1. Jengu on Wikipedia
2. Mami Wata on Wikipedia

"Tiger Tears" and "Resurrection of Third Prince Nezha" prints

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Longevity and Luck Greeting Card

Southern Mountain, Eastern Sea

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See below for the sources of the text and symbolism used in this piece.

Eastern Sea, Southern Mountain

The expression "longevity compared to the Southern Mountain, luck as (vast as) the Eastern Sea" was recorded in a short story from the Ming Dynasty compilation "Tales from Qingping Mountain Hall".¹

The idiom "longevity compared to the Southern Mountain" can be traced back further to "The Book of Odes", a compilation of poems and songs dated between the 11th - 7th century BCE.²

What's the deal with peaches?