NORTHEAST ASIAN HISTORY FOUNDATION 01/2023
the Cover
Rabbits Pounding Herbs
This folk painting is a work from the early Joseon times in the 19th century. Rabbits are pounding herbs underneath a white moon shining bright in the sky behind a katsura tree. The first record of “rabbits living on the moon” appeared in Cheonmun in Chosa of Gulwon, a master of literature of the time. The idea of rabbits on the moon sounded unfamiliar to Gulwon, making him wonder, ‘What does the moon get for taking care of the rabbits?’ The tale of “rabbits living on the moon” originated from an Indian myth. The myth was combined with the Chinese legend of the Queen Mother of the West running away to the moon with the herb of immortality during the time of the Han dynasty that made the appearance of “rabbits pounding herbs.”
(The cover image is a modern reproduction of the traditional painting by the The Korean Institute of Minhwa Research)
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