Year of the Rabbit: Three faces of the Chinese rabbit you may not know

Archaeologists say that rabbits and toads have long been imagined as inhabitants of the moon in Chinese mythology, probably due to their resemblance to the dark spots on the lunar surface.

The relationship between rabbits and the moon had been established in the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-25 AD) or earlier, evidenced by unearthed silk paintings carrying images of running rabbits on the moon, said Ai Lulu, a researcher at the Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum.

As for images of rabbits crushing herbal medicines with a mortar and pestle, Ai suggests they may have derived from the story of another goddess Xiwangmu, or Queen Mother of the West, who has a retinue of rabbits making elixirs of immortality.