Tu'er Ye (), also known as the Rabbit God, is a

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

Chinese folk religion Chinese folk religion comprises a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. This includes the veneration of ''Shen (Chinese folk religion), shen'' ('spirits') and Chinese ancestor worship, ances ...

unique to

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, where his sculptures are traditionally crafted. He is related with moon worship, as he is considered the

moon rabbit The Moon rabbit, Moon hare or Jade rabbit is a mythical figure in both East Asian and indigenous American folklore, based on interpretations that identify the lunar mare, dark markings on the near side of the Moon as a rabbit or hare. In East A ...

of the goddess

Chang'e Chang'e ( ; ), originally known as Heng'e (), is the goddess of the Moon and wife of Hou Yi, the great archer. Renowned for her beauty, Chang'e is also known for her ascending to the Moon with her pet Yu Tu, the Moon Rabbit and living in the Mo ...

. A frequent misnomer is "Tuye Er" (, "Rabbit God (as a) Youth"). Based on the correct Beijing dialect, it should be "Tu'er Ye" (). In his traditional

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

, he rides a tiger, a dragon or a horse, but he is represented standing alone as well. The cult of the Rabbit God started in Beijing in 1906, later in the 20th century disappeared, and was resumed only in the late 2000s. He has a female counterpart, Tu'er Nainai ({{zh, c=兔兒奶奶, p=Tù'ernǎinai, l=Lady Leveret). However the two could be one and the same deity since in some legends, Tu'er Ye changed his appearance depending on what human clothing was donated to him by the people he helped. So Tu'er Nainai could simply be a cross-dressing Tu'er Ye. He is not to be confused with

Tu'er Shen Tu'er Shen (, The Leveret Spirit), Hu Tianbao or Tu Shen (, The Rabbit God), is a Chinese deity who manages love and sex between men. His name literally means "rabbit deity". His adherents refer to him as Ta Yeh (, The Master). In a folk tale f ...

, a different cult of perhaps the same deity.

External links

Lord Rabbit Worshipping Returns to Yuetan Park

Jade Rabbit, Lord Rabbit
Chinese deities Rabbit deities

See also

External links