Learning into Rabbit Legends兔子有何文化意義？

Rabbits are a courageous little species able to live on every continent， except Antarctica. As this year is the Year of the Rabbit， now lets talk about this adorable animal in the eyes of different cultures.

兔子雖然體型嬌小，卻生性勇敢，除了南極洲，每塊大陸上都能看到生存繁衍的兔子。2023年是兔年，讓我們談談在不同文化中，人們是如何看待可愛的兔子的。

Cultural image of rabbits in China

兔子在中國文化中的形象

Rabbits are instinctively quiet but agile， which suits traditional Chinese aesthetic values of being gentle and cultivated. There is a view of rabbits in Chinese culture as being smart and gentle. This is shown by the phrase dongru tuotu， a Chinese idiom praising people who are smart and agile like a rabbit.

Legend has it that there is a Jade Rabbit living on the moon which is the pet of Change， a goddess widely known in China. This can explain why rabbits are regarded as an auspicious sign.

Also， in ancient China， it was common sense that the more children you had， the luckier and happier you would be. This belief made the rabbit a popular sign of good fortune， since rabbits are full of vitality and fertile.

兔子天性安靜、敏捷，符合中國傳統“溫文爾雅”的審美價值。在中國文化中，兔子意味著聰穎、文雅，“動如脫兔”這個成語便是證明，人們用它來贊美那些像兔子一樣聰明、機敏的人。

在神話傳說中，月亮上住著一只玉兔，它是在中國家喻戶曉的女神嫦娥的寵物，這就可以解釋為何人們視兔子為祥瑞。

此外，在中國古代，人們普遍認為子嗣越多，福運和喜氣就越大。而兔子精力旺盛、繁殖能力強，因此就成了吉祥的象征。

Cultural image of rabbits in the West

兔子在西方文化中的形象

Similarly in the West， they are well-known to be able to reproduce and thrive in sometimes difficult and surprising conditions， with populations growing to enormous sizes in short amounts of time. Rabbits are also considered to be incredibly lucky in the West， with several traditions illustrating how to gain the animals good luck for yourself.

One of the most well-known symbols of good luck， a stuffed rabbits foot is supposed to bring good fortune. This is a good luck charm that can be found from the people of Europe to the traditional cultures of North America.

A hunter being able to catch a rabbit in the first place is also a sign of good luck. Another tradition for good luck found in North America and the UK is to say the word “rabbit” on the first morning of every month.

Rabbits also pop up in other areas of Western culture. It is a rabbit that Alice follows in the story of Alice in Wonderland to escape the normal world and helps to begin her adventure. Rabbits are also related to Easter， with the Easter bunny being thought to be in some way related to the chocolate eggs eaten at this time of year. While the animal appears in many different places， it is always seen as an animal to be welcomed.

兔子的形象在西方與在中國有一點很相似：兔子以強大的生存能力著稱，有時在出奇艱苦的條件下，也能生存繁衍、茁壯成長，并在很短的時間內將種群規模急劇擴大。西方人還將兔子視為極致的幸運，多個西方傳統都解釋了如何從兔子身上獲得好運。

毛絨的兔子腳是最廣為人知的吉兆之一，人們認為兔腳會帶來好運。從歐洲社會到北美傳統文化中，都能感受到這種好運氣。

獵人在打獵的時候，如果能夠先抓到兔子，也是一個好兆頭。在北美和英國，還有另一個祈求好運的傳統：在每個月第一天的早上，說出“兔子”一詞。

兔子也出現在西方文化的其他領域。在《愛麗絲夢游仙境》故事中，愛麗絲跟隨一只兔子逃離了現實世界，開始了冒險之旅。兔子還與復活節有關，人們認為每年復活節吃的巧克力蛋，某種程度上就與兔子有關。雖然兔子出現在許多不同的領域，但人們總是將它視為一種受歡迎的動物。

Word Bank

cultivated /'k?lt?ve?t?d/ adj. 舉止文雅的；有修養的

thrive /θra?v/ v. 茁壯成長；蓬勃發展

illustrate /'?l?stre?t/ v. （用示例、圖畫等）解釋；說明

To illustrate my point， let me tell you a little story.