古朗月行（节选）

李白

小时不识月，呼作白玉盘。

又疑瑶台镜，飞在青云端。

仙人垂两足，桂树何团团。

白兔捣药成，问言与谁餐？

Old Song of the Bright Moon (Excerpt)

Li Bai

A child knew not the moon,

But called it jade plate bright.

He took it for the immortal’s mirror,

Flying over clouds white.

The two legs of the fairy first came into sight,

Then the cassia trees showed up so bright.

Pounding medicinal herbs was the jade hare,

Couldn’t help asking with whom it will share?

诗中提到的“白兔捣药”正是兔子在古代的经典形象。“白兔捣药”实际应称“玉兔捣药”，相传月亮上有一只兔子，浑身洁白如玉，故称为“玉兔”或“月兔”。它拿着玉杵，在药臼中不停地捣药，制作出长生成仙的药丸。作为不老药的药师，捣药的白兔自然也成了长寿的象征，深受人们喜爱，多见于诗词中。唐诗《赠浙西李相公》中写到：“月里昔曾分兔药，人间今喜得椿年。”人们对于兔子能带来健康长寿的期盼，由此便可见一斑。

“兔儿爷”是人们对玉兔的敬称，在北京已有四百年的历史。兔儿爷的出现源于一则传说，相传在北京遭遇瘟疫时，嫦娥曾派玉兔到人间为百姓消灾治病。玉兔幻化为少女来到北京，挨家挨户送药。待到瘟疫散尽，玉兔才回到月宫。为了纪念它，每逢中秋，北京人便开始制作并供奉兔儿爷。

Lord Rabbit is a title of respect for the Jade Hare. It’s been popular in Beijing for over 400 years. Legend has it that a plague broke out in Beijing long time ago. Chang'e, the Chinese goddess of the moon, sent the Jade Hare that lived on the moon to the mortal world to help cure the people. In Beijing, it transformed itself into a young woman and visited every home in the city to give people medicine. When the plague was driven away, she returned to the Moon. To commemorate her, Beijingers started to created and worship clay rabbit figurines on every Mid-Autumn Festival.

清宫旧藏兔儿爷 故宫博物院藏

兔儿爷的坐骑也很有讲究。在传统的民间元素中，牡丹象征富贵，兔儿爷坐在牡丹花上，便寓意着富贵吉祥；如果骑着大象，则为气象万新；若是狮子则称之为事事如意。每种坐骑都蕴含着人们对生活的美好期许。

Our Lord Rabbit’s mount has its rule as well. For example, in Chinese folk traditions, peony is a symbol of wealth. Then Lord Rabbit sitting on a peony means wealth and luckiness. If it is an elephant, it means new changes. A lion means everything would go well. Every mount contains a good wish.

兔子灯是各式各样花灯中的一种。兔子被视为吉祥之物，兔子灯所到之处亦是吉祥所到之处。南北朝时期，人们将彩纸扎成母子兔的形状，在村庄、祠堂、各家各户巡游，祈求风调雨顺、阖家安康。如果兔子灯不慎掉落，蜡烛点燃整个灯笼，这也是吉祥的象征——意味着已经烧掉了你所有的坏运气，新的一年只有好运等着你啦！

If the rabbit fell over, the candle inside would burn up the lantern. It was considered good luck — like you burned up all your bad luck and could start fresh in the new year.

不过，兔子灯虽看上去简单小巧，做起来并不容易。让我们跟随花灯匠人一起看看怎么兔子灯是怎么制成的吧~