A Bunny Hop Through Centuries of Chinese Art

[Randy W]

For centuries, rabbit hair was believed to produce the finest ink brushes. Chinese literati repaid their debt to the humble creature in poetry, prose, and paintings.

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A Bunny Hop Through Centuries of Chinese Art
For centuries, rabbit hair was believed to produce the finest ink brushes. Chinese literati repaid their debt to the humble creature in poetry, prose, and paintings.

Left: Jade rabbit excavated from Lingjiatan ruins. From the Anhui Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics; Right: A jade rabbit excavated from Zhangjiapo ruins. From National Museum of China

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China’s earliest known rabbit-centric artwork dates to the Neolithic period (7000-1700 B.C.). At the Lingjiatan site in what is now the eastern Chinese province of Anhui, archaeologists unearthed a 5,000-year-old ornamental rabbit made from jade. The rabbit’s ears are tucked behind its raised head and lie flat against its back, while its elongated body gives the impression that it is in full sprint. Along the rabbit’s lower body are four holes, reminiscent of the backs of combs from the nearby Liangzhu culture, indicating that the rabbit was perhaps meant to be joined with another ornament.