One Moon, One World: global museums and their mooncake innovation (5)

Shaanxi History Museum

Symbol of the Moon: Jade Rabbit

According to Chinese folklore, the Jade Rabbit used to live in a forest with other animals. One day, the Jade Emperor disguised himself as an old, starving man and begged the jade rabbit for food. Being weak and small, the jade rabbit couldn't help the old man, so instead it jumped into the fire so that the old man could eat it.

Moved by the generous gesture, the Jade Emperor (the first god in Chinese mythology) sent the rabbit to the moon, and there he became the immortal Jade Rabbit. The Jade Rabbit was given the job of making the elixir of immortality, and the story goes that the rabbit can still be seen creating the elixir with a pestle and mortar on the moon.

Now in Shaanxi History Museum, a talc rabbit statue, created by an unknown artist in the Tang dynasty (618-907), has caused an online frenzy due to its adorable design. The rabbit was once used to put on top of loose bamboo mats to keep them in place, but netizens joked that it looks like a mouse attached to a computer. Due to its popularity, the museum has made a copy of the statue, offering it as a gift in the mooncake box.

Innovative mooncake flavor:

Located in the northern part of China, Shaanxi province’s mooncakes are the best representation of North China’s cuisine culture. There are four traditional mooncake flavors, which are yolk and bean, black sesame, orange and nuts. Mooncakes in north China are generally sweet in flavor, so remember to just take a little bite!